Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Only now does it occur to me... SPECIES II

Only now does it occur to me...  that SPECIES II is not as bad as its reputation would suggest; it's not even as bad as it should be.  Take, for instance, this incredibly heartwarming scene between James Cromwell (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE GREEN MILE, BABE) and Justin Lazard (FRESHMAN DORM).

Also of note:  It's directed by Peter Medak (THE CHANGELING, THE RULING CLASS), but you can't really tell.  And Michael Madsen makes a surprising return, but doesn't merely 'phone in' his performance...

in fact, he doesn't even mail it in– more accurately, he stuffs it into a bottle and flings it at the ocean in the 'general direction' of SPECIES II.  Which is fine, I guess.

On the whole, it's more of the same but with less coherence and no Ben Kingsley:  laughable CGI, H.R. Giger-tentacle-skeleton-erotica, and made-for-Skinemax-level sci-fi horror.  Hooray!
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2 comments:

  1. John GuedesFebruary 6, 2014 at 9:39 AM

    I remember watching this mainly for Natasha Henstridge who was quite the babe (wasn't she also in a Van Damme movie?), but I think the shotgun suicide regeneration scene needs to be mentioned. Not sure if the CGI holds up to today's standards but at the time it was pretty mind blowing!

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  2. Sean GillFebruary 6, 2014 at 10:22 AM

    Ah, yes– who could forget JCVD's MAXIMUM RISK! And you're right– the shotgun regeneration scene is a rare moment of 90s CG that's rather impressive– it's certainly better than plenty of the stuff that makes it to the big screen today.

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