Anatomy 2

I have read every comment posted in regards to Anatomie 2 and I am strapped to find a positive review of it. I do understand why people have not enjoyed this movie… but I don't know if those people really ‘got it'.

Anatomie 2 is not trying to live up to it's predecessor, instead it is attempting to evolve to a grander more intelligent film. The first movie came directly to us via the Slasher Genre… this movie is presented as a more sophisticated Thriller. This also means that there is a great deal less of the gore fx.

It is really good to see German films reaching a grand audience over the past few years. Once upon a time Wim Wnders was about the only name people knew from German films. Now we have so many great films from the Fatherland. Films like Run Lola Run, Anatomy and Goodbye Lenin! Hopefully none of them will be tainted by Hollywood remakes.

I did not like this film nearly as much as the first Anatomie, however it doesn't deserve half of the back lash it has received. It still remains a great and suspenseful piece of German cinema. A lot less shock and gore, but probably more suspense and panic than part 1..

I give this movie 8 out of 10.

From Dr. Frankenstein to Dr. Mengele, Germany has developed quite a reputation for…hmm.. how shall we put it?…"unconventional" men of science.

It's appropriate, then, that the German film "Anatomy 2" should be a brave-new-world sci-fi thriller that deals with the issues of biomedical ethics and just how far science should be allowed to go in trying to "improve" on Mother Nature.

Professor Muller-LaRousse is a world famous neurosurgeon who has been covertly conducting questionable experiments, implanting synthetic muscles into perfectly healthy young men and women (who also happen to be his devoted interns). Even though a disturbing number of these "guinea pigs" have died as a result of the procedures, LaRousse forges on, undeterred and undaunted, convinced - as any mad scientist worth his salt would be - that scientific advancement cannot be allowed to run aground on the shoals of a few trivial dead bodies. His plan is to create some sort of "master race" of invincible semi-humans. Jo Hauser is a promising young doctor who has come to Berlin to work and study under LaRousse, confident that he will be able to make a real difference not only in the lives of others but particularly in the life of his younger brother who has fallen victim to a degenerative neurological disorder. Filled with idealism, Jo allows himself to be pulled into LaRousse's group of sycophantic acolytes, perhaps to his everlasting regret.

The film is obviously intended as a modern day allegory of Nazism - what with its emphasis on group-think, unethical medical experimentation and talk about creating a "master race" - but the movie feels just too much like other - and better - dystopian sci-fi fantasies to be very effective. The intriguing medical ethics issues are eventually shunted aside for a series of protracted action scenes overflowing with typical mad scientist malarkey and man-on-the-run clichés.

That's a shame because the movie starts off with a better-than-average premise that promises a thoughtful re-examination of an age-old theme. However, "Anatomy 2" just winds up being silly where it most desperately needs to be serious.

For some reason (what? I don't know) I had been putting off seeing this film for a while, even though I am a big fan of the first one. Well, after watching it I don't feel so bad about waiting so long. This film is probably about 60% more boring and uninteresting than the first; Not to mention Franka Potente's screen time is only about 10 minutes total. The film is only around an hour and a half long but it felt like we were sitting there for 2 and a half hours. It was extremely slow paced and uneventful...the only things good about it were the idea of the storyline, the one decent tension building scene and the brother of the main actor. Other than that I can't really give anyone that is a fan of the first a big reason to rush out and buy/rent this thing. 5/10

The doctor and soccer player in the leisure time Jo Hauser (Barnaby Metschurat) decides to move to Berlin and be an intern in a famous clinic, expecting to increase his knowledge and expertize, and help his handicap brother Willi Hauser (Hanno Koffer). He joins a secret fraternity of doctors, under the leadership of Prof. Müller-LaRousse (Herbert Knaup), who is researching the use of bionic muscles in human beings without any ethics or respect to the laws. The team is also volunteer to the experiences, and is under investigation of Paula Henning (Franka Potente). When Jo gets close to a Filipino nurse, and becomes addicted in the drugs used in experience, he realizes the truth hidden in the methods used by the secret society in the development of science. "Anatomy 2" is a deceptive and forgettable story with total lack of credibility. The participation of Franka Potente is ridiculous, only to give her name to the credits and to attract her fans. The implausible story is very imbecile, but anyway if the viewer shutdown the brain, the film entertains. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Anatomia 2" ("Anatomy 2")

ANATOMY 2 is not a very good film. It obviously had a big budget, and the visuals are quite polished and slick. But the film itself is cartoonish and uninvolving. The screenplay lacks credibility, and the movie's use of science, as a whole, is laughable. Comic books make up better science than this movie.

The characters are also lacking. The only character of note is the Filipino nurse, who sadly goes missing for much of the movie. The lead is not very sympathetic, and most of the characters who play "doctors" (or interns) look more like a high school clique rather than people who have graduated from medical school.

Also, there is almost no action. I keep hearing "more action", but where is it? I see a lot of running and chasing (in a hospital, no less!) but nothing close to "action".

All in all, a bad film. I haven't seen the original, so perhaps it's better. I don't say this often, but perhaps ANATOMY 2 would have been better had it taken the Teen Slasher route, and gone for dumb mindless fun. In this case, the movie is just dumb and mindless, but not very fun at all.

4 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie)