mrarchiegoodwin

Overall I liked this movie until I read half the reviews--done before, simplistic, not realistic, etc. It is not a GREAT sci fi movie, but it is not as ridiculous as most of the genre. Best feature is that none of the major characters behave idiotically to further the plot. One never feels compelled to yell "Turn around, stupid!" or "No. Don't go into the basement alone!" or "Please turn on the lights!" or (to the heroine) "Don't you remember it's invulnerable to bullets?" The heroine is afraid throughout the movie (shouldn't she be?), but is she irrational at any time? The curmudgeonly, wheelchair-bound senior researcher is trapped on an upper floor, but does he emerge at the end from his place of hiding behind the computer console? The detective is disbelieving at first, but does he obstruct and endanger in the end? The science may be unbelievable (it's like finding a mummy curse) and that prevents this from being a great sci fi, but the behavior of the characters seems authentic (researchers who know their environment) and that is this movie's major strength.

I chanced upon Tremors by accident and was enthralled. Great flick. I could not believe my luck when I happened upon Tremors 2. Not as great. In the first movie the town had to defend itself against the unknown. The highly individual personalities banded together in a reasonable, sometimes inspired, response to astonishing monsters--for their own survival. In Tremors 2 it was more like a seek and destroy mission that almost had me rooting for the creatures. It might have been because the human characters lacked the variety of the original--I kept wondering why Mrs Gummer left such a sympatico husband. And Fred Ward's character soured a bit. With such a great first movie I had hoped the entire surviving cast would have been brought back. I understand there is a Tremors 3 and I hope it is a winner.

I attended a first release screening of this movie with friends from school. We were intrigued by the premise and how it would be translated into story and sets. Imagine Shangri La, a subtropical micro climate valley hidden by the vast Himalayas and built over centuries by those whose long lives allow the accumulation of great wisdom. Would senior residents speak with posh British accents while younger members look like extras from South Pacific? The "Bangkok Hilton" sets (buildings with verdegris patina and garden pools festooned with rampant tropical blossoms) made me squirm. Then I think Liv Ulmann closed a door that sounded like hollow core--yoicks. My friends and I began sniggering. The audience shushed us indignantly. It might have been a Bobby Van number that set us howling. By then others in the audience could not contain themselves either, but at the time neither could they bring themselves to laugh--it was hyped as a major Hollywood undertaking. Most people just groaned a lot. Too bad Mel Brooks was not given this assignment from the start.