Arrival II

It could be that bad weather outside on a Sunday night influences my mood, makes me depressed, but I had anticipated so much of this movie, mainly because I liked the first one with Charlie Sheen. But it lacked pace, and the actors seem so much out of routine. Director Kevin Tenney wanted to keep the same atmosphere in this movie as you experience in the first, but it doesn't happen. It only slightly happens, and it gives you a feeling that you can expect some shocks, but they just never arrive . It never evolves or rises interesting scientific questions, like in The Arrival. Had you only seen more aliens and spaceships, it would have been worth seeing it just for that. It keeps you on a level to expect another movie, it's just one of those movies that attracts audiences on the basis of a brilliant predecessor. Just like Friday the 13th or the Robocop trilogy. Not even comparable to the first movie at all. A complete waste of time. If they want to make a third Arrival, please ask Charlie Sheen to return (even though his character is supposed to be dead in this one).

Kevin Tenney's sequel to David Twoey's highly under-seen 1996 original that involved a secret alien invasion and starred Charlie Sheen is a low-budget, straight-to-video exercise that marginally manages to capture some of that mystery, paranoia and intrigue that engulfed the first feature. It does begin strongly (with most of the striking elements appearing then), but soon becomes routine and a little plain. Tenney's directorial methods keep things down-pat with only sudden ripples of fast paced thrills and brazen stunts in an on-the-run format. Nothing out of the ordinary and the suspense can be uneven, but the scenes are executed very well. However it's Bruno Philip's roaming cinematography that gives it a verve-like boost and Ned Bouhalassa's emphatic music score adds to the high octane bursts. The lack of anything really expansive shows its minimal barriers, but this doesn't stop the aspiring imagination and clever concepts that can be found in its drawn up story. It's probably not as thought-provoking, focused and eerie in the material like its predecessor, and the location-choices here don't have that same lasting effect. Still Tenney's old-fashion tailoring keeps it moving along without any real worries. The computer special effects (which do feature largely) look chintzy and formulate some flat images, but for the budget its stands-up. Well that's if you're willing to overlook it, which could be hard. Set-designs in many sequences can look dodgy and plastic, especially towards the climax. There are average performances with Patrick Muldoon and Jane Sibbett leading the way. Michael Sarrazin engages for a short while. A smoking hot Catharine Blythe and the imposable Mike Scherer get all the fun. Decent, but not a patch on the original.

I liked "The Arrival," but this is a weak sequel. Lead actor Charlie Sheen is gone from the first movie and all that's left, except for Michael Sarrazin, are no-name actors. Actually, Sarrazin hasn't been seen much of in recent years, either.

The movie does have some decent special effects and good good suspense, both of which make it fairly interesting and fast-moving. The problem is weak dialog and generally unlikeable characters, the worst being the obnoxious reporter played by Jane Sibbett. She was just downright annoying, ruining some of the enjoyment of watching this. Patrick Muldoon's character is a bit too sleazy, too. Cahterine Blythe was involved in some gratuitous sex scene, which accounts for the "R" rating.

For people who liked "The Arrival," many of them (me included) got stuck with this one added to that on the double-featured DVD.

I am not sure which part of this movie was the most poorly done - the acting or the script. The acting was very superficial. I got the idea they took the first cut for a number of the scenes - unfortunately these were the ones the co-stars had to carry all by themselves - without special effects. I didn't believe a word or care about these people. Nor did I believe that the characters were experiencing what they portrayed. The script was even worse. Even if the acting was good I wouldn't believe the story. These characters made incredible jumps in logic. They could figure things out at the first look. Any computer programmer that was as good as "Jack" would never think their brother got the brains.

Even with the flaws it wasn't a total waste of time. It was another chapter in an ongoing story - not the second novel in a trilogy - just a few chapters. It should have been a TV series episode. And the special effects were nice in some places. I can see why this movie went right to cable and skipped the theaters.

The Arrival was, in my humble opinion, a great movie. I really really liked it - the acting, the story, the effects, the message ... a wonderful movie. So of course when I heard about the Second Arrival, I immediately got it on video. Big mistake. I never should've watched the movie. It disappointed me very much. It had *nothing* from the original movie. The acting was, to say the least, pathetic. The story was even worse. They took elements from the first movie and totally ruined them. The message was gone, too. The aliens, which were fascinating in the first movie, were nothing but boring bad guys. And claiming that Zane Zaminski had died was totally ridiculous. Everything was so unfitting that it makes you wonder if the creators of the second movie had actually watched The Arrival or just been told about it by an old friend. Everything about this movie was horrible. I don't understand why this movie was made; it has no point. I suggest you stay away from it if you liked The Arrival.