Half Past Dead 2 (2007) (V)

Director:

Art Camacho

Writers:

D. Kyle Johnson (writer)
Don Michael Paul (characters)

Release Date:

12 June 2007 (Argentina)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Tagline:

It ain't over 'til he's done.

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Governor | Riot | Alcatraz | Helicopter | Prison

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Dec. 4

1:00 PM

BET

Cast

Bill Goldberg	...	William Burke
Kurupt	...	Bernard 'Twitch' Washington
Jack Conley	...	Warden Edward Wallace
Robert Madrid	...	Alex Cortez
Morocco Omari	...	J.T.
Angell Conwell	...	Cherise Powell
Robert LaSardo	...	Rivera
Alona Tal	...	Ellie Burke
Noelle Evans	...	Amy
Robert Torti	...	Assistant Worden
Kale Browne	...	Governor Adams
Bruce Weitz	...	Lester McKenna (archive footage)
Stogie Kenyatta	...	Angel
John Lacy	...	Murphy
Tony Plana	...	Warden El Fuego

Also Known As:

Justified (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Movie Connections:

References King Kong (1933)

Soundtrack:

Day By Day

Just about serviceable sequel

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Long time inmate Twitch (Kurupt) gets himself transfered to a tougher prison than the re-opened Alcatraz. He claims it's to be closer to his lady but his real motives are a bit more grandiose. There he crosses paths with Burke (Bill Goldberg) a bulky prisoner who can take care of himself. Twitch, despite being less muscular, is just as mouthy and is pretty much the same. But there is a gang war brewing between the black and hispanic inmates that explodes into a hostile takeover of the prison when the black's gang leader is shot dead and the finger points at Burke. But the sh!t really hits the fan when the real killer and leader of the hispanics, Cortez (Robert Madrid) takes Twitch's girlfriend and Burke's daughter hostage.

Steven Seagal doesn't do sequels (reportedly very opposed to the idea of Under Siege 2 and only agreeing to do it on the condition the film company he was with at the time let direct his own movie) so despite this being a DVD sequel, the lead role this time round goes to Bill Golberg (Steve doesn't even appear in some of the stock footage from the first film that appears towards the end.) But there's a reason he hasn't done much work since Universal Soldier 2 and that's because he's not much of an actor, and not much of an action star either, managing a character that begins as very dark and brooding but unsubtly turns into a standard action hero awkwardly quipping off dull one-liners. Support wise, veterans from the first film, Kurupt and Tony Plana, have merely jumped at the chance of extra work.

This is a film that's tried to copy the style of the original quite well, with the dim lighting, dark shadows and rap music playing over a lot of it. It does this quite well, unfortunately it can't contend with an unengaging hero, an equally cardboard villain and an apathetic story that the makers do very much seem to have made up as they went along. **