Most critics come down mildly in favour, though the reviews split almost evenly between enthusiasm and a shrug. Those who like it tend to find it funnier than the first film, and the praise clusters on the density of gags: the Rambo parody, the business going on in the background of shots, and action scenes staged convincingly enough for the spoofing to land. The Los Angeles Times and Variety both call it an improvement on the original.
The reservations are about the hit rate rather than the approach. Roger Ebert finds the barrage of jokes produces only occasional laughs, and the Radio Times thinks the sequel too reminiscent of its predecessor to stay consistently amusing. Even Variety admits some scenes copy their inspirations too closely. The spread is fairly wide, from near-rave to two stars, and the dissenters agree with the admirers about what the film is doing; they simply find it works less often.