Half Past Dead 2 – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

Available at Amazon.com

Directed by
Art Camacho

Cast:
Bill Goldberg … Burk
Kurupt … Twitch
Angell Conwell … Cherise
Robert Madrid … Cortez
Joe Perez … Lewis
Alona Tal … Ellie
Morocco Omari … J.T.
Jack Conley … Wallace
Robert LaSardo … Rivera
Kale Browne … Governor


The Movie:

While they tend to be inexpensive, and are probably pretty profitable, the logic still seems to escape me about some of the “Direct to DVD” sequels that get the green light. Sure, sequels to films that were moderately successful, such as Dukes of Hazzard and American Pie, seem to have built in audiences, and maybe even Cult titles such as Road House or Wild Things could warrant another series entry, but was there a lot of demand for a sequel, even a low budget one, to Half Past Dead? Especially when the sequel is without Steven Seagal?

Apparently Sony thought so, bringing back the supporting character Twitch (Kurupt), who is apparently after the same gold involved in the first film’s plot, but ends up getting caught in the middle of a racially motivated prison riot between two rival gangs. With Seagal nowhere to be seen, the only person able to help Twitch is Burk (Bill Goldberg), seemingly the only other person in the prison not affiliated with the two gangs. Together, they must try and survive the riot and save their loved ones, who were stranded in the prison when it went into lockdown. Then afterwards Twitch can perhaps worry about getting rich.

It’s hard to say whether this film would be any better if it had had a bigger budget, but as it is, the $1.5 million Action film suffers mightily from its financial strain. Director Art Camacho is unable to hide the film’s monetary constraints in any way, giving the film an especially cheap look, and a feel that is less cinematic than most TV series are able to produce these days. The film could have had the best acting in the world, but with the movie’s appearance being such a detriment, the flick would still be pretty unwatchable.

It also turns out that the film’s acting is not exactly top notch. Kurupt gets most of the screen time, but his rudimentary comedic skills aren’t really enough to keep your attention. Pairing him with Angell Conwell as his fiancé Cherise doesn’t help either, as the two have little to no chemistry whatsoever. Fairing a little better is Bill Goldberg, who manages to stand and look mean, which to be honest has always been his strong suit. Perhaps just putting out a film with a wrestler in the lead playing a prisoner was Sony’s aim with this film, but unfortunately for Goldberg, he’s got to play second fiddle to Steve Austin in popularity and product once again.

The film’s one plus is its fight scenes, which are appropriately brutal and perhaps the hardest hitting that I’ve seen thus far on a “Direct to DVD” feature. While they’re not really frequent enough to make this film watchable, or as impressive as your run of the mill Hollywood actioner, they’re certainly serviceable and are undoubtedly Goldberg’s best scenes in the movie. To tell you the truth, they’re the best scenes in the film period.

Despite the fight scenes, there’s so much wrong with Half Past Dead 2 that it is still nearly unwatchable. The movie has a few moments, but for the most part the flick is just crippled by its terrible script and even worse visual look. The only highlight in the film is Goldberg’s physicality, but it doesn’t look as if this movie could possibly help his career.


The DVD:

The Video
It doesn’t help when you add the problem of a mediocre print to a film with bad cinematography, but that’s exactly what happens here. The disc’s picture is too dark and the image becomes badly pixilated in the film’s final fight scene, which is very distracting. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.77:1.

The Audio
The Audio track is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and fairs a little better. The film’s score is way too loud in certain places, making it hard to understand certain sequences of low dialogue.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailers

Trailers – You get trailers for several “Direct to DVD” titles, as well as Stomp the Yard.

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for Half Past Dead 2
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE MOVIE

3
THE VIDEO

5.5
THE AUDIO

7
THE EXTRAS

1
REPLAY VALUE

2
OVERALL
2.5
(NOT AN AVERAGE)

Robert Sutton feels the most at home when he's watching some movie scumbag getting blown up, punched in the face, or kung fu'd to death, especially in that order. He's a founding writer for the movies section of Insidepulse.com, featured in his weekly column R0BTRAIN's Badass Cinema as well as a frequent reviewer of DVDs and Blu-rays. Also, he's a proud Sony fanboy, loves everything Star Wars and Superman related and hopes to someday be taken seriously by his friends and family.