2011's "Bridesmaids" proved unequivocally that a mostly female cast could not only captivate male and female audiences, but conquer the box office. Its director and one of its stars are back to prove they can make magic happen twice. In "The Heat," Melissa McCarthy plays a loose-cannon cop who butts heads with a straitlaced FBI agent (played by Sandra Bullock) while the two of them investigate drug dealers. Filmmaker Paul Feig ventures into what is typically men's territory -- buddy cop movies -- for an adventure that threatens to tickle your funny bone and thrill your pulse at the same time.

But do critics think that the "Bridesmaids" follow-up is as funny, and fresh, as its predecessor? MTV News rounded up a handful of opinions from some of the web's top critics.

What's The Basic Breakdown Of 'The Heat?'

"A gleefully R-rated comedy packing intermittent belly-laughs but not a lot of truly inspired comedic moments, 'The Heat' twists the conventional macho buddy-cop movie by making its main characters bickering women -- a clever idea that doesn't quite translate into dynamite execution." -- Tim Grierson, Screen Daily

How Are Bullock and McCarthy As a Comedic Team?

"McCarthy and Bullock, both naturally funny people, feed off one another and crackle as one of the best comedy pairings since John Cleese and Michael Palin. 'The Heat' is a decent movie; McCarthy and Bullock are outstanding." -- Jordan Hoffman, Screencrush

How Well Does The 'Action' Work In This Action-Comedy?

"At its best, 'The Heat' is profane, ludicrous, and violent, but it never feels gratuitous, for some reason. ...because the actual jokes around it are funny, the violence has the intended effect -- to jar us and raise our pulses, because we laugh harder when we're excited." -- Bilge Ebiri, Vulture

How Does Paul Feig Do With His 'Bridesmaids' Follow-Up?

"As with everything else, you expect better from the director of 'Bridesmaids,' and much of why 'The Heat' doesn't work can be blamed on director Paul Feig, who probably should have reigned McCarthy in or at least made an effort to come up with a better plot rather than just rehashing every other buddy cop comedy and hoping the dynamics between Bullock and McCarthy could save it." -- Ed Douglas, ComingSoon.Net

How Are The Gal Pals?

" 'The Heat' is a breath of fresh air, though it's largely reminiscent of previous films. In some strange way, it's heartening to note women can get away with the same playbook as men, even if the real result is hopefully a new playbook at some point down the line." -- Laremy Legel, Film.com

Check out everything we've got on "The Heat."