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      Nick C. @ 1:21 PM EDT, May 26, 2009

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      Alex @ 3:56 PM EDT, May 23, 2009

    • Actually i think Bale's Batman performance is easily the best over previously Keaton, Kilmer and Clooney. "self-serious"??? 'bout Batman? Ummmm, yep - the original author intended the original Batman to be "dark, border-line villain-like" - something director Chris Nolan has FINALLY brought back.

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By Michael Phillips

April 25, 2008
(C-) Greasy, hazy good fun, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle got by on a 4 a.m. mixture of explosive-emission toilet jokes, gratuitous nudity and Neil Patrick Harris as himself. Everything took place in one night, hinging on a single quest rife with detours. Crass? Yes. But there was a merry spirit to it all.

A far more strident sort of crassness pervades Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. The sequel picks up and tokes up where the original left off. New Jersey roommates Harold and Kumar set off for Amsterdam, the Netherlands, so that Harold can chase the woman of his dreams (Paula Garces) while the lads can smoke all the weed they desire. On the plane, Kumar hauls out a homemade bong, which is mistaken for a bomb. Off to Gitmo!

The escape of the title takes about 45 seconds. The rest of the movie, written and directed as lurching, occasionally funny skits by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, keeps Harold and Kumar one step ahead of a venal Homeland Security chief (Rob Corddry) and Kumar on the trail of his ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris).

The ex is due to marry a Texas family friend of the Bush clan. President Bush himself, portrayed by the world's worst Bush impersonator, shows up late to this fairly draggy party, in order to get high with the boys and explain to them, in relative sincerity, that "you don't have to like your government to be a good American. You just have to love your country."

At least one scene rivals anything in the first outing. It's a flashback to Harold and Kumar's college days, complete with perfect haircuts and pleasingly nostalgic vibe, a memory of when Kumar met the lovely Vanessa. I suppose the whole film couldn't be like this. The rest of the time you find yourself smiling at some of the bits, wincing through many, many others, and ultimately wondering if the pacing would've improved had either Harold or Kumar developed a terrible cocaine habit.

>>>Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (New Line Cinema) Starring John Cho, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry, Neil Patrick Harris. Directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use. Time 102 minutes.

Michael Phillips writes for the Chicago Tribune.