Dennis - Widerstand zwecklos (1998) Online

This is a cute, good-natured take on the Dennis the Menace story. You have vivid cinematography and appropriate directing/editing, some fine veteran actors doing their bits with utter comic professionalism, and amusing situations. It is all light-hearted, the villains are simply played for laughs (they could have given the Carrot guy more to do), and Don Rickles manages to keep his hammy tendencies under control. To take this seriously or think this is anything more than a vehicle for everyone to have fun is to miss the whole point - there is a definite place for films like this.

Most of all, it is simply nice seeing some familiar faces better known from many, many other roles and venues just buckling down and giving amusing performances that are just right for the characters. Come on, where else are you going to see ol' Don Rickles leap off a diving board or hang from a roof or have a hockey puck stuck in his mouth?

Kids (at least the ones I know) enjoy the Walter Matthau version, and they should this one, too. It is a family show that showcases the adorableness of all involved with tongue-in-cheek shenanigans and knowing silliness. Personally, I think Rickles is better suited to the Wilson role simply because he is inherently hammier and better supplied with expressions of pain and frustration (which are called for constantly in this role). The Matthau version was fine, too, just a little less saccharine and clearly intended for theaters. This no doubt intentionally plays like a tv movie, but a very good one.

A classy production in the Disney channel mold with no pretensions, perfect for family viewing.

What can I say, I loved the original and though Walter Matthau is somewhat missed, Don Rickles does a fine job of replacing him. Unlike most films where you can't stop thinking about how much better the original actor would have been, you start wondering who's better: Matthu or Rickles?

Not as funny or sweet as the original but still worth a peek.

3/5 stars -

John Ulmer

After I fell in love with the first Dennis The Menace movie I decided to check out the sequel, and needless to say I was very disappointed.

The film is about Dennis played by Justin Cooper who irritates Mr. Wilson played by Don Rickles who is being conned by Brian Doyle Murphy and Carrot Top into becoming young again.

This film was just O.K. The Performance from Justin Cooper Is about the same as Kevin Costner ordering oatmeal on wheat toast with a side of Styrofoam it is that boring. Don Rickles is over the top and this movie just was not as much fun as the first. But it is an O.K movie and has some good parts. I recommend it because it is not that bad.

Rated G.

1hr 15min/75min.

**1/2/****

Don´t think that you will get great acting, or a great plot, it is just fun, old slapstick humor. So don´t take this one too serious and just enjoy this one and laugh....

Dennis the menace returns in this direct to video film, Dennis The Menace Strikes Again! Justin Cooper plays the next door neighbor Dennis who will never stop bothering his best friend Mr. Wilson played by Don Rickles. This film has it's similarities to the original with Mr. Wilson in a predicament and Dennis helping him out. This film is perfect for you and your family to sit around the old t.v and watch to spend time together. You'll love how each new actor brings their character to life with their acting. Good job Justin, nicely done Don, great job Betty White, and George Kenndy you were swell! And hey Carrot Top, I never knew you would make a kids movie! 7 out of ten, a true family classic.

The first Dennis the Menace was funny but this one I got more laughs from and I think it had a better cast because they look more like the ones from the comics. Like, at the beginning of the movie, they show Mrs. Wilson from the comics decorating a birthday cake and then it fades into Betty White making a birthday cake and it looked almost identical! Don Rickles seemed to be a better Mr. Wilson than the guy from the other one. It's just better.

I really liked Dennis the Menace with Mason Gamble and Walter Matthau, the Switchblade Sam subplot aside. It was entertaining and cute and Matthau was just brilliant. I was expecting this sequel to be terrible. To my surprise, it wasn't, but it was rather mediocre still.

The costume and set design are not too bad, in fact it is colourful, while the camera angles are quite good too. Don Rickles does do a worthy job replacing Matthau, and Betty White is good value as Martha. The music was also okay at best.

Though I wish I could say the same for the script and story, but I can't. The script and dialogue are not really that funny and come across as childish, while some of the gags are predictable and poorly timed. The story is thin and not always that well thought out, while the direction is lacklustre, the film is too rushed for my liking and is too short. Some of the actors do good jobs, but the characters are not so easy to relate to, they are not very well written at all and come across as silly. Dennis is annoying to me this time around in alternative to cute and funny, while the less said about Margaret the better.

Overall, the film is not terrible, but it is rather mediocre. 4/10 Bethany Cox

I must admit, I liked this direct to video film. George Kennedy and Don Rickles are fun to watch in this movie. The good thing is Dennis is not an obnoxious, disgusting kid who's obsessed with gross pranks and such. Instead, one annoying thing Dennis does during the movie is turn carwashing soap into cotton candy. Not necessarily funny, but at least I can keep down my meal while watching the movie. Of course that is until Carrot top comes into view in the film. The film features Golden Girl alumnus Betty White as Mrs. Wilson, and some other people you've never even heard of before. How exciting! HUH? HUH???

The first one was practically a classic. i remember being Mason Gamble ( the person who played Dennis in the first one ) age when it came out. and i always remembered "Hey mr. wiiiiiilson!". I saw this one and i was thinking "um, okay???". If you've seen the first one starring Gamble, this one won't be as intertaining.

the first one was bad enough , why didnt they quit while they were ahead?? and the thing i dont get, if its a sequel.. whats with all the characters being played by different actors in this one???

i only seen part of it . but it was SO stupid that i changed the channel....

The first live action cartoon based film with Walther Matthau and little Mason Gamble is quite amusing, and this was straight-to-video sequel attempt. Basically Dennis Mitchell (Liar Liar's Justin Cooper) still causes misery for old neighbour George Wilson (Toy Story's Don Rickles), his wife Martha (Betty White) likes her and keeps reminding him he's a child. Mr. Wilson wishes Dennis could bother another old man, and along comes Grandpa (Thunderbolt and Lightfoot's George Kennedy) to take him out a little bit, but it is obvious he doesn't have as much time as he thought. Mr. Wilson isn't just worrying about how Dennis will make his life misery, he is worried that he is ageing too quickly, and cons the Professor (Brian Doyle-Murray) and Sylvester (Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson) who in various disguises are trying to trick him into giving them loads of his money. Dennis meanwhile is not only causing chaos for Mr. Wilson and one or two other people in the neighbourhood, but he can't rid of "girlfriend" Margaret (Jacqueline Steiger), who wants to marry him. Dennis catches on to the con artists sponging off Mr. Wilson, and he saves the day in the end, and Mr. Wilson sees that Dennis does have his good side, for about ten minutes. Also starring Dwier Brown as Henry Mitchell, Heidi Swedberg as Alice Mitchell and Spy Kids' Alexa Vega as Gina. Cooper might be cute as the disaster prone little troublemaker, and the sequence where he tries to wash a car with candy floss mix instead of pink soap was amusing, but young Steiger is like the four-eyed equivalent of Annie, i.e. irritating, and it is a dull story, unfunny and just an overall boring family comedy. Pretty poor!

Dennis the Menace strikes again i think is a good fantastic movie but i still prefer the orignal Dennis movie, Dennis the Menace was made in 1993 then 5 years later Dennis the Menace strikes again was made in 1998. Starring Don Rickles, and George kennedy. I give this movie 10 out of 10.

the first one was so cute. not one of the original actors returned for the sequel. it really doesn't even have a plot. there's nothing likable about rickles' mr. Wilson, unlike the walter matthau character in the original. and the dennis character can't hold a candle to the first! the 2 crooks in this are just plain silly. betty white is fine as mr.s Wilson, but we don't even get to know her. and the characters of dennis' parents are so wooden, they could have just used cardboard cutouts instead. the margaret character was just plain silly. i don't even know why they wasted their time to make a sequel. please don't waste your time with this stinker.

This movie actually wasn't that bad, but definitely not good as the original. The only major downside to this movie was the cast which was different from the original movie. The original cast would've been much better, but that wasn't going to happen because this sequel was made five years to the original. The sequel should've happened within a few years after the success of the first, so I don't understand why this movie had taken so long to produce if it was required. I'd still say the movie is missable. I really like the title though "Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!"

This is a movie directed at young children (I watched it with my little brother), who will eat up the slapstick and inept adults. If you have seen the first contemporary version starring Mason Gamble, don't see this. Justin Cooper ("Liar,Liar" and "Home Alone 3") in not even half as good as was Gamble in the first.

This movie would be totally worthless if not for the cinematography of Christopher Faloona. He uses strange camera angles (lots of overhead shots) and employs some cool tricks with the focus. This is the only thing that kept me from rating this movie a 1.

My Grade: 2

Straight to video films like this are more often than not lacklustre in terms of their plot, cast, writing and general likability.

Dennis The Menace Strikes Again isn't particularly bad, but has a more pleasant plot than the first film did, as the first Dennis film from 1993 was far more gritty than anything you'll find here. The cast, because of its direct to film status and subsequent budget, is limited in terms of big names.

With regards to the writing, there are some good ideas here that wouldn't have looked too far out of place in the first film but all of Dennis's friends (and Margaret) fall into the all too familiar "annoying kid" trap, with the exception of Alexa Vegas, who would later go on to Spy Kids, and Dennis himself.

Justin Cooper plays Dennis and brings a spirited and energetic performance as Dennis to our screens, and after seeing him in Liar Liar I think he would have been good in the first film. Don Rickles plays Mr Wilson and the presence of George Kennedy is pretty much the biggest name in the film.

As to the likability - some interesting camera-work in places, but the film is fairly likable on its own regardless of whether you've seen the 1993 film or not. Kids will love some of the slapstick comedy but at the end of the day its a bit of pleasant easy watching fun.