Customer Reviews

Species II

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

A handsome astronaut returns to earth from a mission to mars, only now he has been infected by an alien organism with an urge to procreate and the astronaut's hero status makes it easy for him to find willing females who have no idea what they're in for. Meanwhile, a female alien (produced from genetic material of the 1st film's creature) has been created in a secret government lab and she, feeling the male alien's presence, is feeling the urge to mate.

The original "Species" was a fun little flick with a relatively unknown but talented cast of actors who played off of each others' characters remarkably well. This, I feel, made that movie a minor hit, and deservedly so. Unfortunately, the movie also suffered from a weak ending that was no doubt written to pave the way for sequels. Such a thoughtful build-up demanded something other than the typical B-movie climax that it got.

This film, on the other hand, makes absolutely no attempt to hide its B-movie pedigree but revels in it instead. I think this may have thrown off many viewers who were expecting something more akin to the first film. I've noticed that many viewers react with hostility when caught off-guard by a movie that embarasses them, and this one will definitely make you want to take a shower when you're done with it. Unabashedly lurid and sleazy, it will appeal to horror fans mostly, while the more mainstream types who like their films a little more sanitized and less "down-and-dirty" will be turned off. The first one was a movie you and your date could both enjoy while this movie is the one you surreptitiously take up to the video store counter when you're certain nobody in line will recognize you. Being a B-movie lover, I was pleasantly surprised with the 50's style sci-fi story line as well as the copious amounts of gratuitous nudity and grisly violence mixed together in a rather disturbingly callous fashion. The capable cast played it straight-faced, which was a rather nice touch and it had a much stronger climax than the original (no pun intended).

No, it isn't "Citizen Kane", but I think many of these less-than-impessed reviewers here would have a totally different opinion of "Gladiator". Let me say this: I loved "Gladiator", but remember that despite its big budget and awesome cast, it was just a typical, historically inept sword-and-sandal flick, literally; The producers comprised that film from their favorite scenes from several old italian gladiator flicks, the gladiator routines didn't even make an attempt at authenticity, the history was cock-eyed and even the latin seen in it was atrocious. Not that I'm slamming it, just pointing out that there is far less difference between what the plebs consider "high-brow" and "low-life" than their pretensions would indicate. And speaking of these movies not being "Citizen Kane", neither was the first "Species", despite what some cultists might have you believe.

Bottom line, just pull the broomstick out of your [...] and you may manage to enjoy this one for what it is: a grindhouse monster movie, and nothing more.

You'd better believe it: "Species II" has gotta be one of the worst movies of all time. It's so bad that it's not even worth watching it just for its badness' sake. I got to watch it only because a friend gave his copy to me for free (along with some other bad movies). I found myself disgusted and frustrated by the absolutely stupid plot and egregious acting. There isn't even enough nudity or gore to make it remotely watchable. Seriously, do NOT waste your time or money on this movie. Even if you want to see a bad movie, skip this one. It's not only bad, it's stupid and pointless. And Madsen puts up some incredibly bad performance here; you'll just feel like strangling his character or wishing him to die.

I am reviewing "Species II" as a public service. The movie it's based on has become somewhat of a cult classic. A number of people consider it to be one of the top horror / sci-fi flicks. I may or may not agree with that assessment. I only know that this sequel is so bad that it could be used in film school as an example of what not to do.

It is hard to believe that human beings wrote the script. It must have been generated by a computer program called Select-A-Script. Key in the genre, the running time and the budget, then hit Enter.

"Species II" opens with a small space craft, which looks like a Walkman CD player, leaving a mother ship that seems to be modeled after a can opener. Destination: Mars. Our star Michael Madsen, who was in the original, is a jock / astronaut / Princeton graduate. On the planet's surface, he retrieves a soil sample. He returns to the main craft and everybody goes home. That's right. We spend billions of dollars for a cupful of dirt. A robotic unit could have been sent to do this, but I digress.

Now we are on the space ship. Oh, no! Something horrible happens. What? The whole crew has temporary amnesia afterwards? The movie gets less original after this scene.

Back on Earth, Madsen gets very weird. He must be infected with Alien DNA! He runs around DC picking up girls, who immediately have these children who are born at age four or five. This is enough to kill the girls, who otherwise the producers would have had to pay more. Later the children are dressed in burlap bags. I've no idea who the costume designer was.

Meanwhile, in a Secret Government Testing Base, Eve [Natasha Henstridge] has been created. She is a cross between a human being and DNA from the creature in the original "Species". Marg Helgenberger plays the scientist in charge of Eve. She must constantly remind loony government people, who want to use Eve to track down the alien from Mars, that the girl is, after all, half human. This line of reasoning is like telling people not to shoot a rabid dog because it is also someone's pet.

The aliens are visually rather remarkable. Apparently the budget allowed the use of them only in the last fifteen minutes of the picture.

I surmise that "Species II" was produced by used car salesmen. Only such a breed could have conned director Peter Medak, photographer Matthew F. Leonetti and composer Ed Shearmur into signing up for this project. All three of these men have worked on some highly regarded movies, which I will not mention. None of these men are washed up, so none of them needed this job. Leonetti, for example, is the head cinemaphotographer on the new "Star Trek: Insurrection".

As to the ending of "Species II", I have a question. How did the cat get into the ambulance? The answer, I fear, is that nobody cares.

The movie implies that there will be another sequel. Please! I am down on my knees, begging you not to do it. Stick to used cars, guys.

I thought I'd try my hand at writing a review because I enjoy reading other people's reviews of movies. I get a good laugh out of when someone expects a movie to have some deep spiritual or social meaning when all the producers were trying to do with the film was make money. From a historical point of view (my assumptions anyway), this movie was made as a follow-up to the movie Species. Species (One) was a movie about a little girl who grows up really quickly, likes to run around naked, make love, have alien babies, and kill anyone who wants to do harm to her little brat. Species One was simple, mindless viewing pleasure with titillating scenes, bloody violence, and a not too deep Sci-Fi plot.

Species 2 is more of same. Well, OK, the plot goes off in other directions, tangents, and planets up front, but our dedicated aliens still desire to make babies and keep women naked. Unfortunately for the women in the movie, they end up dead and bloody from maternity/labor complications. There are more pieces and parts to the show, but volumes of blood, violence, and nudity were the highlights most noted by this reviewer.

By the end of the movie we know there will be another sequel or two, and if we want to continue our mindless marathon of pretty girls and gore, well than, everything's right in the sexploitation universe and the movie delivered all it ever wanted to do: Make Money --. but I mentioned that already, didn't I?....

You'd be right to think it doesn't take much to entertain me. After a long day of working, a delicious dinner prepared by my wife, and pleasant conversations as we prepare for the rest of the evening, this movie, to me, was far better faire than some sit-com or reality show I would have been stuck watching otherwise. It was somewhat entertaining for me, and my wife did look up a few times to smirk and make a droll comment while she continued reading one of her mystery novels. Which I would have been reading, BTW, had she been finished with it......

Call me strange, but I now have the entire series of Species DVD movies! I plan on watching them all -- in progressive order -- the next time I am home with the flu or a cold. I believe they will work nicely to get my mind off my malady as I find they have just the right measure of vapid plot, cathartic violence, and premeditated nudity.

How paradoxical, I think I'm looking forward to being sick!

This sequel to the 1995 smash hit species doesn't even come 1 inch close to its predecessor. The original is no masterpiece but this sequel becomes one cheesy parody of itself. Both Natasha Henstridge and Michael Madsen reprise their roles form the previous entry; but somehow it feels they just came for the paycheck. The acting is bad, and so is the dialog. The movie starts out pretty good with a mission to mars gone bad. But along the way it becomes so ridiculously stupid that the only way it can be enjoyed is to take it as a comedy. the only good thing this movie has to offer is the special-effects, which are pretty convincing but other than that this is just one major disappointment. Some people claim this is the worst movie ever... Well trust me there are much worse movies out there. Just watch uwe bowle or ulli llomel's films (if they can be called films) and you will se what bad really is. Anyhow this is a bad movie but can be enjoyed as a parody.

MY PERSONAL RATING 1 ½ OUT OF 5

The sequel has little to do with the first one, except the presence of Giger as the creator of the aliens and we have a quite better view of those in this film. The scientists, with the army behind (to find a good procedure to destroy them, to face an eventual attack from them) have cloned the dead alien woman from the first film and use her, with her consent (but what does such a consent mean ?), for tests. The second twist comes from a mission on Mars and some of this alien DNA is recuperated in one of the soil samples and brought back to the shuttle. This DNA gets out and invades the members of the crew. So they have a seven minutes blank spot in their memories. One of them, the son of the President of the US, is actually impregnated by the DNA that gets into his own DNA instantly. He becomes an alien in human form. Back on earth he starts a long spree to procreate more and more kids who grow fast and then get into cocoons to transform into real aliens. Of course every single mating woman is killed in the experience. But these aliens have Extra Sensorial communication skills and the clone in the lab will escape to mate with the new male. The scene of the mating of the two aliens is eerie and strange but beautiful due to the creative skills of Giger. They all, cocoons and parents, get destroyed and the dead clone is taken back to the lab. But her impregnation is not dead and is coming out in the ambulance where one of the kid is also kept prisoner and a cat comes up into the picture. Don't wonder why a cat gets into this running ambulance. Miracles are always possible. And the clone is giving birth to ... Black out. The same ideology is there : mad science, crazy military experiments, ambitious politicians, and above all the fear of what is different, what is alien and the necessity to destroy any alien element. Aliens necessarily are predators. This vision prevents these fillms, poor remakes of the Alien series, to have any great depth. It is only the story of a hunt of evercopulating animals that have to be destroyed before they invade the world with their progeniture. Simplistic, but good enough for a kinky thrill at midnight in a theater or at night on cable TV or your VCR. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.

Astronaut and all-around hunkasaurus-erectus Patrick Ross (Justin Lazard) returns home from a mission to Mars, only to become an alien-infested serial-killer. It seems that one of the samples brought back from the red planet is actually a lifeform bent on earth's total destruction! Meanwhile, at a top-secret lab, Dr. Laura Baker (Marg "CSI" Helgenberger) is experimenting with EVE (Natasha "Species, Ghosts Of Mars" Henstridge), a human / alien hybrid, to figure out how to defend against any future extra-terrestrial onslaught. Well, Patrick gets wind of Eve and all hell breaks loose! They must be kept from mating, or they will produce a super-offspring that will eventually rule the planet! Enter Press Lennox (Michael "Kill Bill" Madsen), reprising his role as a professional exterminator of unwanted humanoids. Press joins Dr. Baker in her quest for Eve and Patrick. SPECIES 2 is an okay follow-up to the original. Loads of slime and blood mix with sex to make some scenes a bit disturbing to watch. One particular "alien birth" sequence is a gross-out for sure! Don't let granny or the kids see this one under ANY circumstances! Enjoy...

SPECIES II is not for those with weak stomachs. There is a lot of blood, gore, and that awful sniveling tongue! As far as sequels go, though, it's not that bad. Michael Madsen, Natasha Henstridge and Marg Helgenberger (pre CSI Days) return in their original roles, abetted by James Cromwell as an insensitive senator and father, and Justin Lazard as the doomed astronaut. For comic relief, we get Mykelti Williamson as the obligatory African/American sidekick. There were several scenes that had me gasp or jump, and some that were a little nauseating. Overall, it's special effects were pretty good and the movie had a tense and foreboding atmosphere. Not a great film, but not bad either!

One night, while flipping through the channels I came across this movie. I had no idea what it was. Aliens were popping out of people's stomachs, but all the characters approached the threat as if it were a big joke. Honestly, I thought it was a comedy until the commercial came on and revealed that it was Species II.

From the special effects, you can tell a lot of work went into it, but it comes across more as a comedy. None of the actors are serious. Overall, the entire movie is pretty cheesy. But it's good cheese. If you're looking for hot girls, lots of killing, and a bit of comedy- then I'd say watch this movie. It's a b-movie, but a good one at those standards.

Well, I got this one thinking it was a horror, Its got some great effects but most of the time it does not hold my attention for more than a few minutes. I get the impression that the main selling point for the film was not the horror but the chance to see Henstridge walking around naked all the time..... thats nice but if you need that kind of thing buy a porno ! Henstridge is alright but my girlfriend has got a much better body ! hehehe. This film is just dull, too much playboy channel not enough sci-fi channel. I do have to say that the suicide scene is COOL !