Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Forgotten Sequels: The Fly II (1989)

So many films come out every year and yet, so many are forgotten over time. I would like to give a little due to some of these films. They're not always good, but they are consistently interesting. The first subject is...
Let's get this part out of the way. Despite what people may think, The Fly was actually a pretty long running series as a whole. You had the first THREE films (i'll cover the last one next), the remake and ITS sequel. Yeah, most people forget about the new Fly 2 more than they do the old one. The film is barely 20 years old too, which is the sad part.
*
A quick recap for those who did not see the Cronenberg film or forgot. Jeff Goldblum tried to make a teleportation machine. When he went in, so did a tiny little fly. Slowly but surely, our hero begins to transform. After much chaos and death, he dies, but not before getting his girlfriend pregnant and leaving a video diary. His kid is born and it resembles a larvae. Crap.
*
This film begins in a way that almost makes you wonder if it is a sequel. That title makes you think so, but the dramatic setting change and time-jump make you unsure. Basically, the kid was taken away, the mother died in child-birth (how convenient) and the child was raised in a lab. His home is basically The Truman Show, just with a more sinister edge.
*
He is constantly being tested without ever having the reason explained to him. On the plus side, he does have dog and a new love interest in Daphne Zuniga. While not the biggest name in Hollywood, you may recognize her. Life is good, save for the nagging feeling of being lied to and all those fly hormones running through him. He hooks up with Daphne, since it is a requirement of any film from this time. But you don't care about that.
*
You care about this. The whole movie builds up to the son testing another machine and fully bringing out his fly side. He transforms into a hideous monster and, just like Jaws II or Aliens, he spends a lot of time on screen. The thing resembles a fly, albeit by way of a dinosaur. Really though, this is a case of creativity over-powering common sense. The monster looks neat, sure, but he also looks nothing like he really should Laugh all you want at the original Fly and Fly 2's makeup, but it was fairly logicial. This one does spit acid and melt someone's face off though.
*
Ultimately, The Fly II is not all that inventive. It all boils down to boy-meets-girl, boy-kills-villain and boy-dies-tragic-death-while-mutated. There is nothing all that terrible about it, nor is there anything all that great about it. The blood effects and mutations look cool, but, given that they hired the F/X director of the last movie as the actual director here, this comes as no surprise. The film is entertaining, has good acting and has face-melting. Of course, so does Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. I'm just saying.
*
If you thought this movie was weird, wait until you see Curse of the Fly. Stay tuned...

No comments:

Post a Comment