Borat 2 Review Roundup: Very Nice Picture

Buckle up and gird your chram: Reviews for the surprise and yet still very much highly-anticipated Borat sequel (whose full title is Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan), have started to come in. The film comes a full 14 years after its predecessor's 2006 release. While Borat references have since come to be perceived as either problematic despite its satirical intent or tragically dated, the Kazakh TV journalist's sudden resurgence this Friday on Amazon Prime Video is the thing most people are understandably wondering about the next outing is: Will it be any good?

Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Reviews for the sequel have arrived, and it's looking pretty good for a movie that was hastily put together during a global pandemic. Currently on GameSpot's sister site Metacritic, the movie has a score of 66 from 19 reviews. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, Borat 2 is sitting at 87%. In GameSpot's Borat 2 review, Mike Rougeau said, "What is surprising is the fact that Borat 2 is pretty damn funny."

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2020)

• Directed by: Jason Woliner
• Written by: Peter Baynham & Sacha Baron Cohen
• Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova, Luenell
• Release date: October 23, 2020 on Amazon Prime Video

GameSpot - 8/10

"If you liked the original Borat when it became a phenomenon almost 15 years ago, but are pretty sure it wouldn't hold up to modern standards of political correctness and general decency--and rightly so--you might be pleasantly surprised by Borat 2's timeliness, focus, and more wholesome sensibilities." - Mike Rougeau [Full Review]

Collider - B

"The film's climax is definitely going to get people talking, but I hope it doesn’t overshadow some A+ comedy that had me crying from laughing so hard. It's not a great success, but it's a pretty good success." - Matt Goldberg [Full Review]

Deadline - No score

"Whatever impact a movie can have is up for debate, but Baron Cohen craftily and fearlessly uses humor to make a point, somehow still able to be a master of disguise as he unveils his targets for exactly who they are. It is moviemaking on a high wire and he pulls it off splendidly and without apology." - Pete Hammond [Full Review]

ComicBook - 5/5

"Borat Subsequent Moviefilm will undoubtedly elicit some of the heartiest and most uncomfortable laughs you've experienced in quite some time. Prepare yourself to be increasingly shocked for 90 consecutive minutes, yet partnered with that humor is a man who has made a career out of comedy not only pointing out our worst flaws, but offering us a lifeline to try and fix them. We really should've listened to him the first time around." - Charlie Ridgely [Full Review]

Empire Online - 4/5

"It's remarkable how much the film packs in, and how it manages to spin plates between ridiculous crudeness, pulse-quickening shock tactics, and pointed political commentary." - John Nugent [Full Review]

The Wrap - No score

"Sasha Baron Cohen remains committed to what matters, both offscreen (he was a driving force in getting Facebook to shut down Holocaust deniers) and on (Subsequent Moviefilm ends with an admonition to "Vote--Or You Will Be Executed"), but you can be right without being funny. This sequel might (in, one hopes, a happier future) be hilarious in retrospect, but at the moment, it's a mostly cringe-worthy experience." - Alonso Duralde [Full Review]