वाइल्ड थिंग्स 2

If you liked the first Wild Things, chances are you'll like this one as it is basically a scene-for-scene remake, albeit with a few twists. Susan Ward is the Troubled Heiress (played by Denise Richards in the first), Lelie Arcierno is the Brainy Girl from the Wrong Side of the Tracks (Neve Campbell in the first one), plus the suspicious investigator (Kevin Bacon in the original) and the sleazy yuppie (Rob Lowe in the original).

lots and lots of bad language and some sex, so definitely not for family viewing. Ms. Ward and Ms. Arcierno are quite hot (look for the taking-off-the-work-shirt scene).

best thing about the movie is the Florida setting; a nice change from the usual Hollywood/SoCal scene.

all in all--well, like I said, if you liked the first one, you'll probably like this.

So it's a sequel. So what? So the plot arc echoes the original. Again I ask, so what? I would argue that this carefully constructed film is a work of campy creativity, one that should be considered as an entertaining romp, especially in "cult movie" circles. It's not like you'd go to see Nightmare on Elm Street 2 for its gripping new plot - no, you'd go because you want to see Freddy claw peoples' guts out. Here's what I think you'd expect from a sequel to Wild Things: plot twists (check), breasts (3 pairs), a few good belly laughs (the vet steals the show), and an entertaining way to spend an evening (check and check). This alone should be enough to satisfy the (usually unreasonable) expectations of a casual viewer - it's not a multi-million-dollar star-filled red-carpet hooplah, after all. Moreover, I would say that it's actually quite an enjoyable film. Given its budget, size, and distribution, it goes above and beyond the minimum requirements (see above) with its concise, witty dialogue, smooth "private dick" plot pacing, and its original interpretation of its genre. A lot of sweat and hard work clearly went into this film, and I for one feel the writers and producers have a lot to be proud about.

Wild Things 2 is basically the first one all over again, the only difference is that the script and acting is worthless. While trying to make a tricky plot to fool the audience, it fail's miserabely. The movie is predictable from the first opening sequence and the character's identically match one's from the first movie. There is no real character development, but what these girls lack in dialogue they gain in natural assets. The plot is confusing and doesn't make much sense, but that was not the point of the movie. The purpose of this movie is to see hot girls walk around in skimpy clothes, with criminal thoughts. Watch this film if you dare, but don't expect to much out of it other then one hot scene followed by complete boredom. 1.5 stars out of 5.

Wild Things 2 isn't a sequel; it's a cheap emulation, an imperfect carbon-copy that takes nearly all of the elements from the first film and simply replays them with a slightly modified script and a different (ie., less memorable) cast. As in the original, the noir-style plot revolves around a group of morally bankrupt characters out to get rich any way they can, meaning that double-crosses, murder, and sex are once again the order of the day, all of which leaves the viewer with a very strong feeling of deja-vu.

Bisexual rich girl/poor girl combo: it's there! Gratuitous threesome scene: it's there! Sexy pool scene: it's there! Inquisitive detective: he's there! Further plot explanations during the end credits: you guessed it... it's all bloody there, with zero effort made to add anything new. The no-name cast do their best with the regurgitated material, and the girls are plenty hot enough to make matters easy to endure, but at the end of the day, this is nothing more than an unimaginative cash-in that really didn't need to be made.

5/10 for all the lesbian snogging and boobs and stuff, but that's being generous.

The ironic thing about this movie is Susan Ward starred in "The In Crowd," an enormous box office bomb that came out way too soon after the original "Wild Things"--the earlier being like a bargain-basement version of the latter flick. I just thought I'd throw out that hint of trivia. Since I tend to take these movies with a grain of salt, the first 30 minutes had me engaged, but once I was introduced to the barrage of outlandish plot twists I was no longer able to offer forgiveness. Sure, one of the trademarks of the original movie is the outpouring of plot twists, and not all of them made perfect sense. But they made much more sense than the twists in this movie. After I was done watching the movie, I checked out the featurette on the DVD. As it turned, the director (Jack Perez) meant for the film to be outrageous and far-fetched. According to him, he chose to have the actors play it out like a campy thriller/horror flick/soap opera. However, that's not what I saw on screen! I saw a film that's too dumb to be taken seriously, and too serious to be taken as a dark comedy. About the only asset this film possesses is a cast of attractive performers. Yes, Susan Ward is a very attractive woman, but she isn't a great actress and certainly doesn't have what it takes to play a lead role. You may recognize her from her supporting role in "Shallow Hal," and she did a fine job in that movie. But "supporting" is the key word. Isaiah Washington has proved his acting chops in past films like "True Crime" and "Clockers," both of which he gave very impressive performances. However, he seems miscast in the role of a no-nonsense detective. He's just way too calm and low-key to pull off this type of role convincingly. Like the original "Wild Things," the film contains a 3-way with two girls and a guy, but it's not nearly as steamy with moments where one of the actresses was obviously switched with a body double. Even for direct-to-video standards, this one's a complete snore!!!

My score: 3 (out of 10)