Such a frustrating disappointment

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are plenty of tie-ins, and of course, the cast remains relatively intact, but the film itself, despite its few good surprises, is tremendously predictable and contrived. This is not to say there aren't good jokes; there are. And almost all of them come from or are at the expense of Vince, played by the marvelously funny Kevin Kline. A pet peeve of mine (and that truly was not a pun) is poorly done vulgarity; this is not a glowing endorsement of all vulgarity, but if you do it, do it correctly. The moments between Rollo (John Cleese) and Willa (Wanda- I mean Jamie Lee Curtis) are even more forced than in A Fish Called Wanda, which was at least part deliberate. The disbelief felt by Vince was so spectacular and of course intentional, but the unbelievability of it remained unmitigated. The strange thing is it almost seems they have less chemistry here than they do in "Wanda". It really is fully half as fun as A Fish Called Wanda, though, and since that one was an 8/10, technically this would be 4/10, especially due to the contrived and predictable moments, both of plot and reaction thereto. But those fun parts really do shine, as do the good quotes, almost entirely written for Vince, and perfectly portrayed by Kevin Kline.

After the massive success of A Fish Called Wanda, there was a lot of pressure on the four main stars to reunite. Then, when the 'sequel' (which isn't actually a sequel, simply a new story with new characters, played by the original four actors) came out, it was a bit of a let-down (apparently).I can see where the negatives reviews came from, not because Fierce Creatures is a bad film (it isn't - I find it hilarious!), but because it's so radically different from its predecessor. A Fish Called Wanda was dark and adult in nature, plus its plot of double-crossing bank robbers and corrupt barristers was definitely suited for adults into black comedy. Therefore people expected Fierce Creatures to offer something similar. It doesn't. It's a bit of a mish-mash of comedy styles, but I see it more like a modern form of a 'Carry On...' film.It's light-hearted, it's bawdy, it's corny, it's basically a farce of a film and it never tries to take itself seriously. I almost expected Benny Hill to run on at any stage, followed by a small bald man having his head patted - it's that sort of level. However, if you're into that (and the great Benny Hill proves that that sort of humour has international appeal), you should enjoy it.Seriously, it's also as clever as Wanda, poking fun at a large 'News Corporation-style' company buying a British zoo and trying to use awful mass-marketing techniques to try and increase revenue. It's just a totally different form of humour. Fans of Monty Python will revel in (the much underused) Michael Palin's character and although Kevin Kline didn't deserve another Oscar for his performance, he was almost rivalling Cleese in his madcapness! If you've seen and loved A Fish Called Wanda, don't judge Fierce Creatures too harshly. It was never meant to be a sequel, just some harmless fun with animals (and only the one bullet to the head).

Let's face it guys and gals, Animals are funny. So is John Cleese, Michael Palin, Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis.Fierce Creatures is not a sequel to the hilarious A Fish Called Wanda from 1988, it just a film that contains the same main actors playing entirely different characters.Cleese plays Rollo Lee a former Chinese policeman now Director of an English Zoo for a new parent company ingeniously named Octopus Inc. It is Octopus's policy to bring all businesses up to a rigid 20% profit margin or risk being closed down. Lee's philosophy is to get rid of all the sweet and cuddly animals and in his own words have 'a lethal weapon in every cage' Fierce Creatures only.Willa Weston starts work for Octopus only to find that the arm of the business she was to control has been sold off by Octopus's head man Rod McCain (Kevin Kline). She asks McCain if she can go to England and run the Zoo. What she doesn't count on is that the boss's embarrassing son Vince McCain (Kevin Kline) is going with her.Back in England the animal keepers are doing everything they can to convince that their animals are predatory killers in order to keep them at the zoo knowing that as placement in other zoo's are unlikely the animals face certain death.Willa's intention is to run the zoo well while still bringing the profit margin to the required standard but Vince's constant interference sees the chances dwindling with not only his embezzlement of funds but his tacky and degrading sponsorship deals.In A Fish Called Wanda, Michael Palin played Ken a guy who could hardly talk because of a debilitating stutter. In Fierce Creatures he plays Bugsy the Arachnid keeper who is an incessant talker the verbal contrast between the two characters is a bit of an in-joke but an hilarious one and I'm sure that this contrast was not lost on the audience.Like in A Fish Called Wanda Kevin Kline totally steals the show with his double role as Father & Son. Rod McCain is a tough confident Australian mogul so obviously based on Rupurt Murdoch it's untrue while his son is relatively unsuccessful an embassement to his father and has real issues when it comes to dealing with people.I found Fierce creatures very funny and in many ways far superior to 'Wanda'.Some great appearances by other wonderful actors such as Ronnie Corbett, Maria Aitken, (who played Cleese's Wife in Wanda), Billie Brown as Rod's sycophantic Assistant Neville, Carey (yummy) Lowell and Robert Lyndsay. Cleese's daughter Cynthia also appears as she did in Wanda playing the small Mammals keeper. For those devotees of British Children's TV of the 70's and 80's look out for Derek Griffiths too.Cleese once said that his two biggest regrets in his life were marrying his third wife and making fierce Creatures. I can say to Mr Cleese now that Fierce Creatures is nothing to be embarrassed about it's a great and funny movie and one he should be proud of.Another in joke is that the zoo is called Marwood Zoo, which incidentally, is Cleese's middle name.Enjoy!!!

A follow-up to the wildly popular 'A Fish Called Wanda', starring the same four legendary actors, John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. 'Fierce Creatures' is a Decent Flick, that hasn't managed a cult following, that is because, it's comparison is to a really mighty film! If a direct sequel, I also would've been a tad underwhelmed. But, as it plays it safe by claiming it as a follow up, I didn't go thinking of watching another 'Wanda'. To be honest, 'Fierce Creatures' is dumb, but at the same, it's funny, nonetheless.'Fierce Creatures' centers around a British zoo which has recently been acquired by New Zealand businessman Rod McCain played by Kline and put under the management of Rollo Lee played by Cleese. In order to boost profits, Lee decides to institute a "fierce creatures" policy that means, that only potentially deadly animals will be featured in the zoo.Clesse's Writing is funny at parts, but at times, it's dumb. Yet, I found the climax to be fairly entertaining. Fred Schepisi and Robert Young direct this comedy well. Cinematography, Editing, Art Design, are proper.Performance-Wise: Kline is excellent in both the roles, and truly is the funniest of the lot. Clesse, like always, gets his timing right. Jamie Lee Curtis is good. Michael Palin doesn't get much scope here. Robert Lindsay is passable.On the whole, A Decent One-Time Watch.