The Fly II (1989)

They're talking about the eighties there...

Genre: Sci-Fi Horror (USA, Canada, UK)

Starring: Eric Stoltz (The Prophecy; Killing Zoe), Daphne Zuniga ("Melrose Place"; Spaceballs)

Directed By: Chris Walas

Overview: This sequel follows the son of the original 'Fly', Seth Brundle, as he lives and grows in a research laboratory, the ultimate question being: Is he fated for a Metamorphosis as well? (Uh that picture? That's some OTHER dude, really.)

Acting: The acting is better than in the original, granted, but how does it hold up on it's own? Again a touch of the 80s, and the bearded editor / journalist drunk guy, still as melodramatic as ever. Is it any wonder we don't see him in movies anymore? Eric Stoltz is still around and he does well, Daphne, however, is about as popular as Molly Ringwald in my books...
Rating: 7

Cinematography: The gore is frikken phenomenal. The gore effects are some of the most memorable that I've seen. There's this one scene that has me asking, "How did they DO that?", but I won't ruin it for you. Let me just say that this is better than the original again. There's no interpretive high art or lame dark or bland sets. It's good stuff.
Rating: 8

Script: The writing, however, decent as it may be is pretty standard stuff. The secondary and tertiary characters have the most predictable and overly archetypical dialogue. Unfortunately in the first 10 minutes, you know half of the people who die, by their detestableness in dialogue. I guess it's less than good.
Rating: 6

Plot: The unfolding of this is pretty predictable too. Boy is born, boy has the world's most unique accelerated growth syndrome in the world, and lives in a research facility, boy meets girl, boy kisses girl, boy mutates into a giant acid-spitting bug. But after all the cool effects there's an underlying social commentary, and one of the best endings in 80s sci-fi history, I think.
Rating: 8

Mood: The mood isn't as haunting and frightening as it could have been, but that one line: 'What a beautiful light', as Brundle stares into the blue bug light? Definitely not all bad. There is this atrocious scene though where the couple dances to really shitty country music... It really seems to come out of nowhere and has nothing to do with the setting or theme. It bothered me.
Rating: 6

Oh... oh hoho, my God as if I even have to add to this genius of cheese...

Overall Rating: 70% (Doesn't Get Under Your Skin Like It Should, But Good)

Aftertaste: This is a damn good movie. And it's a sequel. And it's better than the original, which isn't saying that much but I really like these films, a lot. To find them in a single version where both of them are on the same DVD? I like this new trend in compression technology. I was talking about the future of DVDs with a buddy, and we've come to the conclusion that more and more films will fit on a single DVD, and that's a good thing.