The Fly 2 Special Edition
Filed Under: Film, Reviews | Article Tags : DVD review
By: Denis Blot
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In 1986 Twentieth Century Fox released David Cronenberg’s brilliant film: The Fly, they would follow three years later with a pointless sequel: The Fly II. The film has all sorts of problems, beginning with an unseasoned first time director, a flawed screenplay, and a recycled plot. The film would be wonderful as a B-movie, but as those are no longer made, the viewer who is expecting an A picture is essentially let down.
Chris Walas who directed the film, is more likely to be recognized as the genius (and his team from Chris Walas, Inc.) behind the puppet/animatronic and special effects make-up work on the The Fly as well as Gremlins, and a host of other sci-fi, adventure, and horror films. Walas’ debut as a film director is far from awful, but it’s certainly not good either. His choices in shots are often too wide, resulting in the lack of suspense, thrill, or tension needed for this type of film, and leaving the viewer often feeling distanced from the action. Not surprisingly Walas’ best moments as a director appear with the usage of the fly creature his team created, unfortunately that occurs only in the last third of the film.
When you have four different people work on the screenplay for a film, it’s usually not a good sign. In the case of this film, there are certainly plot holes; we never discover why the mother decided to bring the child to term, or why the massive corporation wanted the child in the first place, what good could it bring? In relation to the human/fly creature, we find out the child/fly is extremely smart, but not why. Are flies smart? For a sci-fi/horror film, the science part is definitely lacking, and could easily have been better with just some minor research on flies.
The plot comes down to the same basic elements the original did; a relationship develops between two people, one finds out he’s turning into a fly, the woman tries to help and save him, and at the end the fly is formed and wreaks havoc. While the sequel has a larger quantity of violence and gore (certainly enough to satisfy any reader of Fangoria), and the fly creature looks somewhat different from the original, with the same plot all the tension and suspense is lost. Fox would have been better off saving the movie making costs of The Fly II and simply re-released the original.
The special edition DVD is loaded with extras, director commentary, documentaries, alternate ending, deleted scene, and storyboard to film comparisons, and a few others for good measure. The director commentary is a bit pointless to watch, albeit comical. Chris Walas discusses his difficulties as a first time director, and points out flaws or problems with the film. There are moments that his dialogue approaches that of Mystery Science Theater 3000. While the deleted scene is a bit fun, a frame grab from the alternate ending should be used as the slang definition of cheese. The best thing to watch in the extras is the documentary on the history of the fly movie that was made for the American Movie Classics channel and is pretty thorough.
The Fly II is worth borrowing, you can watch it on one of those lazy Sunday afternoons when even getting out of bed is a chore and mindless entertainment is the only thing you can handle without causing a headache. It is also worth watching because it will make you appreciate David Cronenberg’s film that much more.
Reviewer’s Opinion: BORROW IT!!
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