The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

Directed by Harald Zwart. Starring Steve Martin, Andy García, Emily Mortimer, Aishwarya Rai, Jean Reno, Lily Tomlin, Alfred Molina, John Cleese, Yuki Matsuzaki, Jeremy Irons, Johnny Hallyday, Geoffrey Palmer, Yevgeni Lazarev. [PG]

The reboot no one wanted gets a sequel no one wanted; if at first you don’t succeed, don’t try, don’t try again. Clouseau is part of a “Dream Team” of international detectives investigating a string of thefts with a culprit that’s far too easy to guess. Lazy and self-satisfied, an utter waste of onscreen talent and a once-inspired, now-disgraced comic creation. Toss up over what’s more depressing—that Martin is no better here than Roberto Benigni was in the “same” role, or that Martin gets credit for co-scripting this dross. Not even Cleese (taking over for Kevin Kline) can elicit a solitary chuckle. But if you thought the “hamburger” bit in the last one was hysterical…

14/100