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Two out of Five stars
Running time: 100 mins

The Harold and Kumar sequel isn't as funny as the previous film and nowhere near as inventive but it remains watchable thanks to the likeable chemistry between the two leads.

What's it all about?
The film picks up just a few hours after the events of the first film, with best friends Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) planning a trip to Amsterdam so that a) they can get really, really stoned and b) Harold can ask out the girl of his dreams (Paula Garces). However, due to an unfortunate bong / bomb confusion on board the airplane, they get mistaken for terrorists and are sent to Guantanamo Bay.

Luckily, escaping from Guantanamo Bay turns out to be surprisingly easy and the hapless duo soon find themselves on the run, heading for Texas in the hopes that Kumar's ex-girlfriend (Danneel Harris) and her obnoxious fiance (Eric Winter) will be able to help them. Along the way, they meet a pair of married siblings, experience a bottomless party, bump into their old friend Neil Patrick Harris (Neil Patrick Harris) and even drop in on President Bush (James Adomian), while keeping one step ahead of the dogged government agent (Rob Corddry) on their tail.

The Good
That said, Cho and Penn have superb comic chemistry and their lively arguments are consistently amusing, even if they're never quite laugh-out-loud funny. Also, you've got to love a film that features a character called Tits Hemmingway.

The Bad
The first film took everyone by surprise, with its winning combination of stoner humour, gross-out gags, amusing dialogue and off the wall comedy set-pieces. Sadly, the law of diminishing returns is in full effect here and the script has less than a third of the laughs of the first film and none of the invention – there's nothing here to match the raccoon attack or the cheetah scene, for example.

Worth seeing?
In short, if you enjoyed the first film then you'll probably enjoy Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, though it's not nearly as good. And if you missed the first one, then rent that instead.