Nutcracker: Chapter Two (2020 film)

Nutcracker: Chapter Two is an American comedy action film directed by James Gunn, replacing Tim Burton from the first film, and a direct sequel to 2019’s Nutcracker. The film is produced by Lionsgate and distributed by Univerbal Studios. It stars an ensemble cast, featuring Gabriel Combs, Niko Lovett, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Jenna Ortega, Colby Shofler, Noah Schnapp, Kevin Smith, and Chris Hemsworth.

The film was released theatrically in the United States on December 2, 2020. The film grossed $30million against a $300 million budget, and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the plot, casting, performances, humor, Gunn’s direction, and action sequences, with some calling it an “improvement” over its predecessor. A sequel is in development.

Plot
The film opens where the first film left off. Bob Nutcracker (Gabriel Combs) is on the run from the Police and runs into a mysterious Officer reveals himself to be a villain named Destroyer (Jaeden Martell), who reveals that he plots to destroy the entire world starting by overthrowing the city. He then kicks Bob across the world to the Frozen Tundra.

At the Frozen Tundra, Wizard (Niko Lovett) is revealed to have survived the events of the previous film and brings Bob to his new cave of “Wizardness”. Bob tells Wizard about Destroyer and the two form a plan. Bob plans to create a team to defeat him. He then remembers a team of misfits that were his old allies and school bandmates. The two then travel to the United Kingdom to collect the team.

At the United Kingdom, Bob and Wizard meet Gun Mayhem (Finn Wolfhard), Huntress (Jenna Ortega), Hacker Tron (Colbi Shofler), and Bulk Man (Noah Schnapp), Bob’s former allies. Bob then convinces the four to form a team with him to defeat Destroyer. The team then prepares to travel back to Bob’s home as the team is attacked by Destroyer’s henchmen on a Plane. The team defeats the Henchmen, but the plane crashes in the Ocean. The team is stranded on an island and Bob tries to come up with a new plan.

Destroyer travels to Bob’s home and sets it on fire as Officer Brown (Kevin Smith) and The Judge (Chris Hemsworth) try to arrest him. Destroyer overpowers the two and sets the White House replica they created during the first film on fire. Destroyer then gains the Public’s fear and he prepares to overthrow the city as the Citizens create a giant statue of him in “honor” of his presence.

Bob, Wizard, Gun Mayhem, Huntress, Hacker Tron, and Bulk Man travel to a secret base in Russia to find Destroyer’s plans, but the team discovers that Destroyer isn’t part of the Russian cult from the first film. The team is then shot at by Russians, badly wounding Wizard and knocking him out. The team takes him to a Hospital, but the Doctors say that it is possible that Wizard will die. The team then regroups in Wizard’s lair. Bob plans to travel back to his home alone to finish what he started, abandoning his team and putting a stop to Destroyer alone, but scraps the plan.

The Next Day, the team travels onto the top of a Submarine as they prepare to stop Destroyer’s dynamite from reaching the city. The team then discovers that the Dynamite belongs to the President as all the guard are killed by Destroyer, who ambushes the team with his henchmen. The team is then knocked off of the Submarine and stuck in the water as sharks chase them. The team finds another Submarine and returns to the Surface to Bob’s home.

Along the way, Bob’s plan to fight Destroyer alone falls out of his pocket and Wizard tells everyone. The team has an argument with Bob due to his former plan and Bob then sends them home on an Escape Pod to fight Destroyer alone due to a fear of their deaths. Bob then goes to the Surface to fight Destroyer before he can blow up his home.

Bob is attacked and nearly killed, but Wizard saves him and the team arrives to save Bob. They are revealed to have escaped the Escape Pod before it hit the sea in secret. The team then regroups to defeat Destroyer and save the world from him and his henchmen. Bob reveals that the Dynamite was stuffed into the statue and that they have to destroy it before it destroys the sun and sends chunks of it onto the world.

Hacker Tron hacks into the machine that controls the Dynamite while Bulk Man and the rest of the team distracts Destroyer and his henchmen. Destroyer spots Hacker Tron while Bob fights him. Hacker Tron is knocked out and nearly killed as Bulk Man saves him and escapes. Bob fires one last gunshot at the machine and presses the button, self destructing the statue and saving the world. Destroyer disintegrates in the process.

As the team splits up, Wizard dies due to blood loss. Bob honors his death as he goes back to jail to pay for his crimes. The Judge frees Bob from his life sentence due to saving the entire world from chunks of the sun. Bob still feels guilt for Wizard’s death, but Wizard visits him as a ghost, convincing him to let go of his guilt and move on as a hero. Bob lets go of his guilt and moves on as Wizard, who is revealed to have secretly survived, visits his lair one last time. Bob sees Wizard in shock.

In a mid-credit scene, the team (besides Bob and Wizard) reveals that a new threat is coming.

Cast

 * Gabriel Combs as Bob Nutcracker, a former villain who is stuck on the other side of the world.
 * Niko Lovett as Wizard, a wizard who was presumed to be dead in the first film and Bob’s friend.
 * Jaeden Martell as Destroyer, a Terminator-like supervillain who plots to destroy Bob.
 * Finn Wolfhard as Gun Mayhem, a former gun salesman who is one of Bob’s old allies.
 * Jenna Ortega as Huntress, a huntress who is a former killer and one of Bob’s old allies.
 * Colbi Shofler as Hacker Tron, a hacker who is one of Bob’s old allies.
 * Noah Schnapp as Bulk Man, a strong former killer who is one of Bob’s old allies.
 * Kevin Smith as Officer Brown, a Police Officer who tries his best to arrest Bob.
 * Chris Hemsworth as The Judge, the judge of Bob’s town.

Production
The film was officially announced on December 25, 2020, under the working title of The Nutcracker Sequel. Combs, Lovett, Smith, and Hemsworth were announced to be reprising their roles, being joined by Lieberher, Wolfhard, Ortega, Matarazzo, and Schnapp in new roles. The title was later changed due to a negative fan reaction. Filming began in March 2020, but was halted due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. It continued in May 2020 and ended in July 2020, when the first trailer was released for the film.

Reception
The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the plot, casting, performances, humor, Gunn’s direction, and action sequences, with some calling it an “improvement” over its predecessor. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 85% score, based on 287 reviews, with an average rating of 7.78/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “A funnier follow-up, Nutcracker’s superior sequel improves upon the original with tons of heart and humor to spare.” On an A+ to F Scale, the film received a “B+”.

Release
The film is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on December 2, 2020, and was never delayed.

Sequel
A sequel, titled Nutcracker: Chapter Three, is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States in December 2021.