CREDIT: UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Pitch Perfect 2 is not only a sequel to the wildly popular original but is also actress Elizabeth Banks' directoral debut.

It’s been three years and the award winning Barden Bellas are back in Pitch Perfect 2. After a ridiculous stunt goes awry in front of the President of the United States, the Bellas are in hot water with only one chance to get out of the pot – beat the reigning European champions in an international competition. The question is how to beat German team Das Sound Machine when you can’t even find your own sound.

The movie features a ton of familiar faces as well as a few new ones, including the always amazing Katey Sagal as the mother of the newest Bella Emily (played by Hailee Steinfeld). The characters reprise their roles with great ease, but it’s obvious that none of the characters have grown as human beings in the intervening time.

For some strange reason, despite having first pick of recruits after the last film, the Bellas only added one new singer, which makes them freaking out when they’re banned from adding people feel a bit ridiculous. The only member of the group who isn’t in her final year is Emily, which makes it seem unlikely that the Bellas will last another year whether or not the group gets banned from performing ever again.

While Anna Kendrick does an excellent job playing the quirky leader of the group, with none of the typical relationship drama one usually sees in sequels, there is an unfortunate amount of focus given to Fat Amy. Rebel Wilson is a fine actor, but her character is such a funny fat girl stereotype that it’s easy to get bored with her antics, and the shoving in of her relationship subplot feels more like a way to fill up time than something that actually adds to the movie.

Luckily the dull bits are balanced with some amazing lyrical battles – this time with the rules actually explained before the battle commences. Hearing groups of such incredibly talented individuals angrily belt the lyrics to butt-themed songs at each other is an experience that shouldn’t be missed. Most of the song selections fit the scenes rather perfectly, and the original song introduced in the mix is really catchy, although perhaps repeated a bit more than is really necessary.

Pitch Perfect 2 also keeps the love of the over-the-top commentary and insane situations seen in the first movie. The movie at times feels like nothing more than a mash-up of montages, including a scene that is reminiscent of the bonding boot camp montage from Spice World. This isn’t that much of a problem thanks to the context, but it occasionally makes it difficult to imagine how some sequences of events actually happened.

Overall, Pitch Perfect 2 is full of talent and excellently directed by Elizabeth Banks. The humour varies from deeply cynical to low brow, giving everyone something to enjoy. While some moments drag on and the film could have easily benefitted from being about 15 minutes shorter, the larger percentage of the scenes are pure gold.