After more than 30 years, the Til Schweiger cult Manta, Manta got a sequel. Part 2 about car fan Bertie, his family and friends is now in cinemas. But is it worth continuing the 90s hit?
Unfortunately, the first media echo paints an unconvincing picture of Manta, Manta – second part. In short: The sequel will probably not be a cult film like part 1. We’ve compiled snippets of the most meaningful reviews so you can see for yourself.
The reviews of Manta, Manta 2 are incredibly entertaining – and unfortunately mostly negative
Anna Wollner writes for SWR3 that the sequel, which Schweiger shot himself, “unfortunately turned out really awful”:
Conclusion: The film wants to be “The Fast and the Furious”, but it is at most a cheap imitation of “Alarm for Cobra 11” paired with “Kokowääh”. There’s one moose in five here because the original manta shows up and there’s a really good manta joke. Unfortunately, he was so stupid that you quickly forget him.
For her review in the ZEIT, Julia Lorenz describes Manta, Manta 2 as “stupid to the point of screaming” and continues to write:
Manta Manta had a powerful simplicity that came from the heart and fitted perfectly into the full-on-the-pipe mood of West German television in the 1990s. This film was never ashamed of its smuts, and at no time did it bother you with didactic intentions. The second part is a film like an annoying good-humored man at the grill who keeps talking about not being a typical man – and then belches very loudly.
Christoph Petersen is disappointed in his FILMSTARTS review and writes that Schweiger apparently didn’t understand himself what the audience loves about the first part:
Instead, the whole cheesy father-child bonding part, which takes up a large part of the sequel, could just as well have come from “Kokowääh” and Co. – same color filters, same pop aspic (this time at least enriched with a little nineties Eurodance), same rolled out fecal embarrassments and the same result, namely that Schweiger’s character is the coolest guy ever.
Sven Martens also writes for Outnow that the film lacks the successful ingredients of Manta, Manta 1:
But neither the 1990s nostalgia nor the love of cars play a really big role. Berti’s financial difficulties with the go-kart track could well indicate that Germany is currently in a bad position as a motorsport location. But here it is just a motivation for taking part in the race at Bilster Berg. The film ripples along in its 125 minutes, nothing spectacular or interesting.
Janick Nolting’s review of Artechock sounds more positive, or at least oddly interesting. He sees something like in Manta, Manta – Part Two the ultimate Til Schweiger film:
At this point, the mix of road trip, generational drama and old man’s comedy has long since lost its way in the most bizarre sequences of scenes. Crowned by a disturbing series of images in the credits, which assemble confused fragments of excised material. Nino de Angelo sings “Jenseits von Eden” – it feels like aliens are sending cryptic signals into your brain. That’s what Manta Manta 2 by and with Til Schweiger is about
Ruhrpott hero Bertie (Til Schweiger) has now left his racing car career behind and his relationship with Uschi (Tina Ruland) has also broken up. However, the once-proud Manta owner has kept his love for cars and now, without much success, runs a workshop complete with a kart racing track.
Money worries are Bertie’s constant companions, but when he can’t pay back a loan on time, the bank suddenly asks him prospect of forced expropriation. He threatens to lose his property. So Bertie resorts to a risky project: If he crosses the finish line first in the upcoming 90s race, his money problems due to the high prize money will be history.
So he sets about getting his beloved Opel Manta back into shape. But there is only a month left before the race – and then his son Daniel (Tim Oliver Schultz), with whom Bertie has a difficult relationship, turns up.
Manta, Manta 2 is in cinemas now. After this foretaste of the reviews, you can decide for yourself whether you want to convince yourself of Til Schweiger’s sequel.
*. . .