★ 6 / 10
Not as good as the original Lavalantula but
Dan_Tebasco
Not as good as the original Lavalantula but still well worth seeing if you like these sort of lowbudget intentionally so bad they're good kind of movies. It…
Not as good as the original Lavalantula but still well worth seeing if you like these sort of lowbudget intentionally so bad they're good kind of movies.
It sucks that Bubba Smith wasn't alive to make these Police Academy reuonion films of sorts but it's still cool to see some of them together again BUT I think if they do a sequel they might need to team up with like MR T and some of the original A-Team or something, that would be kick ass.
Or maybe even cast from Saved By The Bell or something that expands the nostalgia factor a bit more.
Also I don't remember Steve Guttenberg acting like a grumpy Clint Eastwood non-stop in the first one, but then he had the beautiful Nia Peeples by his side I guess (who unfortunatly does not repeat her role in this one).
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★ 5 / 10
Doesn't burn or bite enough
TheLittleSongbird
Enjoyed the first 'Lavalantula' in a guilty pleasure sort of way. It was not what one calls great, but manages actually to be one of SyFy's best and more…
Enjoyed the first 'Lavalantula' in a guilty pleasure sort of way. It was not what one calls great, but manages actually to be one of SyFy's best and more watchable films by quite some distance. Being someone who, like many, mostly hates SyFy with a passion, that's saying quite a bit. For the record, it's their compulsive badness and curiosity to see if they have the ability to make something decent once in a while keeps me watching.
'2 Lava 2 Lantula' is very much an inferior follow-up, with the problems far more evident. '2 Lava 2 Lantula' is not terrible by any stretch and like 'Lavalantula' is also one of SyFy's better and more watchable films, but 'Lavalantula' had more freshness, more fire and more bite, was more focused story-wise and didn't take silliness too far, definitely easier to take as a guilty pleasure.
Again, like 'Lavalantula', as far as SyFy movies go '2 Lava 2 Lantula' looks decent. Editing and photography is tighter than most SyFy movies, locations are colourful and atmospheric, the way the production is lit is less drab than usual. The creature special effects are more mixed, at some pretty they're not bad at all, at other times they're fake and over-obvious. That doesn't stop thankfully that the creatures themselves do have menace and personality, and the film again knows how to utilise them.
The music score is groovy and eerie, is careful not to overshadow the dialogue and is used appropriately. The direction shows confidence.
While there are worse script in SyFy films, the script is one of the weakest assets here and doesn't have as much above average quality as before. There are amusing moments and there are some neat references that will have film and sci-fi fans grinning, but it lacks snap and bite and tongue-in-cheek too often apart from some moments is replaced by campiness. Campiness that tends to grate and be overused rather than endear.
It does make the mistake that 'Lavalantula' managed somehow to avoid, at times it does try too hard to be stupid and the tone and target and audience aren't as clear. The creature attacks are fun and suspenseful still though, if again lacking the scare factor. The story is even more disjointed and over-stretched and due to lacking freshness also feels predictable and derivative.
Characters are not as annoying certainly as other characters in SyFy films, and there is some lively pacing. The acting is vastly inferior here, it was above average before, it was not good here. Especially Steve Guttenberg, whose uncomfortable-looking over-acting was painful to watch. The rest were nice to see, but they could have had more to do and they tend to be stale. Michael Winslow gives the best performance, he at least knows what kind of film he's in and doesn't take it seriously while also not falling on the wrong side of camp.
Overall, watchable but a fairly difficult one to rate and review. 5/10 Bethany Cox
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4.3/10
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