Bottom line, this film is better than expected, but that's a low bar. The directing is uneven; Fred Ward starts off playing a painfully goofy version of his Earl Bassett character, despite being a decent actor. But the film does find its footing, and even flirts with competence after Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) shows up.
The set pieces are terrible; a crappy warehouse is called a "refinery". The oil angle is apparently justifies someone paying $$$ for help and having a female geologist (who's confusingly also a paleontologist and ex-Playboy model) laying about. The goofy replacement for Kevin Bacon adds zero value beyond acting as an all-too-familiar plot device.
I think the central question here is whether ANY of the original film's magic is still present. I say YES, there is some fun to be had with the Graboids (and a new way of killing them).
I rate this at three stars with some bonuses: two stars for getting original cast members Ward and Gross, a half-star for still using lots of practical effects (not just CGI), and finally a half-star for Burt Gummer's deuce-and-a-half with the "mil-spec engine". That's six (6) stars total. This may sound generous for a low-budget sequel, but be aware that I rated the original at NINE (!!) stars.
The set pieces are terrible; a crappy warehouse is called a "refinery". The oil angle is apparently justifies someone paying $$$ for help and having a female geologist (who's confusingly also a paleontologist and ex-Playboy model) laying about. The goofy replacement for Kevin Bacon adds zero value beyond acting as an all-too-familiar plot device.
I think the central question here is whether ANY of the original film's magic is still present. I say YES, there is some fun to be had with the Graboids (and a new way of killing them).
I rate this at three stars with some bonuses: two stars for getting original cast members Ward and Gross, a half-star for still using lots of practical effects (not just CGI), and finally a half-star for Burt Gummer's deuce-and-a-half with the "mil-spec engine". That's six (6) stars total. This may sound generous for a low-budget sequel, but be aware that I rated the original at NINE (!!) stars.