Crocodile Dundee Collection

Paul Hogan

Linda Kozlowski

John Meillon

Ernie Dingo

Charles S. Dutton

Hechter Ubarry

Juan Fernández

Luis Guzmán

Stephen Root

Dennis Boutsikaris

Steve Rackman

Gerry Skilton

Gus Mercurio

Jim Holt

Alec Wilson

Maggie Blinco

Bill Sandy

Mark Saunders

Betty Bobbitt

Jim Cooper

Sam Cooper

Kenneth Welsh

Carlos Carrasco

Marilyn Sokol

Gregory Jbara

Doug Skinner

Anthony Crivello

Susie Essman

Ronald Yamamoto

Doug Yasuda

Tom Batten

Rhett Creighton

Edwin Maldonado

Angela Castle

Tatyana Ali

John Ramsey

Anthony Ruiz

Jace Alexander

Bryan Krivak

Jim Soriero

Mark Folger

Victor Colicchio

Alberto Vazquez

Luis Arriaga

Jose Andrews

Roger Serbagi

Hannah Cox

Colin Quinn

Vincent Jerman-Jerosa

Steven Arvanites

Rita Lane

Stacey Rockafellow

Maria Antoinette Rogers

Ahvi Spindell

Hisayo Asai

Al Cerullo

Dianne Derfner

Homay Shams

Peter Best

John Cornell

Jane Scott

Russell Boyd

Brett Hogan

David Stiven

Mark Turnbull

Daniel M. Stillman

P.J. Voeten

Chitra F. Mojtabai

Hugh Rawson

Craig Bolles

David Dunkley

Zachary Winestine

Ian Bird

Peter Carrette

Warren Grieef

John Breslin

Tony Larkins

Andrew Mclean

Peter Terakes

Peter Menzies Jr.

Ray Brown

Rourke Crawford-Flett

David Petley

Stephen F. Windon

Kurt Bryant

Jack Gill

Peter Bucossi

Adventure

Comedy

Crocodile Dundee II

Paramount Pictures

Australia

United States of America

The Crocodile Who Walks Like a Man.

After the coinage and all round good will generated by the first Crocodile Dundee movie, the sequel was inevitable. This time the formula is reversed as Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan) is forced to take his lady, Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski), back to the wilds of Australia in order to protect her from gangsters. There, Mick, with all his Outback skills, starts to pick the gangsters off one by one.

Nah. I don't need a gun. I got a Donk!

Within the plot structure there are numerous occasions for Dundee inspired jokes and scenarios, where although they are not as strong as in the first movie, they are amusing and not straining for the laugh factor. The genuine chemistry between real life couple Hogan and Kozlowski is evident and keeps the film grounded in warmth. Hogan is such a likable guy, he's a natural at playing the rugged adventurer type, and it's his charisma that rightly drives the picture forward. He throws a great punch as well, very believable.

Returning characters like Wally and Donk are reassuring presences, while Charles Dutton as Leroy Brown provides solid comedy foil for Dundee during the New York part of the plot. The Northern Territory of Australia is once again the visual bonus (cinematography again by Russell Boyd), though we never really get the sweeping shots the setting deserves, and Peter Best once again provides an appropriate musical score for the two continent setting without pushing anything new on us. Problems elsewhere? There's a raft of stereotypes, particularly with the Ernie Dingo led villains, while the unoriginality of the story (a rehash of the first film) is a touch frustrating.

Not exactly great and not deserving of the ill advised second sequel that followed 13 years later, part 2 of Mick and Sue's adventures is none the less still a fun way to spend an afternoon. 6.5/10

I remember enjoying the film's star Paul Hogan's commercials for 'Foster's Lager', on television back in the day, when I was growing up. His identification with Australia, and the outback, made him original and gave him worldwide fame. Though I never bothered with the much-more esteemed original, which came from nowhere and captured the imagination of filmgoers worldwide, this was charming and likeable despite its unimportance and relative inanity. The small barrel of jokes wear thin after a while, and the magic ran out as it did for the 'Romancing the Stone' sequel, 'The Jewel of the Nile', not much earlier, or more recently, the insipid retread of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. Their decent attempt to capture lightning in a bottle unfortunately fell short. One could envision that if this couple existed in real life, their entrenched philosophical differences would mount, and they would end up breaking up after a few years, at most. This is the sort of thing that only works 'in the movies'.

***Mick & Sue vie with Columbian drug lords in New York City and, then, the Outback***

Sue (Linda Kozlowski) inadvertently obtains evidence against two Central American brothers who are drug moguls with offices in New York City. To protect Sue, Mick (Paul Hogan) takes her to his vast property in the Outback, but the gangsters follow them with murder on their minds.

This sequel does precisely what a good sequel should do: Carry on the story, go deeper with the characters and keep the spirit of the original. “Crocodile Dundee II” (1988) cost $6 million more than the original 1986 movie and runs 11 minutes longer. It was a hit at the box office, albeit nowhere near as successful as the first film. Both movies effectively combine three genres or themes: romantic comedy, fun adventure and fish-out-of-water.

What makes these films work so well beyond the Tarzan-like spirit of adventure is the simple charisma of Paul Hogan. You'll likely never experience a more likable protagonist. On top of this, Linda Kozlowski is lovely and celestial, possessing an attractive intelligence. Paul & Linda’s chemistry is real seeing as how they would marry two years later in 1990. Unfortunately they divorced in 2014, but they gave us a third ‘Crocodile’ Dundee flick in 2001, which is the least of the three.

The film runs 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot in New York City and the Australian Outback (Northern Territory & Main Arm, NSW).

GRADE: B

English

Crocodile Dundee II (1988) Teaser (VHS Capture)

Trailer