Estomago 2 reheats its predecessor’s formula, but the Italian seasoning doesn’t work

Sixteen years later, they rummaged through the refrigerator and found some leftovers. Stomacha hit from 2007. How about reheating it? After all, Brazilians love a “soborô” or a “restodontê”, don’t they?

But it would be good to bring a new seasoning this time, spice it up, make it more European and sell it to the world. Dough! Sauté it here, brown it there, add a pinch of rosemary over there — but very little! — and the main course is ready: help yourself to Stomach II: The Mighty Chef. Hmmm… But something is missing. Or is there too much?

What is the story of “Estômago II: The Mighty Chef”?

In the new story of Marcos Jorgewritten by the filmmaker in partnership with Lusa Silvestre (The Hijacking of Flight 375) and Bernardo Renno (Stupid 2), Raymond Nonatoagain lived by John Michaelis now the chef of chefs in prison and continues to delight everyone with his culinary skills.

However, an Italian mobster, Dom Caroglio (NicolaCrab, Women in Love), arrives to fight for control of the prison, as well as the privilege of being served by the prestigious cook. Watch the trailer below:

What do we think of the news?

Stomach II has the same structure as the first film, which really makes it seem like something reheated. There are two narrative lines: in one of them we follow the day-to-day life of the prison, where there is a clash between Dom Caroglio and Etcetera (Paulo Miklos, Missed hut); and in the other, by means of flashbackswe discovered how the character’s rise came about Nicola Siri in Italy until his fateful arrival in prison in Brazil.

However, this structural repetition ends up becoming tiresome, mainly because the flashbacks are not interesting. There is a predictability in the actions and a novelistic air in the moments of dialogue that lack humor and originality.

The origin of Dom Caroglio is far from functioning as the origin of Raymond Nonato worked in the first one. Playing with mafia movies like The Godfather (1972), the references sound like completely out of place parodies.

Furthermore, the use of violence is misguided. While in the previous film such moments were much more elegant and present in the name of revenge cunningly planned by the protagonist, here it is banal. There is a noticeable misuse of ingredients. Too much pepper kills any taste.

Path to a third film

The film also presents an interesting proposal of creating a rivalry between Brazil/prison and Italy/mafia. Placing two distinct groups of power confined in the same place could lead to good conflicts, but it ends up looking like just another way of presenting Dom Caroglio and, who knows, depending on the box office success, produce a third film.

Second Marcos Jorgethere are plans for this and the idea would be to continue focusing on Dom Carogliosince the character of John Michael loses a lot of space. Nonato he ends up fried by the script, relegated to the scenes in which he cooks some dish — the one with the Bauru snack, at least, is excellent — or is in contact with the prison director.

The character has lost the essence of the first film and is no longer the protagonist of his own story. He looks like a thin soup that has been left in the fridge for days, forgotten, and no longer has any flavor.

In the end, Stomach II must suffer from comparisons with its precursor — and many of these criticisms will be valid, because the boldness that existed there does not exist here. Where did that ingenious and cunning spirit of Raymond Nonato? The Italian seasoning added here, as appetizing as it may seem, is bland, like the kind we’ve tried a lot. And if there’s one thing that gets boring, it’s repeating the same dish. May the chef be more inspired next time.

What was the best movie of 2024 so far? Vote for your favorite!

• The Snow Society
• Anatomy of a Fall
• Everyone But You
• Poor Creatures
• The Boy and the Heron
• Dune: Part 2
• All of Us Strangers
• Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire
• Civil War
• Inside Out 2
• Bandit: Number One
• Deadpool & Wolverine
• This is how it ends
• Trap
• Alien: Romulus
• Types of Kindness
• Motel Destino
• Blink Twice
• The Raven
• Longlegs: Deadly Bond