2 Fast 2 Furious Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Street Racing, Violence, Language and some Sensuality)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 47 Minutes

Cast:

Paul Walker-Brian O'Conner

Tyrese Gibson-Roman ‘Rome’ Pearce

Eva Mendes-Monica Fuentes

Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges-Tej Parker

Devon Aoki-Suki

Cole Hauser-Carter Verone

Thom Barry-FBI Special Agent Bilkins

James Remar-U.S. Customs Agent Markham

Jin Auyeung-Jimmy

Amaury Nolasco-Orange Julius

Michael Ealy-Slap Jack

Mark Boone Junior-Detective Whitworth

Matt Gallini-Enrique

Roberto 'Sanz' Sanchez-Roberto

Directed by John Singleton

Who cares about the actors when you have flashy cars?

Note: Part of "The Fast and the Furious Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.

With the unexpected box office success of “The Fast & the Furious” in 2001, Universal was quick to announce a sequel. After all they had a new moneymaker on their hands and that’s the only thing that counts in Hollywood these days! However, both Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen were unavailable as its production schedule conflicted with their action film, “xXx,” at the time. For the sequel, most of the cast was replaced with new characters with John Singleton set to direct. Singleton is famous for his critically-acclaimed 1991 film, “Boyz n the Hood,” which depicted African American life in poor South Central Los Angeles. For his work, Singleton was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the 1992 Academy Awards, making him the youngest (at age 24) and the first African American to be nominated. I do not know what motivated Singleton to direct “2 Fast 2 Furious” but it makes the tepid achievement of the original look like a masterpiece. The film is nothing more than a cash-in with a retread plot and mind-numbingly dumb dialogue and action scenes. A more appropriate name would be “2 Dumb 2 Stupid.”

After the events of the first film, Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) is a cop no more and now makes a living in Miami by participating in illegal street races through his friend, Tej Parker (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges). After winning one such race, the police arrive and Brian is promptly arrested. He is brought before U.S. Customs Agent Markham (James Remar) and his former handler FBI Special Agent Bilkins (Thom Berry), who offers him a deal: his criminal record will be wiped clean if he agrees to work with them to infiltrate and take down a ruthless drug lord named Carter Verone (Cole Hauser). Brian agrees on one condition: he gets to pick who he works with. This person happens to be a former childhood friend named Roman ‘Rome’ Pearce (Tyrese Gibson). Their reunion ends in a fist fight but eager to have his record wiped as well, Roman agrees. The two are assisted by another undercover agent, Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes), who liaisons as Verone’s girlfriend. To take Verone down, Brian and Roman must put aside their differences if they are to come out of their mission alive.

Forgive me for being vulgar, but the plot of “2 Fast 2 Furious” is a pile of sh*t. Vin Diesel’s presence in the first film made it bearable to watch but with him gone, there’s just no reason for this sequel to exist other than to reap money from brain-dead movie-goers. It’s all a tired retread but with a different set of characters who manage to come off even less compelling compared to the original cast. Of course, the real reason for everyone to watch is the races. As always they are flashy and overdone, with its MTV-style editing, rap music and numerous scantily-clad women gyrating around. It just borders on being ridiculous, no wait, it is ridiculous with the cars breaking every law of physics. I bet Isaac Newton is rolling in his grave now. Dialogue is also laughable with every other word being “man” or “brother.” Maybe it’s too much to expect a bunch of street racers to actually speak in proper English when they’re all cartoonish racial stereotypes. Like the original, I find myself struggling to say much about “2 Fast 2 Furious” with its nowhere plot, dull characters and loud races that serve nothing more than to turn our brains into mashed stew.

Paul Walker is the only main cast member returning and his acting ability has not improved one iota. His attempts to act ‘hip’ or ‘gangster’ is cringe-inducing to watch. Model-turned-actor Tyrese Gibson fares better as Roman; he has a lot of energy and seems to genuinely enjoy his role. I would probably be more lenient on this film if it just featured him. Eva Mendes serves no purpose other than to shake her assets and provide eye-candy to horny thirteen year old boys. Devon Aoki…also serves no purpose other than to shake her assets and provide eye-candy to horny thirteen year old boys with an Asian fetish. Cole Hauser comes off as some sort of James Bond villain reject as he orders his minions and tortures crooked cops with rats in a bucket. Yes, rats in a bucket. I wonder why the villains are always drug lords in these types of films. Are they victims of the economic crisis that they cannot find any other illegal profession to work in? There’s also Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges as Tej Parker, Brian’s partner-in-crime who probably signed on due to the amount of bikini-clad female extras on the set.

As part of “The Fast & the Furious” trilogy box-set on Blu-Ray, “2 Fast 2 Furious” looks every bit as good as its predecessor. Stylistically, the sequel looks indistinguishable from the original; there’s still some slight film grain and the colorful cars pop out of the screen with visual splendor. Flesh tones still lean toward a ‘hot’ orange hue. As if it couldn’t get louder, this film ups the ante in the audio department with cars whizzing by with their engines revved up. It’s an aural experience that will thrill fans of the film. The special features look extensive but they all end up being glorified commercials. The only thing worth a listen is the audio commentary from director John Singleton, who sounds like he had fun making the fun. His enthusiasm tapers off at the end though. To appeal to the series’ primarily male fan-base, there’s even a featurette called Tricking Out a Hot Import Car and is hosted by Playboy Playmate Dalene Kurtis. Yes, expect intelligent and detailed analysis from her.

Released on June 6, 2003, “2 Fast 2 Furious” received negative reviews with 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. It did exceed the box office gross of the original with $236 million worldwide so yes, another pointless sequel was made, released in 2006, this time featuring none of the main characters from the original! I believe online film critic James Berardinelli speaks for all of us when he remarks, ‘The mind-numbing stupidity of Hollywood decision-makers never ceases to amaze me,’ although at this point it shouldn’t be a surprise. If you love car porn and women flaunting their assets and hate to use your brain, “2 Fast 2 Furious” is the film for you. For everyone else, if you possess a modicum of intelligence, avoid this flick like the plague. It’s not even like we have high expectations; we just want to be entertained for two hours, not treated like morons.

Final Rating: 1 out of 5

“Come on, man. Guns, murderers and crooked cops? I was made for this, bro!”

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The Fast & the Furious Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Violence, Sexual Content and Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 47 Minutes

Cast:

Vin Diesel-Dominic Toretto

Paul Walker-Brian O'Conner

Michelle Rodriguez-Leticia ‘Letty’ Ortiz

Jordana Brewster-Mia Toretto

Rick Yune-Johnny Tran

Matt Schulze-Vince

Johnny Strong-Leon

Chad Lindberg-Jesse

Jeffrey Atkins (Ja Rule)-Edwin

Noel Guglielmi-Hector

Ted Levine-Sergeant Tanner

Thom Barry-FBI Special Agent Bilkins

Stanton Rutledge-Muse

Reggie Lee-Lance Nguyen

Directed by Rob Cohen

 

Little did they know that this film would be the only thing keeping their careers alive...

Note: Part of "The Fast and the Furious Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.

Boy, Hollywood sure makes a lot of pointless sequels and no other franchise is as pointless as “The Fast & the Furious.” The original film was released during the summer of 2001 and raked in the dough at the box office with $207 million worldwide against an estimated $38 million production budget. Seeing it as a goldmine, Universal made a sequel, and another, and another, until now we have “Fast Five” (Why do the titles keep getting shorter? Is the sixth one just going to be called “Fast”?), the fifth installment to be released on April 29, 2011, the weekend before the official summer movie season begins. “The Fast & the Furious” is the epitome of style over substance. Sure, the cars and women are good looking but it all adds up to a vapid and yawn-inducing experience due to its paper-thin plot and poorly developed characters.

Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) is an undercover cop working for an LAPD-FBI joint operation to investigate the world of illegal street racing. There have been a number of high-profile, semi-trailer truck hijackings where millions of dollars of merchandise has been stolen. Brian is to find the perpetrator and bring him or her to justice before the truck drivers take matters into their own hands. Using his job at an aftermarket auto parts store known as The Racer’s Edge, Brian makes contact with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), an elite street racer who leads a motley crew that includes his girlfriend, Leticia ‘Letty’ Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), his two friends Vince (Matt Schulze) and Leon (Johnny Strong), and mechanic Jesse (Chad Lindberg). Brian enters into an illegal race with Dom and two other racers but loses. The police arrive and Brian manages to get into Dom’s good graces when he saves him from being apprehended. Dom accepts Brian as part of the team and begins helping him repair a badly damaged 1994 Toyota Supra as repayment of his debt for losing the race. Brian at first suspects Dom’s rival, Johnny Tran (Rick Yune), of committing the hijackings but when he turns out to be innocent, evidence points to Dom as the perpetrator. However, Brian’s mission becomes complicated when he falls in love with Dom’s sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster) and he becomes torn between bringing Dom to justice and betraying his new-found friends.

That little summary makes “The Fast & the Furious” a lot more complicated than it seems and in fact, the story is so simple, uninspired, and generic that it could only be written by thirteen-year-old boys driven by testosterone. I was not expecting something that was going to win Academy Awards but when you start finding the street races themselves boring, you’re in trouble. I’ll admit the races are slickly directed with confidence by Rob Cohen (and they’re packed with scantily-clad women) and those who have a strong interest in cars will come away with a smile but they all start blurring together and look the same by the second hour. Still, they’ll keep you awake but once the wheels stop spinning and the ‘plot’ takes center-stage, everything falls apart because nothing is compelling at all. The film harps about brotherhood and sticking by your friends no matter who they are and what they do but the relationships are so superficial that I could care less about what happens to them. The editing is of the MTV-variety; there are lots of quick cuts, flashy effects, slow motion, and a soundtrack that will only appeal to urban audiences. I find myself struggling to say much about “The Fast & the Furious.” It’s purely an audiovisual experience and if that’s what you’re looking for, than you’ll come away satisfied but for everyone else, this is an empty, soulless experience that is so pre-occupied with looking ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ to the detriment of everything else.

None of the cast is required to do any actual acting other than to look good on-camera. That being said, Vin Diesel’s larger-than-life presence and deep baritone voice make the film somewhat bearable to watch. Paul Walker is just the pretty, blond boy who can’t act if his life depended on it. He seems to speak all his dialogue as if he were some low-level gangster. Michelle Rodriguez is once again playing the tough chick but she leaves little to no impression in her underwritten role. While Jordana Brewster does bring a wide-eyed innocence, she is nothing more than the token love interest dressed as if she’s going to a party.

“The Fast & the Furious” arrived on Blu-Ray in a trilogy box-set in 2009 that includes “2 Fast 2 Furious” and “The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift.” The picture quality looks excellent, if overly processed. Slight film grain is present and while flesh tones lean toward a ‘hot’ orange, the colors are very vibrant thanks to the numerous cars on display. Detail is excellent whenever someone pops the hood and we get to see all the doodads inside. This is a very loud film with heavy bass due to its soundtrack and the constant revving of engines. If you have a nice surround sound system set up, this would be nice demo material to show off to your friends. There’s a healthy dose of special features. There’s an audio commentary or if you so please, you can activate a feature where an icon would show up and if selected, it takes you to a short video clip of Cohen commenting on the scene being shown. The making-of is only a paltry eighteen minutes, followed by various fluff pieces on the editing, visual effects, deleted scenes and music videos.

“The Fast & the Furious” was released on June 22, 2001 to mixed reviews, with 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. Some critics accepted it as a guilty pleasure while others just wrote off the film as being another dumb summer flick. As mentioned at the beginning, the film was a box office success with $207 million worldwide, enough to warrant a sequel or two (or four). People do enjoy these films but I’m not one of them. It’ll take a lot more than flashy cars and under-dressed women to impress me. “The Fast & the Furious” offers little else to anyone other than action junkies and car fanatics, and despite the well-made car chases, it is just not enough to make this film rise above mediocrity.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

“I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Nothing else matters: not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullsh*t. For those ten seconds or less, I'm free.”

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Super Review

Rated R (Scenes of Graphic Violence, Language, Some Sexual Content and Drug Use)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 36 Minutes

Cast-

Rainn Wilson-Frank D'Arbo/The Crimson Bolt

Ellen Page-Libby/Boltie

Liv Tyler-Sarah Helgeland

Kevin Bacon-Jacques

Nathan Fillion-The Holy Avenger

Gregg Henry-Detective John Felkner

Andre Royo-Hamilton

Michael Rooker-Abe

Sean Gunn-Toby

Stephen Blackehart-Quill

Don Mac-Mr. Range

Rob Zombie (voice)-God

Directed by James Gunn

Before the Guardians of the Galaxy, there was...the Crimson Bolt!

James Gunn’s latest film, “Super,” is all kinds of f*cked up in that it makes “Kick-Ass” look like it was made for babies. While both bear some passing similarities in their exploration of ordinary, everyday people dressing up as superheroes, Gunn’s film is a different beast altogether as it’s not afraid to offend and push the envelope. Gleefully hilarious with its dark comedy and shockingly brutal violence, “Super” unfortunately falls short due to its disjointed tone, leaving its themes ultimately muddled.

Frank D'Arbo (Rainn Wilson) is an oddball loser who works as a short-order fry cook at a local diner. As indicated by his color-penciled drawings, the two happiest moments in his life is his marriage to Sarah (Liv Tyler) and when he assisted a police officer in apprehending a purse-snatcher. However, Frank’s life comes crashing down when his wife, a recovering drug addict/alcoholic, relapses into her old ways and leaves him for Jacques (Kevin Bacon), a strip club owner and drug dealer. He does everything to try to get his wife back but all it gets him is a butt-whooping by Jacques’ goons. After praying one night, Frank has a surreal dream where he is literally touched by the finger of God and meets a television superhero called the ‘Holy Avenger’ (Nathan Fillion). Taking this as a sign to battle evil, Frank creates a homemade costume and calls himself ‘The Crimson Bolt!’ His motto: ‘SHUT UP, CRIME!’ His first foray into crime-fighting ends in disaster and he goes to the local comic book store to research on superheroes without any powers. He picks a giant pipe wrench as his weapon and brutally beats up criminals, no matter how small their crime. Frank’s goal is to use his costumed persona to take down Jacques and get his wife back. Things get even crazier when the comic book store clerk, Libby (Ellen Page), teams up with Frank as his kid sidekick ‘Boltie.’

“Super” is all kinds of crazy rolled into one. “Watchmen” explored the thin line between hero and sociopath but this film just kicks that line to the curb and revels in its violence. Once Frank puts on the suit and becomes the Crimson Bolt, he just loses it as he whacks people with his pipe wrench or dropping cinder blocks on their faces, screaming, ‘Don’t steal, don’t deal drugs, and don’t molest kids!’ Frank takes this so seriously that when he sees someone cutting the line at the movie theater, he suits up and gives him a good ol’ trashing. When a woman comes to defend the person, she gets hit in the face too! It’s all hysterical stuff yet slightly uncomfortable, and I like the fact that Gunn is unafraid to pull his punches. Libby one-ups Frank in sheer craziness once she becomes Boltie, cackling manically as they deal with criminals. At one point, she repeatedly stabs someone with claws resembling X-23 and dressed in nothing but her bra and pants, she slams a car into a thug about to shoot Frank, breaking his legs. Her immense joy at doing this cannot be described! She definitely has a couple of screws loose and that’s already a big understatement. Ultimately, Frank becoming a mentally unhinged superhero is his way of dealing with his wife leaving him and his sudden loneliness. He did everything right but is unable to see what went wrong in his marriage. Being the Crimson Bolt gives him a temporary sense of purpose, a measure of control over his directionless life but after getting his wife back, then what? Did it ever occur to him that she may not him back? Gunn tries to walk the fine line between dark comedy and drama but does not entirely succeed, leaving many of its themes buried under a sea of violence. The constant tonal shifts gives “Super” a disjointed feel as it is unable to decide whether it wants to be a dark superhero satire or an exploration into a person’s total nervous breakdown.

The film is filled with some great performances and Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from NBC's "The Office") is perfect as Frank D'Arbo. There’s a bit of Schrute in Frank with his deadpan delivery but Wilson digs deeper to find the right mixture of quirky desperation and loneliness that actually makes us sympathize with him. Ellen Page has been typecast in ‘smart aleck’ roles but here she’s something totally different and takes the psychotic angle to the max, stealing the film. Libby is a lonely soul like Frank and her scenes where she clumsily tries to seduce him are funny and a little sad. She pokes her…lady-parts and remarks, ‘It’s all gushy!’ and practically rapes Frank but it’s presented in a tongue-in-cheek way. I must also say that she looks quite sexy in spandex. Kevin Bacon is always good in any role and it’s no different here as slime-ball Jacques. The weakest link is Liv Tyler, who isn’t convincing as a recovering drug addict; she’s just…too good-looking. Nathan Fillion, who starred in Gunn’s “Slither” back in 2006, also makes an appearance as a ridiculous Christian-themed superhero called the Holy Avenger. There are a few jabs at Christianity but in a rare instance, the jokes end up falling flat.

“Super” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2010 and is in limited release since April 1, 2011. If you live in New York City, the film is only playing in two theaters and will hit video-on-demand on April 13. Reviews have been mixed with 44% on Rotten Tomatoes as critics found the tone wildly uneven. Made on a small budget of approximately $2.5 million, “Super” is rough around the edges and will most likely break even once it arrives on Blu-Ray and DVD. It didn’t seem like many were interested as the theater only had about twenty to thirty people. “Super” is not for everyone and most will be put-off or outright offended at its violence. Gunn is unable to maintain a consistent tone but there’s enough to like in this twisted little film to give it eventual cult status.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

“SHUT UP, CRIME!”

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Insidious Review

Rated PG-13 (Thematic Material, Violence, Terror and Frightening Images, and Brief Strong Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 43 Minutes

Cast:

Patrick Wilson-Josh Lambert

Rose Byrne-Renai Lambert

Barbara Hershey-Lorraine Lambert

Lin Shaye-Elise Rainier

Leigh Whannell-Specs

Angus Sampson-Tucker

Ty Simpkins-Dalton Lambert

Andrew Astor-Foster Lambert

Directed by James Wan

"It's not the house that is haunted. It's your son."

When director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell made their debut in 2004 with the film "Saw," it was a breath of fresh air thanks to its unique premise and introduced us to a new horror icon, Jigsaw, played by Tobin Bell. With a $103 million worldwide gross against a measly $1.2 million production budget, "Saw" jumpstarted a new horror franchise with six sequels but unfortunately it devolved into gratuitous blood and gore, losing what made the original so well-regarded in the first place. Part of it might have been Wan exiting as director and only staying on as executive producer with Whannell. Wan’s next films, "Dead Silence" and "Death Sentence," both released in 2007, received negative reviews and failed to repeat the box office success of "Saw." Now, Wan and Whannell reteam for "Insidious," a film that returns to the tried-and-true Haunted House theme with a few wrinkles thrown in. "Insidious" is not entirely original but with its strong cast and tense atmosphere, Wan has created a truly frightening experience that mixes the best elements of "Paranormal Activity," "The Exorcist," and "Drag Me To Hell."  

Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne) are a happily married couple with three children, one baby daughter and two sons named Dalton (Ty Simpkins) and Foster (Andrew Astor). They have just recently moved into a new home but their optimism is short-lived as one morning, Josh finds that he is unable to wake up Dalton. The doctors say there is nothing neurologically wrong but for some strange reason, he is trapped in a deep coma-like sleep. Three months later and their son’s condition have not improved but strange occurrences begin to take place at the house. They start off small, like objects moving and doors being opened but they soon escalate, with a demonic voice heard on the baby monitor and ghostly apparitions appearing out of nowhere. Renai becomes so frightened that the family is forced to move to a new house but the paranormal occurrences still continue. Josh’s mother Lorraine (Barbara Hershey) contacts her friend, who happens to be a psychic and an exorcist named Elise (Lin Shaye). After investigating the house, Elise reveals that it is not the house that is haunted, but her son and that a demon seeks to possess his body.

Stylistically, "Insidious" bears a resemblance to Sam Raimi’s 2009’s "Drag Me To Hell" in that it uses sound effects to build a suspenseful atmosphere rather than spilling buckets of blood. For the most part, the film relies on tried-and-true Haunted House clichés during the first half and the inspiration from "Paranormal Activity" (Oren Peli serves as producer) is clearly felt as the strange occurrences start off small and escalate further. What sets it apart is the ‘Boo!’ moments and you’ll certainly jump out of your seat, exclaiming 'Holy Sh*t!' There's no traditional music build-up and it all happens in the most innocuous scenes where it's just people conversing, you relax your guard and bam, it hits you full force with a blaring, dissonant noise. This keeps us on edge as we don't know what Wan might throw at us next. "Insidious" also isn't afraid to get a little ridiculous and there's a nice humorous moment when we're introduced to two ghost hunters named 'Specs' (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), who clumsily comb over the house using their fancy doo-dads. Things get even more far-fetched once Elise arrives and explains what's happening (it involves astral projection), culminating in a crazy séance like Raimi's film. There's also a palpable sense of drama as Josh and Renai are unable to grasp what's going on and feel terrified but more importantly, helpless to save their son. "Insidious" utilizes many elements that have been done to death in other horror films but Wan polishes them to maximum effect and adds a few wrinkles to create a unique experience. What's even more astonishing is that he made this film with less than a million dollars! Once again it goes to show what you can do with only a handful of money combined with a creative vision.

The acting is above-average for a horror film and Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are entirely convincing as a married couple who finds their lives abruptly disrupted, recalling Ellen Burstyn's role in "The Exorcist." Barbara Hershey (last seen in "Black Swan") is Josh's mother, who knows more than she's letting on and despite the role being way out there, Lin Shaye manages to play Elise with an entirely straight face. The rest of the cast includes Leigh Whannell (who serves as writer) and Angus Sampson as amateur Ghostbusters who inject some levity into what is a bleak and hopeless situation.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2010 and released on April 1, 2011, "Insidious" has received somewhat mixed reviews with 59% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found the third act shaky but it still remains as 'a very scary and very fun haunted house thrill ride.' It is competing with two other films, Duncan Jones' sophomore effort "Source Code" and the live-animation flick "Hop." While it may not set the box office on fire, the film should come in at third or fourth place with approximately $10 to $15 million and seeing as it's made on the cheap, that's already a resounding success. There was a respectable turn-out at the theater but like all horror films, it was plagued by teens who just couldn't keep their f*cking mouths shut. Not a single drop of blood was spilled but Wan has taken a less-is-more approach with "Insidious" and while his ideas aren't all that original, he utilizes all the right elements and manages to surprise us once again!

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

"It's not the house that is haunted. It's your son."

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Mortal Kombat: Annihilation Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Non-Stop Martial Arts Violence)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 35 Minutes

Cast:

Robin Shou-Liu Kang

Talisa Soto-Princess Kitana

Sandra Hess-Sonya Blade

Chris Conrad-Johnny Cage

James Remar-Lord Raiden

Brian Thompson-Emperor Shao Kahn

Lynn 'Red' Williams-Jackson 'Jax' Briggs

Musetta Vander-Queen Sindel

Reiner Schöne-Elder God Shinnok

Irina Pantaeva-Jade

Deron McBee-Motaro

Marjean Holden-Sheeva

John Medlen-Ermac

J.J. Perry-Cyrax/Scorpion/Noob Saibot

Keith Cooke-Sub-Zero

Ridley Tsui-Smoke

Dana Hee-Mileena

Dennis Keiffer-Baraka

Tyrone C. Wiggins-Rain

Gary Paul Davis-Nightwolf

Directed by John R. Leonetti

Liu Kang prepares to use the Force...

The original “Mortal Kombat” was no movie masterpiece but director Paul W.S. Anderson successfully captured the spirit and tone that made the video games so popular, something that continues to elude most video game-to-film adaptations today. With a worldwide box office gross of $122 million, a sequel was a no-brainer but nothing could’ve prepared us for the atrocious film that awaited us. Despite a bigger production budget, “Mortal Kombat Annihilation” is a bargain-basement cash-in that has no story, no character development, terrible special effects and poorly choreographed fight scenes. It makes those low-budget flicks on the Sci-Fi channel look like “Citizen Kane” in comparison.

After defeating Shang Tsung in the fighting tournament known as ‘Mortal Kombat’ and preserving Earth’s safety for one more generation, Liu Kang (Robin Shou) joins his friends Johnny Cage (Chris Conrad), Sonya Blade (Sandra Hess), Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto), and the thunder god Lord Raiden (James Remar) to celebrate their victory. Their happiness proves to be short-lived as the emperor of the realm of Outworld, Shao Kahn (Brian Thompson), resurrects Kitana’s mother, Queen Sindel of Edenia (Musetta Vander), and illegally opens a portal to Earth-Realm in an effort to conquer it. Kahn holds Sonya hostage to force Raiden to surrender but Johnny Cage impulsively attacks him and is promptly killed. Faced with Kahn’s invasion force and his generals, the remaining survivors go underground to figure out their next move. With only six days before Earth-Realm permanently merges with Outworld, destroying mankind in the process, Liu Kang and his friends must gather new allies and prepare to do battle with Shao Kahn and his legion of super-powered minions.

“Mortal Kombat Annihilation” is an absolutely incoherent mess, overstuffed with characters that are not given any introduction and seems to have been written by thirteen-year-old boys. The first thing you’ll notice is the amateurish special effects. Shao Khan’s minions leap around a poorly composited green-screen and the resulting fight scene between Khan and Raiden is choppily edited with constant cuts of the two somersaulting around for no reason at all. The film is made up of meaningless fight scenes and what little dialogue there is fails to engage us due to their poor or cheesy delivery. Random characters pop up without rhyme or reason and just disappear for the rest of the film. You’ll notice corners being cut everywhere despite having an ample production budget as shots often repeat during fight scenes and there’s little effort to hide the obvious wire-work or even the stunt doubles for that matter! The film’s sets seem to have come out of a low-budget flick and the costumes look like something the crew just picked up at the corner store. Sometimes, you see their masks fall off because they’re so cheap-looking! The final battle has Liu Kang and Kahn using their ‘Animality’ abilities where they shape-shift into these poorly animated dragons and awkwardly duke it out. The script panders to kids with all its talk about having faith in ourselves and being a family that it feels like I’m watching an educational cartoon. Hell, I was expecting one of the characters to pump his fist into the air and shout such gems like ‘You can do it!’ The only praise that I can muster is the soundtrack which has a nice techno beat that you can nod your head to, especially the main theme from The Immortals. In fact, you should just listen to that and not watch the movie at all. Everything else about “Mortal Kombat Annihilation” is utterly forgettable, bargain-basement trash.

With the exception of Robin Shou and Talisa Soto, much of the original cast opted out of the sequel, probably one of the wisest decisions they made out of their entire careers. With its terrible script, the new cast is forced to recite some of the most awful dialogue I’ve ever heard in a film that it rivals “Batman & Robin”! As Shao Kahn, Brian Thompson speaks like a brain-damaged Adam West, pausing at every other word. The same applies to Musetta Vander as Queen Sindel, prancing around in a purple leotard. The female actresses also do not wear bras to appeal to teenage boys missing their brains. Much of the dialogue consists of pointless exposition, stating the obvious, or announcing who they’re fighting.

Like the original film, “Mortal Kombat Annihilation” is slated to be released on Blu-Ray on April 19, 2011 alongside the ninth game in the series. It is already available on Blu-Ray in Canada since last March courtesy of Alliance and for the most part, picture quality looks great and is an improvement over the original. This one actually supports a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track so you won’t have to turn up the volume. It gives the false impression that the film is better than it actually is while its bass-heavy soundtrack plays in the background. There is no menu, no extras, and no subtitles included. The upcoming North American release only includes the theatrical trailer and a preview of the ninth game as special features. Rather paltry but I understand why none of the cast and crew want to record commentary for this film.

“Mortal Kombat Annihilation” was released on November 21, 1997 to highly negative reviews with 7% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics pointed to ‘its shallow characters, low budget special effects, and mindless fight scenes’ that the film ‘manages to underachieve the low bar set by its predecessor.’ With an estimated $30 million production budget (where did all this money go?!), its worldwide box office gross barely covered it with $51 million. A third film the series, “Mortal Kombat Devastation” was planned but due to the poor critical and commercial response to this one, it was shelved and has remained mired in development hell. I would guess that it has been cancelled now that Warner Brothers has green-lighted a ten episode web mini-series called “Mortal Kombat Rebirth” directed by Kevin Tancharoen. It presents a grittier, realistic take on the franchise and strips much of the supernatural elements away. Any way you slice it, “Mortal Kombat Annihilation” is just terrible in every aspect and is a smack to the face to all the fans. You literally have to ‘destroy all expectations!’ How New Line Cinema actually deemed this worthy of theatrical release boggles the mind!

Final Rating: 0.5 out of 5

"The Earth was created in six days; so too shall it be destroyed! And on the seventh day, mankind will rest...in peace! (Wow, I can't even begin to describe how poorly written this line is.)

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Mortal Kombat Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Non-Stop Martial Arts Action and some Violence)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 41 Minutes

Cast:

Robin Shou-Liu Kang

Bridgette Wilson-Sonya Blade

Linden Ashby-Johnny Cage

Christopher Lambert-Lord Raiden

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa-Shang Tsung

Talisa Soto-Princess Kitana

Trevor Goddard-Kano

François Petit-Sub-Zero

Chris Casamassa-Scorpion

Keith H. Cooke-Reptile

Kevin Michael Richardson (voice)-Goro

Kenneth Edwards-Art Lean

Steven Ho-Chan Kang

Gregory McKinney-Jackson 'Jax' Briggs

Frank Welker (voice)-Emperor Shao Kahn

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

Round One...FIGHT!

‘TEST YOUR MIGHT! MORTAL KOMBAT!’ Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, “Mortal Kombat” has remained as one of the most popular fighting game franchises since its inception in 1992, alongside Capcom’s “Street Fighter” and Namco’s “Tekken.” Midway Games published a total of eight installments until the beleaguered publisher filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 after incurring massive debts. The company was liquidated in 2010 and the “Mortal Kombat” franchise was acquired by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, with a ninth installment due in April, 2011 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a possible PC version. Notorious for its graphic violence, the original game was cited as one of the reasons for the formation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (or ESRB), a self-regulatory organization that assigns age-appropriate ratings to all video games, much like the MPAA does for films. At the height of its popularity, a film adaptation, simply titled “Mortal Kombat,” was released in 1995 and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who would go on to helm “Resident Evil” in 2002, based upon Capcom’s series of survival horror video games. “Mortal Kombat” is one of the best video game-to-film adaptations to date; although that’s not exactly high praise considering the bar is set quite low. As a film, it’s a failure due to the simplistic story and dialogue but what it does do is perfectly capture the spirit and tone of the video games.

The realm of Outworld, led by the Emperor Shao Kahn (voice of Frank Welker), desires to conquer Earth-Realm but is unable to do so without winning ten consecutive fighting tournaments known as Mortal Kombat, which is held once every generation. With nine wins, the tenth tournament will decide the fate of the Earth. Liu Kang (Robin Shou) learns of his younger brother’s death at the hands of the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and enters the tournament to avenge his death. Hollywood movie star Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) is branded as a fake martial artist by the media and competes to prove himself while U.S. Special Forces soldier Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson) is after a murderer known as Kano (Trevor Goddard), who killed her partner. Although initially wary of each other, these three quickly strike up a friendship during the tournament and are guided by Lord Raiden (Christopher Lambert), the god of thunder and protector of Earth-Realm. To defeat Shang Tsung and save Earth-Realm from being conquered, Liu Kang and his newfound allies must not only battle numerous foes wielding strange powers but also face their own fears and doubts.

I first saw “Mortal Kombat” way back when it was released in theaters in 1995 (wow, sixteen years ago!) and loved it, mostly for the fight scenes. Watching it again now, the film looks silly with its dated visuals and CG but Anderson does successfully capture what made the video games so popular in the first place. Like its source material, the story is paper-thin; why Hollywood continues to adapt fighting games into films is beyond me. The first twenty minutes establishes the three major characters and their motivations for fighting in Mortal Kombat and its pretty much non-stop action once they arrive on Shang Tsung’s island, with small bits of exposition thrown in-between fight scenes. The franchise itself has extensive back-stories for all the characters but none of it is here besides a few subtle references. Trying to incorporate it would’ve confused the audience anyway. Character development is nil but the cast does manage to infuse their characters with some personality. Of course, what we all came to see are the fights and they are well-choreographed but lacking the staple blood and gore of the video games to keep it a kid-friendly PG-13. Popular characters like Sub-Zero (François Petit), Scorpion (Chris Casamassa), Reptile (Keith Cooke) and Goro (voice of Kevin Michael Richardson), brought to life by Tom Woodruff Jr. wearing a sculpted suit and animatronics, make appearances. Much of the fighting is shouldered by Robin Shou, who also did the fight choreography. While Linden Ashby and Bridgette Wilson put on a good show, their lack of martial arts experience shows with their stiff movements, the limited amount of fight scenes they participate in, and the number of wide shots used to hide the stunt doubles. CG is used sparingly and is largely exclusive to Reptile, who sticks out like a sore thumb. Perhaps the most memorable element was its theme music, known as Techno Syndrome on the official soundtrack. It went on to define the “Mortal Kombat” franchise.

Most of the ‘acting’ occurs in the first twenty minutes as the cast establishes their characters. Linden Ashby mostly just sprouts cheesy one-liners while Bridgette Wilson looks way too serious for a film of this type. What little drama is provided by Robin Shou as Liu Kang, who ran away to escape his destiny and now feels guilty for leaving his younger brother behind to be killed. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa surprised me as the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung and he seemed to relish playing him like a cartoon villain. Finally, there’s Christopher Lambert hamming it up as god of thunder Lord Raiden and former Bond Girl Talisa Soto providing some eye-candy while wearing a leather bustier.

“Mortal Kombat” is slated to be released on Blu-Ray in North America on April 19, 2011, alongside its sequel and the ninth game. However, it is already available in Canada since last March, courtesy of Alliance. The picture quality is quite a leap from the DVD and you’ll notice a lot of small details with the sets and clothing. Sometimes, the color palette leans toward a yellowish hue. Although rare, certain scenes do look too soft. The most disappointing aspect is the audio, which is only Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 kbps, ported over from the DVD. You’ll have to crank up the volume just to hear what’s going on. The North American version will have a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and come on a 50 GB disc as opposed to 25 GB on this one. There are no extras. Heck, there’s not even a menu or subtitles! The special features on the upcoming NA version look bare as well with a tie-in animated movie, the film’s theatrical trailer, and the trailer for the upcoming ninth game.

Released on August 18, 1998, “Mortal Kombat” unsurprisingly received negative reviews with 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found that ‘despite an effective otherworldly atmosphere and appropriately cheesy visuals, [the film] suffers from its poorly constructed plot, laughable dialogue, and subpar acting.’ It was a box office success, earning $70 million domestic and $122 million worldwide against an estimated $18 million production budget. In fact, the film stayed at the top spot for three weekends in a row. “Mortal Kombat” doesn’t have much going for it besides the fight scenes but what it does, it does very well. This certainly isn’t a great movie but as an adaptation of a popular video game, you couldn’t have wished for more.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

"If I did not believe in you Liu Kang, I would not have helped you. In the Black Tower, you will face three challenges. You must face your enemy. You must face yourself. And you must face your worst fear."

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RoboCop 3 Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Violence)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 45 Minutes

Cast:

Robert John Burke-Officer Alex J. Murphy/RoboCop

Nancy Allen-Officer Anne Lewis

John Castle-Commander Paul McDaggett

Jill Hennessy-Dr. Marie Lazarus

Remy Ryan-Nikko Halloran

Robert DoQui-Sergeant Warren Reed

C.C.H. Pounder-Bertha Washington

Rip Torn-OCP CEO

Felton Perry-OCP Vice President Donald Johnson

Bruce Locke-Otomo

Stanley Anderson-Zack

Daniel von Bargen-Moreno

Stephen Root-Coontz

Mako Iwamatsu-Kanemitsu CEO

Directed by Fred Dekker

They gave him a f*cking jet-pack?!

Note: Part of the "RoboCop Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.

When I was a kid, I used to have a RoboCop action figure. Pressing the little button on his chest would make his visor light up and you could also attach a jet-pack on him. The packaging had a strange blurb though, with a big red arrow inviting you to ‘just touch him.’ What does this story have to do with anything? Well, it’s to point out that “RoboCop 3” reduces our cyborg hero into a children’s plaything. Much of the biting satire and wit of Verhoeven’s original has now been lost and the bloody violence has been severely toned down to a kid-friendly PG-13. While it’s never boring, “RoboCop 3” is a mediocre, run-of-the-mill superhero flick, marking a sad end to one of the best action films of the 80’s.

On the verge of bankruptcy, OCP (Omni-Consumer Products) has been brought out by a Japanese company, the Kanemitsu Corporation. Still intent on making Delta City a reality, the new CEO (Rip Torn) creates an armed mercenary force called the Urban Rehabilitators or ‘Rehabs’ for short. Led by Commander Paul McDaggett (John Castle), the Rehabs begin forcibly removing people from their homes to make way for the demolition team. When RoboCop (Robert John Burke) and his partner, Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen), attempt to defend a group of civilians hiding out in a church, McDaggett kills Lewis and damages RoboCop with an M203 grenade launcher. Members of a ragtag resistance, led by Bertha Washington (C.C.H. Pounder) come to RoboCop’s assistance and spirit him away to an underground hideout. With his system efficiency dropping to dangerous levels, RoboCop asks his new allies to find Dr. Marie Lazarus (Jill Hennessy), who has the technical know-how to repair him. He also befriends a recently orphaned young girl named Nikko Halloran (Remy Ryan). In order to stop RoboCop from interfering with their plans, Kanemitsu’s CEO (Mako Iwamatsu) sends an elite Ninja assassin, Otomo (Bruce Locke).

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! “RoboCop 3” is a slightly more violent Saturday Morning Cartoon. Almost all of the witty satire has been stripped away and the trademark commercials and newscasts feel like an afterthought. One of the core themes of the previous installments was RoboCop struggling to regain his humanity even though he’s now more machine than man. This is only glossed over in a few throwaway scenes and then promptly forgotten. The main plot involves Old Detroit’s displaced citizens fighting back against OCP and their mercenary army, the Rehabs, a not-so-subtle metaphor for the Nazis. At least it’s more coherent plot-wise compared to the episodic feel of “RoboCop 2.” I’m surprised Frank Miller returned to write the script so I admire his perseverance to make it in Hollywood. Unfortunately, director Fred Dekker essentially guts the script to appeal to children. Dekker’s credits amount to a handful of forgettable B-movie horror flicks. Many aspects of the film feel silly or overly sentimental when compared to its more violent original. The streets are now plagued by a gang called the ‘Splatterpunks,’ who have bad teeth and look like a bunch of rejects from “Mad Max.” Whenever a good guy dies, the sad music swells to elicit emotion. Things take a turn for the ridiculous when RoboCop commandeers a pimp’s car! There’s certainly no shortage of action and explosions but since this is PG-13, no one ever gets shot and even if they do, there’s no blood or it all happens off-screen. In fact, I don’t think RoboCop even killed anyone in this film! In order to sell action figures, he has quite a few accessories now, including a removable arm gun and a jet-pack. I got a big laugh watching him zoom across the screen saving the oppressed citizens while Basil Poledouris’ heroic theme plays in the background. The special effects are primitive compared to the previous films and he looks like a cardboard cutout. It’s hard to take “RoboCop 3” seriously and the only way to enjoy the film is to treat it as an unintentional comedy.

Peter Weller was filming “Naked Lunch” with David Cronenberg at the time so he passed on reprising his role, though it’s not hard to assume that even he felt that there wasn’t much left to explore with RoboCop. Replacing him is Robert John Burke, who resembles Weller but fails to capture the nuances of his performance. He’s stuck with this permanent grimace during the entire film. Nancy Allen’s appearance feels like she was fulfilling a contractual obligation and her death scene feels forced. John Castle’s Commander Paul McDaggett is nothing more than a cartoon villain. The only thing missing is the evil mustache. The rest of the cast are forgettable but Jill Hennessy (from NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”) provides some nice eye candy.

“RoboCop 3” looks the best out of the trilogy box set on Blu-Ray with a cleaner image but color is subdued and lacks vibrancy, most likely due to the limited production budget. Like “RoboCop 2,” certain scenes appear fuzzy. Audio is somewhat of a step down though it’s still good, if workmanlike. Once more, the only extras included are the theatrical trailer.

Although initially set for a summer 1992 release, “RoboCop 3” languished on the shelf for a full year due to Orion Pictures going bankrupt. The film was finally released on November 5, 1993 to highly negative reviews and holds a 4% on Rotten Tomatoes. It failed to recoup its estimated $24 million production budget, earning $11 million at the domestic box office. RoboCop has always been an inherently silly character but even in my twenties, I still get a kick out of watching him. While “RoboCop 3” is terrible, I don’t feel it’s the abomination most fans make it out to be but that’s not exactly saying much, is it?

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

"My friends call me Murphy, you call me...RoboCop!"

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RoboCop 2 Blu-Ray Review

Rated R

Running Time: 1 Hour & 56 Minutes

Cast:

Peter Weller-Officer Alex J. Murphy/RoboCop

Nancy Allen-Officer Anne Lewis

Tom Noonan-Cain/RoboCop 2

Belinda Bauer-Dr. Juliette Faxx

Gabriel Damon-Hob

Galyn Görg-Angie

Felton Perry-OCP Vice President Donald Johnson

Daniel O'Herlihy-OCP CEO/The Old Man

Jeff McCarthy-Holzgang

Robert DoQui-Sergeant Warren Reed

Willard E. Pugh-Mayor Marvin Kuzak

Directed by Irvin Kershner

Guess who's back!

Note: Part of the "RoboCop Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.

Hollywood loves making sequels. Just look at this past summer’s offerings as a perfect example. After the critical and commercial success of the original “RoboCop,” Orion Pictures immediately approached Paul Verhoeven to do a sequel but he wasn’t ready to rush into it and preferred to wait for the right script. Impatient, Orion went ahead without him and hired famed comic book writer Frank Miller to do the script. Unfortunately, the producers and studio executives deemed Miller’s original screenplay as ‘unfilmable’ and it suffered through numerous rewrites. A less-than-stellar sequel, “RoboCop 2” delivers on some great action scenes but it never comes together as a satisfying whole with its patchy mess of a story.

Old Detroit is in total chaos as mega-corporation OCP (Omni-Consumer Products) forces a police strike by cutting off their pension plan and reducing salaries. Their goal is to let the city default on its debt so they can foreclose on it, allowing the company to take over the city’s government, demolish everything and build their planned ‘utopia,’ Delta City. Their Security Concepts division is also looking into developing a more advanced ‘RoboCop 2’ but each project ends in disaster as all the volunteers commit suicide upon realizing what they have become. An amoral and ambitious psychologist, Dr. Juliette Faxx (Belinda Bauer) convinces OCP’s CEO (Daniel O'Herlihy) to let her take over the project, promising to find a suitable candidate. Meanwhile, crime on the streets have gotten worse as people become addicted to a new designer drug called ‘Nuke,’ distributed by the fanatical and insane Cain (Tom Noonan), who his assisted by his girlfriend Angie (Galyn Görg) and a foul-mouth hoodlum named Hob (Gabriel Damon). With most of the police force on the picket fence, RoboCop (Peter Weller) and his partner, Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen), do what they can to keep order on the city streets. They eventually manage to rally all of the police officers and attack Cain’s hideout. Cain himself is severely injured during the gunfight but Angie and Hob manage to escape. Dr. Faxx sees Cain as the perfect candidate and harvests his brain for RoboCop 2. RoboCop is forced to battle this mechanical monstrosity when it goes on a drug-fueled rampage.

“RoboCop 2” retains the humorous commercials and ironically upbeat newscasts but Verhoeven’s absence is plainly felt throughout the film. The gleeful satirical edge just isn’t as sharp in this one. The story veers off into too many directions that RoboCop himself goes missing for much of the second hour. The first thirty minutes are promising as Murphy is still haunted by memories of his old life but is forced by OCP’s lawyers to acknowledge that he is nothing but a machine, despite his heart and mind thinking differently. Although Weller has little dialogue, you can see the despair on his face. Unfortunately, this subplot is dropped and is never explored again. Much of the running time is taken up by OCP once again up to their no-good shenanigans. Wanting the city to foreclose, they instigate a police strike to cause chaos on the streets, allowing OCP to build Delta City on the ruins of Old Detroit and control everything. They also want a 2.0 version of RoboCop but how Dr. Faxx sees Cain as perfect for the project makes no sense at all. She reasons it’s because he’s power-hungry and desires immortality but it’s really to have a giant cyborg-on-cyborg battle for the finale. The film takes a noticeably goofy turn when a rebuilt RoboCop is given hundreds of politically correct, non-offensive and non-violent directives, to the point where he can’t even defend himself and sprouts speeches about nutrition. Some of lines he utters are quite hysterical such as ‘Waste makes haste. For time is fleeting. A rolling stone is worth two in the bush.’ It’s a not-so-subtle jab at parental rights groups but it clashes with the ultra-violence on display. Although he is unable to refuse his new commands, it seems RoboCop retains enough free will to erase everything with a massive power surge. Hard to believe that OCP failed to implement some sort of safeguard like in the first film. The biggest issue I have is with the child character Hob, who curses and has no qualms about murdering police officers but he’s squeamish when it comes to watching Cain torturing people. Later, RoboCop takes pity on a dying Hob and the film has the gall to try and make us sympathize with him. I don’t care if he was a kid but I sure was glad Hob got his comeuppance. There’s just too much going on in “RoboCop 2” and none of the subplots are sufficiently explored, with some being dropped altogether. The only saving grace is the action and watching RoboCop taking down thugs without breaking a sweat always brings a smile to my face. Once he goes up against RoboCop 2, all the problems of the film fade away in a no-holds-barred battle. The stop-motion effects are quite impressive for its time, even if the movement is clunky and awkward. Unfortunately, it ends as quickly as it began but what an amazing 12 minutes of blood and explosions!

Due to the poorly constructed script, none of the cast proves memorable. Peter Weller’s best scenes occur in the first thirty minutes and for the rest of time all he does is kill bad guys. Although Murphy had regained his personality at the end of the first film, this is undone in the sequel. This would be the last time Weller would play RoboCop as he found it exhausting wearing the suit and filming the sequel was a disappointing experience for him due to several deleted scenes that would’ve fleshed out his character. Nancy Allen has little to do as well as Anne Lewis and she’s mostly along for the ride. Tom Noonan makes for a very poor villain as Cain. He’s missing that despicable quality that made Boddicker so memorable and resembles a Charles Manson reject. Surprisingly, Belinda Bauer is effective as Dr. Juliette Faxx, who uses every underhanded tactic to get ahead, which includes sleeping with the boss.

“RoboCop 2” on Blu-Ray is a massive improvement over the original in picture and audio quality. Although certain scenes appear fuzzy, textures are detailed and certain close-ups, especially on Murphy, look astounding. As much of the film is filled with explosions and gunfire, audio is louder, more dynamic and immersive, especially during the brawl between RoboCop and RoboCop 2. Occasionally, dialogue can sound murky but it’s rare. You’ll notice that Basil Poledouris iconic theme is missing as the score is done by Leonard Rosenman. The end credits music had a cheesy choir chanting ‘RoboCop! RoboCop!’ Again, there are no special features besides the two theatrical trailers.

Released on June 22, 1990, “RoboCop 2” received mixed to negative reviews with a current score of 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. The sequel was a moderate box office success with a domestic gross of $46 million against an estimated $14 million production budget. Despite its numerous flaws, “RoboCop 2” has its charms and the action is entertaining but Irvin Kershner (director of “The Empire Strikes Back”) never succeeds in capturing what made the original so unique. I guess the best praise I can muster is that when compared to 1993’s “RoboCop 3,” this one is like “Citizen Kane.”

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

"Patience, Lewis. We're only human!"

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