Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! (1998 Video) User Reviews

Mediocre, but not terrible

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 1 March 2011]

I really liked Dennis the Menace with Mason Gamble and Walter Matthau, the Switchblade Sam subplot aside. It was entertaining and cute and Matthau was just brilliant. I was expecting this sequel to be terrible. To my surprise, it wasn't, but it was rather mediocre still.

The costume and set design are not too bad, in fact it is colourful, while the camera angles are quite good too. Don Rickles does do a worthy job replacing Matthau, and Betty White is good value as Martha. The music was also okay at best.

Though I wish I could say the same for the script and story, but I can't. The script and dialogue are not really that funny and come across as childish, while some of the gags are predictable and poorly timed. The story is thin and not always that well thought out, while the direction is lacklustre, the film is too rushed for my liking and is too short. Some of the actors do good jobs, but the characters are not so easy to relate to, they are not very well written at all and come across as silly. Dennis is annoying to me this time around in alternative to cute and funny, while the less said about Margaret the better.

Overall, the film is not terrible, but it is rather mediocre. 4/10 Bethany Cox

wow, is this bad.

[kristi-23 · 3/10 · 29 July 2004]

the first one was so cute. not one of the original actors returned for the sequel. it really doesn't even have a plot. there's nothing likable about rickles' mr. Wilson, unlike the walter matthau character in the original. and the dennis character can't hold a candle to the first! the 2 crooks in this are just plain silly. betty white is fine as mr.s Wilson, but we don't even get to know her. and the characters of dennis' parents are so wooden, they could have just used cardboard cutouts instead. the margaret character was just plain silly. i don't even know why they wasted their time to make a sequel. please don't waste your time with this stinker.

Actually, it's not all that bad...

[MovieAddict2016 · 9 August 2003]

What can I say, I loved the original and though Walter Matthau is somewhat missed, Don Rickles does a fine job of replacing him. Unlike most films where you can't stop thinking about how much better the original actor would have been, you start wondering who's better: Matthu or Rickles?

Not as funny or sweet as the original but still worth a peek.

3/5 stars -

John Ulmer

Very mediocre sequel that should have never been made

[bellino-angelo2014 · 2/10 · 16 December 2021]

I really liked the original DENNIS THE MENACE. It was funny, lighthearted and with Christopher Lloyd that played a great villain as Sam Switchblade. I saw the sequel out of curiosity but I really regret it and it sorely misses the cast of the original including Lloyd.

2 years after the event of the original Dennis Mitchell is worse than ever. He goes to Mr. Wilson (Don Rickels instead of Walter Matthau) to taking a small collection of tiny animals, but this makes Wilson fall down a flight of stairs and getting his birthday cake thrown in the face by Martha. Soon Dennis' grandfather Mr. Johnson (George Kennedy) arrives and tells the Mitchells he is going to move there. Dennis is happy and begins to spend more time with his grandfather. George is then upset that he is getting older and so is tricked by two con men, the Professor and his assistant Sylvester (Brian Doyle Murray and Carrot Top) that try to convince him in buying a rare root that should be put in tea for making people return younger. But they don't know Dennis Mitchell yet as he will do everything for foiling their inane plans while also causing more trouble for Mr. Wilson.

A different cast and a different setting are the most likely reasons of the failure of this direct-to-video sequel. The humour didn't made the laugh not even once, and most of the jokes made me cringe a lot. The actors here are all very bland, they never seem to actually act except for George Kennedy who is probably the only one actually trying.

Among the worst family movie sequels ever made, but there is something positive about it and I discovered it only after lots of thinking. So, what's the only good thing about this movie? It has never been released in theaters! Otherwise they would have made at least other 10 sequels each worse than the other.

why did they make a sequel??

[midniteprincess · 1/10 · 18 July 2001]

the first one was bad enough , why didnt they quit while they were ahead?? and the thing i dont get, if its a sequel.. whats with all the characters being played by different actors in this one???

i only seen part of it . but it was SO stupid that i changed the channel....

True straight to video release, with one saving quality.

[jocprep · 2/10 · 12 March 2001]

This is a movie directed at young children (I watched it with my little brother), who will eat up the slapstick and inept adults. If you have seen the first contemporary version starring Mason Gamble, don't see this. Justin Cooper ("Liar,Liar" and "Home Alone 3") in not even half as good as was Gamble in the first.

This movie would be totally worthless if not for the cinematography of Christopher Faloona. He uses strange camera angles (lots of overhead shots) and employs some cool tricks with the focus. This is the only thing that kept me from rating this movie a 1.

My Grade: 2

This is a family movie, so don´t think your are getting anything els

[thunder-2 · 7/10 · 4 December 1998]

Don´t think that you will get great acting, or a great plot, it is just fun, old slapstick humor. So don´t take this one too serious and just enjoy this one and laugh....

fantastic

[rossrobinson · 10/10 · 19 November 2003]

Dennis the Menace strikes again i think is a good fantastic movie but i still prefer the orignal Dennis movie, Dennis the Menace was made in 1993 then 5 years later Dennis the Menace strikes again was made in 1998. Starring Don Rickles, and George kennedy. I give this movie 10 out of 10.

Classy production for the kids

[kellyadmirer · 13 April 2002]

This is a cute, good-natured take on the Dennis the Menace story. You have vivid cinematography and appropriate directing/editing, some fine veteran actors doing their bits with utter comic professionalism, and amusing situations. It is all light-hearted, the villains are simply played for laughs (they could have given the Carrot guy more to do), and Don Rickles manages to keep his hammy tendencies under control. To take this seriously or think this is anything more than a vehicle for everyone to have fun is to miss the whole point - there is a definite place for films like this.

Most of all, it is simply nice seeing some familiar faces better known from many, many other roles and venues just buckling down and giving amusing performances that are just right for the characters. Come on, where else are you going to see ol' Don Rickles leap off a diving board or hang from a roof or have a hockey puck stuck in his mouth?

Kids (at least the ones I know) enjoy the Walter Matthau version, and they should this one, too. It is a family show that showcases the adorableness of all involved with tongue-in-cheek shenanigans and knowing silliness. Personally, I think Rickles is better suited to the Wilson role simply because he is inherently hammier and better supplied with expressions of pain and frustration (which are called for constantly in this role). The Matthau version was fine, too, just a little less saccharine and clearly intended for theaters. This no doubt intentionally plays like a tv movie, but a very good one.

A classy production in the Disney channel mold with no pretensions, perfect for family viewing.

I enjoy it

[bekirertai · 7/10 · 2 January 2021]

The characters are looklike in the comics in this,thats good,and its funny too

The best Dennis the Menace movie ever!

[Twilight_Wraith · 15 December 2002]

I must admit, I liked this direct to video film. George Kennedy and Don Rickles are fun to watch in this movie. The good thing is Dennis is not an obnoxious, disgusting kid who's obsessed with gross pranks and such. Instead, one annoying thing Dennis does during the movie is turn carwashing soap into cotton candy. Not necessarily funny, but at least I can keep down my meal while watching the movie. Of course that is until Carrot top comes into view in the film. The film features Golden Girl alumnus Betty White as Mrs. Wilson, and some other people you've never even heard of before. How exciting! HUH? HUH???

Better than the first one!

[Danorgan · 3 May 2000]

The first Dennis the Menace was funny but this one I got more laughs from and I think it had a better cast because they look more like the ones from the comics. Like, at the beginning of the movie, they show Mrs. Wilson from the comics decorating a birthday cake and then it fades into Betty White making a birthday cake and it looked almost identical! Don Rickles seemed to be a better Mr. Wilson than the guy from the other one. It's just better.

not as good as the first

[myaddress8248 · 11 August 2002]

The first one was practically a classic. i remember being Mason Gamble ( the person who played Dennis in the first one ) age when it came out. and i always remembered "Hey mr. wiiiiiilson!". I saw this one and i was thinking "um, okay???". If you've seen the first one starring Gamble, this one won't be as intertaining.