"Species II," the follow up sequel to the moderately surprising hit original from 1995, is so much of a pure "B" movie that it might just need to be included in the definition of that term. Featuring bad and uninspired acting, gratuitous sex, plenty of hokey sci-fi effects and enough blood and gore for several films, this is a picture that could easily have gone straight to video or cable without taking up space in the local multiplex. While it may open with a reasonable box office return, don't expect it to last long in the theaters.
Essentially dumbing down the original story (that at least started with an okay premise), cover girl Natasha Henstridge is cloned back into existence as Eve, the half human, half alien counterpart to the original character, Sil. This time, however, she's locked up like a lab rat and quarantined from contact with men lest she get that lethal mating urge once again.
Instead, the filmmakers give that instinct to an astronaut/national hero who has returned from Mars infected with the same DNA that created Sil & Eve. After that basic setup, the film dallies a bit with a brief psychic connection between the astronaut and Eve and then proceeds into a boring, repetitious volley of violent sexual encounters that, of course, eventually ends with the possibility of yet another sequel in the series. Let's hope that's not the case.
While the film offers a few laughs and some decent, gory special effects (if you're into such things), director Peter Medak ("Pontiac Moon" and the spooky 1980 film, "The Changeling") has delivered a rather flat picture with haphazard pacing and a surprising lack of suspense. Working from screenwriter Chris Brancato's ("Hoodlum") script, the movie has no room for any sort of believability or character development (yes, even films like this can cause one to suspend disbelief if done properly). It knows what's expected of it, and delivers the requisite gore and soft core porn, but not much else.
Henstridge (the original "Species," "Maximum Risk") looks nice on screen, but isn't given much to do other than occasionally spout lines about seeing places and people on TV that she knows she'll never get to meet. Since her favorite show is "The Dukes Of Hazard," that's probably a good thing if you think of the offspring possibilities between her and the cast from that show. Michael Madsen ("Donnie Brasco") returns as the assassin hired to kill the aliens, but he seems as uninterested in playing his part as does his character in taking the job. Meanwhile Marg Helgenberger ("Fire Down Below") is okay as the concerned scientist and Mykelti Williamson ("Forrest Gump") is left to provide what little comic relief can be found in the flick.
I could go on about all of the plot problems and inconsistencies and absent or missed opportunities, but there would be no point to that exercise. If you like the original film, you may find this one tolerable, but if you never saw the first one, don't waste your time with this sequel. Just like any sci-fi "B" movie you might click to late at night on some cable TV channel, "Species II" is quite bad and only deserves your attention for a minute or two at best before turning to another channel. We give this sequel -- that we hope is the last in the series -- a 1 out of 10.