Trancers II

I really enjoyed this movie, it had action, plot and some funny one-liners, what I liked the best was the amazing cast: HELEN HUNT, JEFFREY COMBS, BARBARA CRAMPTON, MEGAN WARD, MARTINE BESWICKE, and TIM THOMERSON. I think this is one of the best movies that Full Moon did in the 90's. Its a fun film, watch it.

I'm extremely wary of sequels as they invariably disappoint. (okay there are a handful of exceptions: e.g. Mad Max, The Godfather, Cleopatra Jones). 'Trancers 2' (known as 'Future Cop 2' here in Australia) follows this trend - it's a pretty lame follow up to the silly but fun original. The one thing that saves it from complete dismissal is the outstanding supporting cast which includes Martine Beswick ('One Million Years BC'), b-grade horror legend Jeffrey Combs ('Re-Animator'), Combs' occasional co-star Barbara Crampton ('Space Truckers'), and the hugely underrated Richard Lynch ('Open Season', 'God Told Me To', 'Scanner Cop'). The extremely likable Tim Thomerson returns as Jack Deth and he is always good no matter how weak the material he has to work with. Thomerson is joined by several faces from the original movie, such as Helen Hunt, and his comedian buddies Biff Manard and Art LeFleur. The plot this time concerns the brother of Whistler (the baddie from the first movie), played by Lynch, who using the cover of an environmental group tries to take over with his "trancer" army. Jack Deth must stop his evil plans while trying to rescue his resurrected first wife (cutie Megan Ward - 'Joe's Apartment'), stop his jealous current wife (Hunt) from leaving, and make sure former ball star and future of the world Hap Ashby (Manard) doesn't a)get drunk, and b)get murdered. Yes, it's a hard job being a time traveling cop, but it's nothing some hair gel and a few wise-cracks can't help you deal with. There's no way I can disguise the overall naffness of this movie, but it's some dumb fun for a boring afternoon at least. Check out the original 'Trancers' though, it's much better than this.

Needlessly convoluted plot that has a HUGE hole in it ie) if you send Jack back to the future then he never has the babies that are his own ancestors... so he wouldn't exist in the first place! Also the tight close ups of actors looking at the camera are super off putting and the constant fade outs get annoying fast. Big let down after the first one.

Trancers II (1991) is another entry in the series that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline picks up six years after the first film, with Jack now settled down with Lena and running a struggling private eye business. His quiet life is disrupted when his deceased wife reappears, along with a scientist creating Trancers on Earth.

Directed by Charles Band (Puppet Master), the film stars Tim Thomerson (Dollman), Helen Hunt (Twister), Megan Ward (Encino Man), and Art LaFleur (The Sandlot).

With Tim Thomerson and Megan Ward, the film has a bit of a "poor man's Rutger Hauer and Phoebe Cates" 80s vibe. The storyline is somewhat uneven, as are the writing and character interactions, leading to a mixed sense of chemistry and tone. Still, there are some enjoyable moments, like the opening scene at the landscaping site and the pitchfork sequence. Overall, it's a fun watch and an above-average addition to the sci-fi genre. I'd rate it a 6/10.

"Trancers II" is pretty good for a sequel but lacks creativity that the low budget "Trancers" did. It has all the original characters from part one but is basically a retread. Check out the sequel "Trancers III: Deth Lives", it's much better.