The second Arrival - Die Wiederkehr

After seeing the Arrival I was looking forward to this one. I notice that the studio claims proudly that they only spent a quarter of the budget on this film that they did on the first one. And it shows it. The casting was bad, the acting is laughable and the script was downright idiotic.

The premise here is that sometime after the end of the first film, Charlie Sheen's character is killed off. He leaves clues for his brother to find out what is going on. It is all down hill from there. The sfx were OK but that is about all. they really wasted five reels of Kodak film stock on this one. I'd safely say give it a miss, unless you are a glutton for punishment.

It could be that bad weather outside on a Sunday night influences my mood, makes me depressed, but I had anticipated so much of this movie, mainly because I liked the first one with Charlie Sheen. But it lacked pace, and the actors seem so much out of routine. Director Kevin Tenney wanted to keep the same atmosphere in this movie as you experience in the first, but it doesn't happen. It only slightly happens, and it gives you a feeling that you can expect some shocks, but they just never arrive . It never evolves or rises interesting scientific questions, like in The Arrival. Had you only seen more aliens and spaceships, it would have been worth seeing it just for that. It keeps you on a level to expect another movie, it's just one of those movies that attracts audiences on the basis of a brilliant predecessor. Just like Friday the 13th or the Robocop trilogy. Not even comparable to the first movie at all. A complete waste of time. If they want to make a third Arrival, please ask Charlie Sheen to return (even though his character is supposed to be dead in this one).

This time around Zane's Canadian step-brother--who's a wizard of a computer geek underneath that '80s looking hairdo--must pick up the pieces from where his distant, paranoid relative left off in a similar DIY investigative fashion for, that's right, humanity's sake. Except he's laid back, shows late for work and would rather run from a situation than get his hands dirty, especially about theories concerning covert extraterrestials. Yeah, those guys...and now gals.

The pacing is along the lines of a made-for-TV mystery with a few thrills to grease the wheels. Production expenses are tighter, so in turn, there are a number of scenes that are overdrawn. The acting isn't expected to be award winning but with the flow being at slower speeds than its predecessor, it makes what comes out of their mouths forced and far from giving the believable sense of actually being there in this state of looming danger. Not to mention the one-dimensional villains that are just shy of being animated over and turned into cartoon characters.

The first film, while not mind-blowing, was fresher with ideas. "The Arrival 2" retreads similar mechanics and the story meddles on with superficial attempts to personalize the experience with little quips, along with token love interests and by-now dated gizmos. Overall, this feels straightforward, anticlimactic and, aside from a few redeeming qualities to keep it afloat, a waste of a sequel.

Kevin Tenney's sequel to David Twoey's highly under-seen 1996 original that involved a secret alien invasion and starred Charlie Sheen is a low-budget, straight-to-video exercise that marginally manages to capture some of that mystery, paranoia and intrigue that engulfed the first feature. It does begin strongly (with most of the striking elements appearing then), but soon becomes routine and a little plain. Tenney's directorial methods keep things down-pat with only sudden ripples of fast paced thrills and brazen stunts in an on-the-run format. Nothing out of the ordinary and the suspense can be uneven, but the scenes are executed very well. However it's Bruno Philip's roaming cinematography that gives it a verve-like boost and Ned Bouhalassa's emphatic music score adds to the high octane bursts. The lack of anything really expansive shows its minimal barriers, but this doesn't stop the aspiring imagination and clever concepts that can be found in its drawn up story. It's probably not as thought-provoking, focused and eerie in the material like its predecessor, and the location-choices here don't have that same lasting effect. Still Tenney's old-fashion tailoring keeps it moving along without any real worries. The computer special effects (which do feature largely) look chintzy and formulate some flat images, but for the budget its stands-up. Well that's if you're willing to overlook it, which could be hard. Set-designs in many sequences can look dodgy and plastic, especially towards the climax. There are average performances with Patrick Muldoon and Jane Sibbett leading the way. Michael Sarrazin engages for a short while. A smoking hot Catharine Blythe and the imposable Mike Scherer get all the fun. Decent, but not a patch on the original.

I liked "The Arrival," but this is a weak sequel. Lead actor Charlie Sheen is gone from the first movie and all that's left, except for Michael Sarrazin, are no-name actors. Actually, Sarrazin hasn't been seen much of in recent years, either.

The movie does have some decent special effects and good good suspense, both of which make it fairly interesting and fast-moving. The problem is weak dialog and generally unlikeable characters, the worst being the obnoxious reporter played by Jane Sibbett. She was just downright annoying, ruining some of the enjoyment of watching this. Patrick Muldoon's character is a bit too sleazy, too. Cahterine Blythe was involved in some gratuitous sex scene, which accounts for the "R" rating.

For people who liked "The Arrival," many of them (me included) got stuck with this one added to that on the double-featured DVD.