"This is pap, plain and simple: scattered raunch-lite devoid of emotional resonance," wrote Andy Webster from the New York Times.
"Once again Mr Sandler milks middle age for lucre, nostalgia and clunky, ham-fisted humour."
Said David Kaplan: "Grown Ups 2 ... will be hard to top as worst film of 2013, and is an instant contender for most worthless movie of the decade."
New York Post reviewer Sara Stewart said the film was "immature" and called it "a celebration of sexism, homophobia and general a-holishness.
"The movie lurches from one gross-out scene to another, flipping the bird at continuity and logic. It honestly seems as if Sandler and his team descended on a random suburb, halfheartedly improvising and moving on when they got bored," she wrote.
Washington Post critic Stephanie Merry was more positive, but it came with a warning: "The fact that some moments are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny almost makes the whole endeavour sadder."
Entertainment Weekly reviewer Owen Gleiberman was kinder, saying the film kept Sandler's "garden of idiotic innocence" alive.
And, as Leonard Maltin noted: "Judging from the box-office success of 2010's Grown Ups, there is a healthy-sized audience for this brand of comedy."
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