The Skulls II

Remember The Skulls (2002) one of a spate of "Cool" dramas that included Cruel Intentions (1999) and Anti-Trust (2001). I didn't think much of it, though I appreciated the concept I thought they dropped the ball.

So what do you do when you drop a ball? You pick it right back up again and that's what they did here.

With no real connection to the first movie they started afresh and maybe that was for the best. Starring Robin Dunne and Lindy Booth it's the same formula, just tweeked and done slightly better.

It tells the story of a young man getting initiated into the secret order known as The Skulls, a way for a young man to have a future full of guaranteed wealth, power and all the things that come with that.

But he starts to have suspicions about the order and what they do behind the scenes, leading to this passable thriller.

You won't find anything very original here but for what it is it's watchable enough but still hardly impressing me with The Skulls franchise.

One movie left, hopefully they kept improving.

The Good:

Lindy Booth

Passable plot

The Bad:

Seen it all before

Not exactly exanding the franchise

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Farting when a girl tickles you may not be as common as I try to make out

When running away from a car the most logical thing to do is run down the road as opposed to off to the side

Half the catering budget went to Aaron Ashmore

The premise of the Skulls and it's sequel is that we are looking at the inner workings of one of America's (fictional) secret societies.

Unfortunately because it is a sequel it will be compared to the original.

This film has the same premise as the first film. A young college student who is 'tapped' to become one of the elite of the elite, a problem crops up and there is a lot of running in fear for the life of our hero.

This installment offers up more sexual energy and more likable (and well played )dislikable characters, a few minor changes in casting could have been made. For instance the abundance of overly WASPish pretty boys. Without debating how ethnically diverse secret societies are, I'm sure all the younger members are not all pretty boys.

The story, what little of it was there, does turn the previous movie on it's ear, sort of. Which would have been more refreshing had it had the sence of suspense and wonder of the original and excluded the somewhat rushed-wanna-be-a-cool-plot-twist-but-wasn't ending. Make no mistake though, I am not saying that the first one had a lot of suspense, it just seemed to have more.Unfortunately the performances of the young actors could not bring this movie to life.

All in all, I would recommend it if you are not looking for much depth or story.If you're looking for a movie to satisfy look for something else. I would give it a 3 out of 10.

Wow, was this movie not worth seeing. After the first Skulls, I was excited to see the second one. What a let down. The sequel has nearly the same story line as the first one except with lesser known actors. Definitely not worth the rental fees on this one.

As far as sequels go, it is par for the course. Here they had a great plot, and excellent possiblities but I think they could have taken it farther. There are tie-ins with the first and takes the conspiracy deeper. It's always good to see a lone wolf rise up and rage against the machine. Good times.

An improvement over the first one. This entry has almost the exact same plot as the first one. A student is killed and The Skulls set about covering up the death, but a student witnesses it and tries to bring The Skulls to justice.

Nothing really remarkable, but the film is decently paced, and has an appealing enough cast and some sexy moments. Plus it isn't nowhere near as cliched and over the top as the first one.

Rated R; For One Scene of Partial Nudity.