Ben Stiller defends his ‘pointless’ sequel after dismal 20% Rotten Tomatoes score-Rishma Dosani-Entertainment – Metro

Ben Stiller introduced us all to Derek Zoolander in 2001 (Picture: Paramount)

Ben Stiller has defended one of his most controversial movie sequels after it was torn to shreds by both fans and critics.

The 59-year-old reprised his iconic role as Derek Zoolander for Zoolander 2 in 2016, a follow-up to the hit comedy that was first released in 2001.

Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Milla Jovovich and Christine Taylor also returned, while Naomi Campbell, Justin Bieber, Anna Wintour, Usher, Kate Moss and Susan Boyle were among the many celebrity cameos.

However, while the original received rave reviews, people were less kind about the sequel, which currently holds a 22% review score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to an audience rating of 20%.

During an appearance on Hot Ones, host Sean Evans unpacked his huge Hollywood career, and which of his movies was ‘most misunderstood or treated unfairly by critics, now with the benefit of hindsight’.

‘Oh, man, I don’t know,’ the Meet The Parents star replied. ‘It’s very hard to analyze why critics like something or don’t.

He starred alongside Owen Wilson in the hit movie (Picture: Paramount)

They reprised their roles in the 2016 sequel with Penelope Cruz (Picture: Paramount)

‘I’m always surprised when critics love something and I’m always surprised when they hate something because it’s so subjective.

‘Zoolander 2, probably. It got kind of… It’s hard to think it was that bad, that people didn’t like it that much. But maybe I’m wrong.’

Zoolander hit the big screen in 2001, introducing us all to fading male model Derek as he battles to remain relevant compared to rising star Hansel McDonald (Owen).

Desperate to hang on to his career, he gets tricked by fashion mogul Jacobim Mugatu (Will) to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Zoolander first hit our screens in 2001 and is still quoted today (Picture: Paramount)

Ben shared that he was baffled by the rough reviews (Picture: Getty)

Ben perfected his Blue Steel for another catwalk outing in 2016, but the sequel was considered a ‘fashion faux pas’, ‘bewilderingly outdated’ and ‘desperately unfunny’ by many.

Brent McKnight from The Last Thing I See said: ‘Zoolander 2 is a pointless, soulless rehash that appears to go out of its way to avoid any sort of fun or intelligence.’

The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern penned: ‘Some movies keep you in a state of suspense. Zoolander 2, a dud glitter-bomb of a sequel, eventually leaves you in a state of suspended animation, with eyes glazed over and brain in sleep mode.’

‘A deeply depressing mess of a movie whose antic busyness drains at the center, all snap and energy sucked into a howling void where a decent joke used to be,’ Richard Lawson from Vanity Fair agreed.

He was left ‘scared’ by the reaction (Picture: WireImage)

As Collider’s Matt Goldberg added: ‘The special spark that made the original Zoolander special and quotable is largely absent, and it makes Zoolander 2 really, really, ridiculously pointless.’

Earlier this year, Ben reflected on the much-maligned follow-up in a chat with David Duchovny, on his Fail Better podcast.

‘I thought everybody wanted this,’ he insisted. ‘Everybody didn’t go to it. And it’s gotten these horrible reviews.

‘It really freaked me out because I was like, “I didn’t know was that bad?”

‘What scared me the most on that one was I’m losing what I think what’s funny, the questioning yourself … on Zoolander 2, it was definitely blindsiding to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More