The Last Seduction II

The Last Seduction was one of those marvellous indie thrillers that pops up all too rarely, it had wonderful direction, a script as snappy as suspenders and a cast that chewed the scenery in all the right places.

This lame sequel has none of that.

Everything about this film reminded me of a cheap porno without the sex; the acting, the sets, the script, it's all just too wooden. You can see how hard they're trying, it's written all over the actors' faces, but there's just nothing I would recommend about this film. If you liked the original the temptation might be there to watch this as a curiosity, but trust me, it's just not worth it, there's nothing here. This isn't 'cult' bad it's just bad bad.

I really wish I could give this movie lower than one star. It is an insulting follow-up to one of the best modern films noir ever made. I was initially intrigued when I saw the title, and I expected an ample follow-up to Bridget Gregory's antics. I was sorely disappointed to see none of the original cast in the credits, but persevered nonetheless; maybe it still had merit, I hoped. My disappointment spiraled downward to mild anger that anyone would waste time making such an offensively inferior "sequel" as this one. It really was soft-core porn; I fully expected the two women with larger roles to contrive some way to get it on. Ugh.

I wonder if the actors in this one can salvage their careers?

This is a hugely disappointing sequel and doesn't do justice to the original. One would think that whomever decided to make a sequel, they would at least start with half decent script. I've rarely heard such appallingly bad dialogue. It is also, as others have pointed out, insulting to the British. The only good thing about the film is Joan Severance, despite her constant smoking. She may not be a great actress but anyone who thinks that Joan Severance is totally devoid of sex appeal is devoid of a pulse in my opinion. Though not in Linda Fiorentino's class - certainly as far as this role is concerned - she is still a stunning and sexy woman.

It's possibly the worst I've movie I've ever seen.

Joan Severance (Bridget Gregory) is completely devoid of sex appeal - a quality fairly crucial to the role - and does little more than smoke throughout every scene. Con O'Neill (Troy Fenton) made me want to vomit for the duration; yes, he's supposed to be a repulsive character but it was a little too literal. Beth Goddard (Murphy) was weak, although she was the only character with any sort of sexual allure, and I'm not even going to bother commenting on the rest of the characters.

The story lines are predictable, the portrayal of the British as being nothing more than common thugs is offensive, and the whole thing should come with a health-warning. Literally.

Whereas I thought the original 'Last Seduction' didn't quite make the mark, I found that this sequel just barely does. This is the opposite reaction of many people to the two films, so take it with however many grains of salt you wish.

'LS II' is mostly set in Barcelona, which provides some nice location shots, something the film could have used more of. Joan Severance steps into the role of con woman Bridget Gregory this time around. With her hair dyed jet-black, she successfully takes on the character's persona, which basically means looking ultra-cool and acting as if the world is giving her a bad case of ennui when she's not pulling a scam on someone. Beth Goddard plays the capable English bounty hunter who is hired to find her and bring her back to answer to the people she wronged in the first film. These women both seem to live by the same golden rule: Do unto to others before they get their chance.

These two women are the most interesting characters, but neither one is very likeable. The men in this flick are such sleazeballs that you won't mind anything that happens to them. If I had to make a choice, I'd give the film a "thumbs up," but not an enthusiastic one.

One other note: If you are trying to stop smoking, maybe this isn't the best movie for you right now. Severance's character lights a cigarette about every three minutes.