GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH
A film review by Randy Parker
Copyright 1996 Randy Parker
RATING: ** (out of ****)
(Review written in 1990)
GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH is a noisy, unoriginal, and altogether unnecessary sequel. The film tries to fashion itself as an AIRPLANE-style, no-holds-barred parody. And to be honest, some of the movie's satire is surprisingly amusing. The problem is that the laughs in GREMLINS 2 aren't consistent enough and don't come often enough to keep the film moving. About every five or ten minutes, GREMLINS 2 comes up with a clever gag, but in between you have to suffer through some awfully chaotic and deadly dull sequences, as the gruesome gremlins belch, bang, and brawl their way through the movie.
GREMLINS 2 reunites Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates, the protagonists from the original movie. Galligan is adequate in the lead role, but Cates proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that her acting lessons were a terrible waste of time and money. The sequel also features Christopher Lee (as a mad genetic scientist), Gedde Watanabe (as a camera-happy tourist) and John Glover, who gives a savory comic performance as Daniel Clamp, a wealthy entrepreneur who is the epitome of egotism and a wonderful take-off on Donald Trump and Ted Turner. The movie also has fun with cameos by wrestler Hulk Hogan, film critic Leonard Maltin and director Paul Bartel.
In case you care, the plot this time around has the mischievous little buggers wreaking havoc on Clamp Centre, an automated, ultra-modern, high-rise office building in Manhattan. Come to think of it, the movie could have killed two birds with one stone if it had brought in Bruce Willis to thwart the monster-terrorists. Imagine, "Die Hard 2: The Next Batch." Now, THAT'S high concept.
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