I'll open with the simple fact that if you're not familiar with Kevin Smith's body of work, don't bother with this one. Every joke and reference will fly over your head. Having said that...
I actually went to a roadshow screening of this with Smith and Jason Mewes in attendance. Even with seeing those two live and getting a sweet intro, the movie just didn't do it for me. At the same time when it points a finger at the reboot model of Hollywood and mocks it, this movie falls into the same traps as bad reboots. If it were a clever take on the reboot model (22 Jump Street), that would be a different story altogether but instead it's just the same plot all over again with the same jokes all over again.
That might be the most disappointing thing about this movie, the comedy. While there were moments I was laughing, so many of the intended jokes were either references to old jokes from Smith's previous films or line for line repeated jokes. This movie isn't Smith saying, "hey! I came up with some new jokes for these old characters" more than it's him saying, "remember all these jokes that were funny 20 years ago? Well....here they are again!"
I will call out one scene where I thought to myself, "I wish the movie was as good as this scene" and that's the scene with Ben Affleck reprising his role of Holden McNeil. That scene was funny, heartfelt and concise. Flashes of the Kevin Smith of old with dialogue. While there is more heart in this story than the first Jay and Silent Bob movie, it's handled with the same subtlety as the comedy, beating you over the head with it.
Overall, I will say that if you love Kevin Smith's filmography and cherish every one of those films, go see this movie and laugh your ass off. If you're hoping that this movie is Smith's return to form, you'll be greatly disappointed. It's a Kevin Smith's Greatest Hits Tour, the question is, "how much do you like his music?"
