Customer Reviews

Lawnmower Man 2 - Jobe's War [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Not only is this movie a bad sequel, its a bad movie. Worse that Highlander 2, worse than Plan Nine from Outer Space, worse than (dare i say it?) Battle Field Earth. This is unquestionably the epitome of bad movie. I mean there are some movies that are so bad their good, but this movie is so bad it just bad. And yes its that bad. The first Lawnmower Man was an excellent movie with potental. The movie had a intesting plot that questioned ethics and morality. It was a sort of modern Frankenstin. Lawnmower Man 2 (Jobe's war or Beyond Cyberspace) is the exact opposite of the first. Its almost a spoof of the fist move. This movie should be in the comedy section because there is absolutly no way you could take this movie seriously at all. Jobe, who was a cyber-god at the climax of the first film has been downsized to a mad computer hacker in a wheelchair who for some reason wants to enslave everyone in cyberspace. At the end of the first movie, Jobe's body was destroyed and he became a computer entity. He escaped onto the internet and caused every phone in the world to ring to show the world his power.It was a cliffhager ending! Really intense! What was next? How would he be stopped now? Lawnmower 2 changed the ending of the first movie by making Jobe for some dumb reason go back to his body and become dumb again. The acting is horrible (especially Patrick Bergin) and in the end Jobe becomes his old dumb self and all is forgiven. An why is Peter only a few years older in the far future? Matt Frewer is no Jeff Fehey. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!

Oh my God. I was SO dissappointed with this movie.

Where do I start.

First off, the acting was horrible. The only actor in this movie that was in part 1 was Peter (Jobes little friend). The first movie had a mysterious and low budget feel to it, which I love, and part 2 has a fluffy and hollywood feel to it, which I absolutely loath. Also, The connection between part 1 and part 2 was very weak. What's up with the telephone rings? That was a great idea, why didn't they keep that?!

...Trust me, if your thinking about buying this movie, dont!! But if for some reason you do, all the negative reviews here at Amazon will make perfect sense!!! This movie is BAD!!!

There are two kind of bad films. There are films which are bad in a way that makes them enjoyable and often amusing, such as "Plan nine from outer space", and there are films that simply encourage your lunch to visit the nearest piece of furniture. This is one of those films. It actually incourages the trade in pirate videos- Because anything is better than having to go to the cinema to spend HONEST money on this junk. In fact, why not buy it, play the first five minuites (That are filmed in Girrafe-O-Vision) and then use it to beat an irritating nieghbor to death? Trust me, you'll feel like it. Not that I'm passing judgement or anything, mind.

This "film" is deserving of every derisive adjective I can think of. The makers of this film either didn't watch the original Lawnmower Man, or thought that it would be too much trouble to worry about things like continuity or for that matter acting. Were I Brosnan or Fahey, I would be rather insulted by this poor showing.

...I truly enjoyed the first Lawnmower Man film, it was imaginative and had a plot that really drew you into the movie, and the ending left your spine tingling (the birth-cry of Jobe, all the phones in the world ringing...), so you can imagine how I was excited to watch the sequel in '96...
If you've seen this film, you can also imagine my disappointment, as what could have been a truly great film was turned into the most worthless garbage sequel ever produced!
It has almost nothing to do with the original film, and all of a sudden, we are living in the "world of the future" which featured the kid from the first Lawnmower Man film, who is only a few years older - how'd that happen?
I thought sequels had hit a new low with the gosh-awful Highlander 2 (planet Geist, anyone?), but Lawnmower Man 2 has truly surpassed it by leaps and bounds.
Not only the worst movie ever made, but as the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons would say, "Worst. Sequel. Ever.".

Matt Frewer who plays Jobe in this lamebrained sequel got his start on the trendsetting ABC TV series, MAX HEADROOM. While critically acclaimed, the series died a quick death; this must be Frewer's revenge. He takes over the role initiated by Jeff Fahey in the original, and there are times when his manic performance almost makes it work, but overall, I think I would have preferred Fahey back in the role. In the original, at the end of the film, Fahey's body had pretty much disintegrated and we assumed he achieved his goal given the telephone ending. However, the sequel opens with Jobe's body being found in the rubble. Since we've moved into the age of teen oriented movies, the film gives us a ragtag squad of computer geeks, headed up by Austin O'Brien, the only original cast member who returns in his role of a now more mature Peter. Still don't understand how Peter could consider Jobe a friend, after what he did in the first movie, and this penchant to make Jobe more a victim undermines the success of this film. Overworked Patrick Bergin, who has never impressed me with any of his performances, has no action hero presence; Ely Pouget (who portrayed Maggie Evans in NBC'S disastrous Dark Shadows remake) is the only performer who seems to occupy her character. The saving grace is the wonderful special effects which continued to elevate this film as it did the original. You might consider watching the two movies together and they might make the storyline more cohesive? There are worse films out there.

Dr. Bejamin Trace creates a brilliant device which allows unhindered access to all sources of electronic information: banks, hospitals, etc. When he questions their motives, the corporation that funded his research take him to court and claim the device as their own. Since Trace -- the only man who can make it work -- takes off to who-knows-where, the corporation pulls a crippled Jobe from the wreckage of the first movie and offer him a job.

Several years down the road, Jobe's secret work has lead to a future that's advanced on the surface, but hides a sad underbelly of poverty and unemployment. Jobe's nearly cracked the networking device, but needs to find Trace for the last crucial bits, so he contacts his old friend Pete, who's cruising the streets with a gang of homeless hackers. Pete's overjoyed that Jobe is alive and tracks the nomadic Trace down in a desert home free of modern convenience, only to learn that Jobe has plans of his own for the networking device. Plans that go far beyond the sharing or stealing of information.

First off, this film is cheap. It was made on a nonexistent budget and skipped out of the theaters before people even knew it existed. But, that aside, it works.

The sets and costumes brilliantly portray a Blade Runner-style future clearly divided between the haves and have-nots. The casting is perfect, from Patrick Bergan's portrayal of Trace as a man shoved around so long he finally ran away from the world, to Eli Pouget as Jobe's doctor who falls for her patient's seeming innocence. But the rowdy gang of kids steal the show. Heck, even Frewer, who I normally don't enjoy, does a decent job.

Farhad Mann deserves credit for a well constructed story with plenty of twists and turns that moves at a perfect pace. And more credit for bringing that script to life on such a meager budget.

There's really only two problems I have with the film.

First, Jobe doesn't gel with the original movie. Frewer's portrayal is of an anarchistic goof along the lines of Batman's Joker, whereas Fahey played him as a twisted Buddha who opperates on a mental level beyond those around him. The performance works, though, if you just approach it as a different character.

Secondly, the VR scenes with actors in front of blue screen suffer when compared to the dated but beautiful cgi of the original. They still look fairly good, superimposing the actors over sprawling cybernetic vistas, but I guess I just miss the gimmick from the first one.

I like this movie. I know many out there don't, but I do. It's a rare sequel that tries to take the story off in a new direction.

Oh my God. I was so dissappointed with this movie.

Where do I start.

First off, the acting was horrible. The only actor in this movie that was in part 1 was Peter (Jobes little friend). The first movie had a mysterious and low budget feel to it, which I love, and part 2 has a fluffy and hollywood feel to it, which I absolutely loath. Also, The connection between part 1 and part 2 was very weak.

But, I did like the story line in part 2; it was well written.

I tell you, I was sitting watching the movie with this look on my face, like someone in the room just farted amd the smell wasn't going away.

This movie was pure garbage. I enjoyed the first movie and thought part 2 would be a cool sequel. Boy was I wrong! Everything about this movie ...!

I watched and enjoyed Lawnmower Man, which was a decent movie, but the ending was kind of open ended. I purchased this one thinking it was a sequel. What a dissapointment! Very bad movie, not a sequel.