Species II . Nashville Scene . 04-20-98

Species II

DIRECTED BY: Peter Medak

REVIEWED: 04-20-98

The lunkheaded original concerned a slithery alien whatsit that disguised itself as a butt-nekkid centerfold cutie so that it could mate (and mate and mate) with horny Earthlings--the sort of blatant strokebook premise that virtually guaranteed you'd bump into your minister while trying to sneak out. The twice-as-lunkheaded sequel offers more sex, more gore, and more aliens, here led by a male astronaut who gets infected coming back from Mars. This time around, the crassness of serving a second helping of such shamefaced drek humiliates everyone involved.

The original alien, Natasha Henstridge, is back: Where previously her lust was so undiscriminating that even Alfred Molina saw bareback action, her libido has now been extinguished by, I kid you not, force-fed reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard. (That'd do it for me.) Also back is troubleshooter Michael Madsen, whose performance is rather defiant in its couldn't-give-a-crap laziness.

Almost everything else wrong with the movie can be blamed on screenwriter Chris Brancato. Not only does Brancato have an African American astronaut (poor Mykelti Williamson) speaking in nonstop Def Comedy Jam warm-up patter, he then somehow makes a hero of sickle-cell anemia. (Apparently the last line of defense against racially pure villains is a black man's tainted blood.) It's junk like this that gives mindless sexist trash a bad name.

--Jim Ridley

Capsule Reviews
Species II
Species II
Species II

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