User Reviews

Schweiger disqualifies himself as a director, scriptwriter, and actor in just one film, which sadly, stands as the sole achievement here. Most of the dialogues, presumably penned by him, fall flat and lack the spark to engage the audience.

I initially turned it off after 20 minutes, giving it a second chance a day later only to find that it didn't get any better. The lack of effort is apparent, especially when it comes to continuity errors and poor stunt effects, which come off as blatantly unrealistic.

The subplot, which seems to veer off into a reflection of what might be Schweiger's personal life crisis, adds no value to the overall narrative. Instead, it detracts from the already thin plot, making the viewing experience even more tedious.

Moreover, what really irks me is the blatant disregard for automobile appreciation, a theme that the original films portrayed with a certain reverence.

(spoiler) It's absurd to see a character in the film recklessly repainting a well-preserved 30+-year-old Manta with a spray can (twice), or driving it through saltwater on the beach. These actions reflect not just a lack of understanding and respect for automotive culture but also showcase how out-of-touch the film is with reality.

(/spoiler)

An extensive run time of 120 minutes feels like a stretch, with filler scenes adding to the ordeal. A tighter edit, cutting it down to a crisp 30 minutes could have potentially salvaged the narrative, maintaining the audience's interest.

In conclusion, this film is a hard pass. Despite giving it a fair shot, it disappointingly remains bad, unfunny, and predictable throughout. It's a misfire on many levels - a wasted opportunity that could have been something substantial with a more thought-out script and better execution.

This movie actually blew me away. As a massive fan of the original, I was skeptical towards a sequel at first, considering the original "Manta, Manta" came out over 30 years ago.

I went into the movie worried that it might be "too modern", due to modern audiences having different tastes and expectations towards media than audiences 30 years ago, which is a problem since your main target audience should be fans of the original. I was pleasently surprised that the movie stayed true to its original positive vibe in portraying car culture.

Til Schweiger absolutely does not deserve his bad reputation in terms of acting and writing, in my opinion he did a great job in both areas here. Bertie has naturally aged and has clearly gone through a lot in his life that shaped him, but the old Bertie we all know and love constantly shines through. You could not have improved on Bertie in this movie.

Opening the movie with the same song that played in the final scene of the original was the perfect introduction to this film.

Now, lets talk about cars. The setting of a karting track and car repair garage in one was genius, as it combined the mechanics and the racing side of car culture in one. The movie is called Manta Manta 2, and I have heard the complaint, that theres not enough Manta in it. Compared to the original it's true, but there's still a fair amount. Berties car throughout the majority of the movie is an Opel Manta A, the first generation Manta. Perhaps not everyone knew that.

The original widebody Benetton style Opel Manta B from the 1991 Manta, Manta makes an appearance in the final act aswell and we even engine swap it again!

"Manta Manta zwoter Teil" has a fair amount of references to the original movie that I adore, such as Manta jokes, an engine stealing and swapping scene etc. The movie works really well in tying itself to the original, not too much, maybe too little even.

Klausi is back aswell, the classic comic relief of the original and the fan favorite that wins the final race in the OG. In the second part he has a smaller role, he isn't the main character this time, but he is responsible for most funny scenes, although I would have appreciated, if the character was more respected by other characters in a way.

I do have criticism aswell though: There are a bunch of characters from the first movie that are straight up missing without explanation, including my favorite, Gerd (who also had the coolest car in the OG), but the new characters fill their shoes quite well, but they're still inferior.

All in all one could describe this movie best in numbers: 8/10. Amazing cinematogrophy, good nostalgia moments, great cars, amazingly fitting 90s disco soundtrack, great humor, likable characters, genuine goosebumps moments, but lacking the final touch and spark the original had. No one expected it to measure up to the original masterpiece anyway so that's okay. Missing two stars simply for missing Hakan, Gerd, Sabine and Florentine.