The first offering was such a wonderful film, it was funny, moving, warm, the kind of film you'd want to watch again. They tried desperately hard to recapture that magical spirit in the second offering. In some ways they did, but in others it fell a wee bit short. The acting masterclass from both Maggie Smith and Judi Dench continues, both display their true caliber. Richard Gere was rather wasted in this film, I didn't think he was given enough to do, he didn't add a great deal. I loved parts of it, Judi Dench sealing the fabric deal was brilliant, I liked that. I didn't warm to Penelope Wilton in the first film, I really enjoyed her part in this one, even though she wasn't given the best send off. The bit I didn't really rate was the lack of conclusion for Maggie Smith's character Muriel, it felt like it was building up towards something big, and absolutely nothing happened, what was that all about. Some great one liners, moving, just a big of sparkle missing.
