The Fly II (Special Edition) (DVD)

The Fly II is an unmitigated disaster, perhaps among the worst of all time in the world of cinema. The reasons are clear, a first time director, a worthless story, and Eric Stoltz and Daphne Zuniga cheesing it up. It is a great film if you like bad films, it is a testament on how not to do a sequel.

The story of Fly II is of the child Geena Davis was pregnant with at the end of the first film. The opening scene is Geena having a rather horrific childbirth, only it's not Geena. In true "Saved by The Bell" fashion I'm guessing they figured no one would notice because Geena refused to do another childbirth scene after the original film. Savvy instincts there. Once the fly/human baby is born we are taken to Bartok Industries, a place Jeff Goldblum's original character in The Fly mentioned once or twice as the funding behind his experiments. Bartok is led by evil capitalist Anton Bartok. They want to study the fly-boy once he's grown. He grows damn quick and soon becomes Eric Stoltz. He falls for Zuniga and in true sequel fashion, the Fly is born again. Mayhem ensues.

Okay, first shocker coming. You ready? The Fly II was rewritten by Frank Darabont. This is the fellow who wrote the screenplays for The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Clearly he's a chap with superior talent and yet the story of The Fly II could have been cranked out over a long weekend by some high school kids on meth. It's not compelling, not mysterious, not suspenseful, not funny, not believable. It is quite horrible indeed. Not good at all. For those just tuning in I should mention at this point that I didn't think the film was very good.

Here's shocker number two for yah. Vincent D'Onofrio was the original choice for the male lead. He even tested for the role, but the producers passed on him. They went with the immortal Eric Stoltz instead. It wouldn't have mattered if Pacino was in the part so I'm not going to knock Stoltz here.

The effects are decent for 1989. The new fly looks more fly than ever before. The deaths are more brutal and bloody than the original. While The Fly has real pacing issues the The Fly II has no pace at all. At 15 minutes longer than the original it's about 90 percent less story. At no point is this movie worth watching, from minute one on. WAIT! I did like the alternate ending. It was short and sweet. As it turns out the director hated the alternate ending so I feel a little better.

The making of The Fly II should be watched though. You'll get a ton of director Chris Walas who was clearly overmatched. He admits as much many times with quotes such as "I didn't know how to work with actors," or "The screenplay was a boondoggle." The feature is not played for laughs however, you'd think they were talking about the making of Apollo 13 for all the reverence they pay it. It would be as if I made a full length documentary on how I blew up a whole chicken in the microwave but played it as if I'd figured out world hunger.

This is a don't buy for anyone who likes movies. It's a don't buy for anyone who likes being entertained. When would I rate it a "buy"? If you wanted to get really drunk and watch it, or if you need to teach a class on bad screenplays. Then you should enjoy this delightful two disc set. Other than that spend the money on meth and have a screenplay session this weekend. I am sure you will turn out something better than this, even if it is a cross-breed horror involving a goat and Brittany Murphy.