User reviews

Plot Synopsis: In 1993 a more advanced version of the Philadelphia Experiment is created to teleport a stealth fighter between destinations. But during tests David Herdeg, the sole survivor of the original experiment, is thrown into an alternate timeline where the Nazis have won World War II by bombing Washington with nuclear weapons. David discovers that the stealth fighter was teleported to 1943 & captured by Nazi scientists. As he fights his way through to the experiment, he must find a way to travel back to 1943 to prevent the jet from taking off on it's mission.

This entry in the sci-fi genre has all the trademarks of a cheap direct-to-video attempt to cash in on the original "The Philadelphia Experiment". But instead of doing a rehash of the original, the film creates a whole new plot. The story is quite sophisticated for a time paradox situation & is well shot for a DTV film, injecting some atmosphere into the mix. But the film does not quite pull it off too successfully, with the villain being a bit on the campy side. Brad Johnson makes a far better hero than Michael Pare did in the original.

OK, so this isn't a great movie. And it isn't really a sequel to the original Philadelphia Experiment movie. But once you get past the first 10 minutes or so, it's a decent "what if" alternate-universe story, with a fun performance by Gerrit Graham in a TRIPLE role, and some occasional wry humor. At least as good as the average episode of shows like Star Trek and Quantum Leap.

Some elements of the movie (the use of tattooed bar codes to track people, for example) are clever and thoughtful, while others verge on silly. But overall, it's pretty good. I'd rate it 6 out of 10. Give it a try; you probably won't be disappointed.

Philadelphia Experiment II (1993)

** (out of 4)

Sequel to the 1984 cult classic has David (Brad Johnson) living with his son in current day 1993. What he doesn't know is that the government is trying a new experiment and when they start it they end up sending David to a new time. The new setting is still 1993 but it's fifty years after Germany defeated the world and times are certainly a lot different. David ends up joining forces with some rebels and they try to correct history. There's a fairly good movie located somewhere inside PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT II but sadly the budget just isn't there and the execution is also all over the place and in the end we're left with a film that doesn't work and one that will mostly likely frustrate you because they weren't able to make it work. The first forty-five minutes or so are actually fairly entertaining as everything in the story is getting set up. We learn about what David has been up to since the previous movie and they set up his lifestyle and situation very well. Once the actual accident happens we're introduced to an excellent idea: what would the U.S. be like if they lost WWII? There are so many great ideas that could have come from this but sadly the second portion of the film pretty much falls apart as the brain is turned off and we're just given a bunch of silly action scenes that all come across incredibly cheap. The problem with the low budget is that it really hurts these action scenes because none of them feel as if they're really happening. The big, "epic" battle just looks tame and it's really hard to believe that you're in this war-torn environment when everything just looks like a bad "B" movie. I think there's a great story to be found in this film but the execution just isn't here so one really hopes that another film, with a bigger budget and with more wiggle room with the screenplay, will come along. Performances are what you'd expect from a film like this with Johnson doing a decent job. I can't imagine fans of the first film would enjoy this since there's no one from that previous film connected to this one.

I've watched all three of the Philadelphia Experiment movies recently. This one is a worthy installment. The story line is interesting, which keeps it afloat. The big issue with all three movies would be the direction and the production values. None of them are bad movies, but they're poorly made and it shows. The direction seems poor and the performances suffer. Had these been in line, this and the other films in the series would have faired far better.

It was a difficult watch- the effects* were garage quality and the script wasn't any help. I felt bad for those cast in this endeavor. This could serve as the poster child for why to not do sequels. Don't waste your time.

* the stealth fighter in the final scenes was made out of paper and it didn't appear they even made an attempt to smooth that out in post... sad.

"Philadelphia Experiment II" is a Sci-Fi - Action movie and the sequel of "The Philadelphia Experiment" of 1984, in which we watch David Herdeg living his quiet life after the failed experiment of 1943 when another experiment change his life. He travels for one more time into the future and more specifically in the terrifying 1993 that is a result of a different future, a future that there was a Nazi victory in World War II.

Since I did not have high expectations from this movie I was not disappointed by the result. I found the plot of it a bit boring without suspense or action in order to trigger the audience attention. The direction which was made by Stephen Cornwell was average and I believe that he did not reach his potential. If you have already watched the first movie then I suggest you to skip this one because it will ruin what the first movie built for you. So, as you can understand from all the above I do not recommend anyone to watch it because I am sure that you will waste your time.

This is so underrated. It's well-directed plus it has a decent story and much better acting than I expected. In Fact, I'd say overall it's much better than THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT.The people involved in the making of this movie should be praised for this effort.

this movie doesn't live up to the standards of the first one(which was not spectacular,but decent enough).a combination of dog awful acting and dog awful throwaway lines,and a sometimes slow as molasses pace make this one hard to watch at times.plus,you you get too see very little of the actual time travel aspect during the movie.it's basically just a drama,with a maybe a minute or two in total focused on the time travel aspect.i did however like the ending.i found it very touching and unexpected.it actually redeems the movie a little bit,and even elevates it one star,in my opinion.for me,The Philadelphia Experiment is a 5/10

This film has so much potential, and is ruined by corner cutting, and lack of any attention to detail. If this had been done properly, the idea could have produced one of the great films of all time. Alas, it was not to be and the quality of acting (whilst usually bearable) sometimes makes the film difficult to watch. With a bit more thought, some kind of accurate historical references (apart from to the first film), and a modicum of knowledge of Stealth technology (It wouldn't be called stealth if it was still louder as a Jumbo jet) the Philadelphia Project 2 could have been a thrilling, interesting alternative to Fatherland. Unfortunately through lack of thought, it's widely regarded as a big pile of tunky. Anyone fancy funding a remake?

A generally enjoyable movie. It's not a great movie, but it does some interesting things with time travel, paradoxes, etc. I certainly wouldn't consider it in the bottom 100.

That they named this movie as part II of the original is a crime. It was the most inane, boring, stilted, incredulous movie I've had the misfortune of yawning through in a long time. That someone actually wrote that mess and thought "Hey, that's a wrap" floors me. It was worthless.

I'm all time surprised to see how people can find money to "create" so bad movie. Are they a tip ?

I don't know Brad Johnson but feel I see him before. And I think he is like a model. So I'm not surprised he is one before.

Well I suggest he leave movie cause he is very bad actor. Better say nothing and show his face on pic.

Other side I find funny to see Marjean Holden was a stunt. I find her not so bad and cute.

When I listen boring movie like that, to stay until the end, I imagine somebody pay me 1 million dollar to watch it until the end. :)

If you like boring movie with bad actor like Brad Johnson this movie is for you. Or if you have difficulty to sleep the night, well I suggest to listen this movie and you are sure to sleep well in the following 5 min.

Enjoy !

I give this movie 1/10. The 1 is just cause I find cute and not so bad Marjean Holden !

Hoping that this film could be as good as Philadelphia Experiment made in 1984 (which I rated 8), one becomes disillusioned watching this movie. It rides on the original name as a sequel, but has nothing to offer but poor script/plot, bad acting and awful editing.

I should rate it 1 but by succeeding to fool me with its name and made me watch (which was the purpose), it gets a 3 for initiative expectation.

Although there are certain aspects of this film I might enjoy if there is little more to watch, I must admit it is disconcerting to hear the well-done and carefully recorded sound effect structures of George Pal's 'War of The Worlds' grafted to this mess. The plot would have been acceptable to most viewers as 'entertainment' had the budget allowed for at least a cursory attempt at sets which more closely resembled Germany in WW2 for that portion of the films confusing jumps through time. Adding a few SS tunics and helmets won't do the trick when your purpose is 'willing suspension of disbelief.' Can't complain about Brad Johnson's work, but almost everyone else could have used a brush-up at their craft. I do admit, most are better at it now.

Let's start out by saying that I *do* recommend this movie as being worth watching on its own and definitely the best of the non-trilogy consisting of the original "The Philadelphia Experiment" (1984), this 1993 film, and the 2012 remake of the first film, also named "The Philadelphia Experiment."

There are some fine ideas in the story, and its portrayal of a terrible alternate America fifty years after its conquest by Germany is feels fully credible, right down to the updated Nazi swastika, altered to be less harsh and more palatable to an American populace so huge that even after the surrender following the nuclear destruction of Washington, D.C., it would still have to be successfully subdued psychologically in order to complete the Nazi victory.

But oh, it's painful how much *better* it could have been with a less wooden leading actor and fewer bad filmmaking decisions. Brad Johnson, replacing Michael Pare as David Herdig, the man who was propelled from 1943 to 1984 in the original movie and now, nine years later, is a father and widower, just isn't very good here, and with one exception -- a fast and very well-executed sudden eruption of gunfire when Herdig's fake ID tattoo fails to satisfy a security scan -- the action sequences are simply painful to watch. Add problems like an incredibly corny and ill-advised audio montage of lines from earlier in the movie during a pointlessly extended time-travel sequence and it feels like the movie was made by two different people whose visions for it were at war with each other, only one of whom knew how to make good movies.

(As an aside: some people have complained that an important piece of the plot, a brief exchange between two German characters in 1943, was presented entirely *in* German with no English subtitles. I personally was okay with this, but I was watching the film with the closed-captioning on so I got to *see* the German words, and with that it wasn't that hard for me to figure out the gist what was being said. Without the CC though, I have to admit that I probably would have missed the important bit of information conveyed there.)

Have you ever given a complete wild card movie choice, from the huge bewildering TV choice these days only to very quickly realise that your film choice is a turkey, yet for some reason, perhaps of completion or of self punishment you make it your mission to watch said movie to its very bitter end. For me Philadelphia Experiment 2 was such an experience. In my humble experience one of all times worst movies. A snore Bore and a honking 1 from 10.

On story plot I give this movie a 1 out of ten. it didn't at all follow the original movie's plot. Only reason it got a three was the f/x were cool. The Axis get a hold a stealth fighter from 1993 and use it destroy Washington D.C If Germany had a stealth fighter back then, why would they skip all neighboring countries in Europe and go straight after the US and how to was the US not able to fight off an direct attack from Germany. Also how could the Germans be able to use the stealth fighter and make it invisible to radar since that technology didn't exist in 1940's. Also, like all PC movies nowadays Germany is the main villain of the US and was behind Pearl Harbor. Japan isn't even mentioned in this movie. This movie's "what if" bit is too-unbelievable. This movie about the US being occupied by an Axis power after ww2 would have made more sense if they use Japanese as the one that use a stealth fighter to destroy Los Angelas or San Franisisco instead of picking an Axis power that didn't originally want a war with the US. Enough with the "Nazis" already, pick some one who actually fits into the role of villain when you look at the storyline and when and where it takes place. If Germany had destroyed D.C. we would have nuked them. But of course, movies like this aren't made to be historically honest.

PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT 2 (PG-13) - Vidmark Video (Original 1994 VHS distributor): After a brief flirtation with the Big Screen in (in 1989's ALWAYS and 1991's FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER) Brad Johnson begins what could be his journey back to the B-pic obscurity from which he sprang with this decent, albeit cheap, sequel to the first PHILLY EXPERIMENT. Johnson, replacing Michael Pare from the 1984 flick, finds himself `shifted' into an alternate 1993 - one in which Germany won World War II - when a power-mad scientist (Gerrit Graham) tinkers with the timeline by sending a stealth bomber back to the Germans circa 1943.

Although it assumes you've seen its predecessor, and plays sketchy several plot details, this is still a skillfully constructed, resourceful sci-fi adventure. I give it an 8.