SPECIES II (1998)

Directed By: Peter Medak
Written By: Chris Brancato
Based on Character By: Dennis Feldman
Cinematography By: Matthew F. Leonetti
Editor: Richard Nord

CAST: Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, Natasha Henstridge, Mykelti Williamson, Justin Lazard, George Dzundra, James Cromwell, Sarah Wynter


Oh, How the mighty have fallen. i really enjoyed the original SPECIES film for what it was. It was fun took me on a adventure had a few shocks and scares. So when i found out there would be a sequel i was jumping for joy. Then finding out it would be directed by Peter Medak who had made one of my favorite films ROMEO IS BLEEDINg. Seemed like a odd choice but seemed like the film was on the right track. Now while i still Love ROMEO IS BLEEDING. Peter Medak should stick to material more like that. then Action-Adventure or Science Fiction.

I am happy i decided to skip seeing this in theaters, as i think if i did i would have been a one man riot. This film fails badly.

While the original species was a enjoyble romp of Science-Fiction this sequel seems more aimed at trying to be salacious but fails in unpredictable ways.

First of all fopr a sequel it seems like it has a lower budget then the original. Everytthing looks bargain brand. Only three of the leads of the original return and they all look bored. In other words most of the survivors come back with one noted absence. The film feels like it wasn't thought out well. It seems like the idea was let's do the orignal only with a male character which hurts the film as in the original The alien was new to earth and grew at a accelarated rate and allowed us to get to know the character. Sure she was evil but in a way we kind of liked her because we were allowed to get to know her. Plus really one of the first kills was self defense. Here sure we get a male alien but the alien is more or less posessing a human character sort of like the alien black suit to peter parker in spiderman lore. ok infecting him. We never got to knopw the character before he got infected so we know nothing about him or how he has changed so we have to go by people who know him who say you don't seem like yourself. This posessed young man is more agressive and vicious then the alien in the first species and since his mission seems to be to mate to have a offspring it doesn't seem as innocent and seductive like in the original here it feels more like he is a date rapist who kills his victims after he is done not by his own hands but by what he puts into these women(Insert Dirty Joke here)

It just gives the film a more tawdry film then a science fiction one. This film could have almost been a porn parody of the original if it had more hardcore sex. in the film the sex is relegated to one explicit detailed sex scene. Maybe the filmmakers knew how harsh the film felt which is why they broguht back Natasha Henstrige's only she plays a new character and once her aline and the new alien get together their love scene plays like live action tenticle porn from a anime film.

It doesn't help that the actor playing the new alien is not interesting or enticing as a actor. He is like a blank slate thaqt never gets any color or writing upon it.

I don't know what happened to Natasha Henstrige's Career after the original SPECIES, she looked like she was going to go on to bigger and better things. I always imagined her as the Next Female Action hero but it never panned out. She was in a intersting TV Series SHE SPIES (the title really says it all) She Co-Satted in a lame Jean Claude Van-Damme Film MAXIMUM RISK. but other then this film and the original the only action film she made that made it to the big screen was GHOST OF MARS which seemd to be the final nail in the coffin. I hope she makes a comeback. I really like her as a actress.

In the end the film ends up feeling more misogynistic then anything. Definately not worth your time. Remember SPECIES as you can from just the original. Choose not to see the conitiuing adventures of it.

GRADE: F