The Second Arrival (1998)

This unwanted film is a sequel to THE ARRIVAL, a neat little science fiction thriller about an alien conspiracy starring Charlie Sheen. While slightly lacking in the special effects department, the film had many good ideas, such as aliens using global warming as a way to take over the earth. That film went straight to video. However, the sequel goes even lower, and has actually gone straight to cable. And if that wasn't enough, THE SECOND ARRIVAL turns out to be one of the worst, lamest films I've ever seen. Talk about the law of diminishing returns, that rule is put into overdrive in this film. The only good aspects are mere rehashes of scenes in the original thriller, and the rest of the film is full of such mind-numbing banality that you'll wake up sweating in the night, after having nightmares about being made to watch this torture endlessly.Forget the plot - it's non-existent. After a few brief set-up moments, the film consists of the 'heroic' pair basically running around, driving, getting attacked in some way by the aliens, thinking up a new plan, getting stopped in their tracks, thinking up a new plan, and then it all unravels and the director has no idea how to finish it, so he just has a big implosion at the end for special effects sake. However, even if the plot was stupendous, it would still be a chore to watch the painfully bad acting of Patrick Muldoon as he labours his way through each scene, staring blank-faced at the camera and making tired jokes which nobody thinks are funny. This guy must have been living on a different planet at the time of filming, he's obviously not inhabiting his own body, as he's stiffer than a plank coated in concrete. Mind you, Jane Sibbett isn't much help either, coming across as a sub-rate Scully, her acting skills consisting of shouting and tossing her hair. The only guy of note is Michael Sarrazin, the single 'name' actor in the entire film, and he gets murdered near the beginning as well.So what is there to watch for? The special effects? They're mostly bad, but bad in a look-at-the-bad-special-effect kind of way. The spinning alien globe is done to death, too, and to add insult to injury, there's only one alien in the entire film! (unless we include some CGI shots lasting for less than a second). The film reaches new lows when it introduces a virtual reality landscape, looking like a late '80s computer program. No, an early '80s computer program. It's that awful. The one good scene in the entire film occurs in the cold storage room, but it lasts quarter of an hour at most and it just goes downhill from there. Added to the blend is a totally gratuitous nude scene with an actress who really shouldn't be appearing naked. If you want backwards-legged aliens then watch the first film, nothing is done here that wasn't done there. In fact, forget that this film exists, because it adds nothing to the mythology apart from some nifty alien devices, and it's an embarrassment all round. Avoid!

Patrick Muldoon takes over in this sequel(no Charlie Sheen) playing the half-brother of Zane Kominski, who has been found dead(!) according to a news report. Muldoon then becomes involved with Zane's quest after he is given an envelope from Zane, and told to meet other people in an abandoned building, who also have envelopes, supposedly with details about the alien invasion, still ongoing. The meeting goes badly when they are attacked by an alien weapon, and must go on the run to stop this second arrival...Misconceived sequel with inadequate F/X, a slashed budget, and a story that is just a rehash of the first. Muldoon tries, but bland film is eminently forgettable.Only saw it because it was released as a double feature DVD with the first.

I liked "The Arrival," but this is a weak sequel. Lead actor Charlie Sheen is gone from the first movie and all that's left, except for Michael Sarrazin, are no-name actors. Actually, Sarrazin hasn't been seen much of in recent years, either. The movie does have some decent special effects and good good suspense, both of which make it fairly interesting and fast-moving. The problem is weak dialog and generally unlikeable characters, the worst being the obnoxious reporter played by Jane Sibbett. She was just downright annoying, ruining some of the enjoyment of watching this. Patrick Muldoon's character is a bit too sleazy, too. Cahterine Blythe was involved in some gratuitous sex scene, which accounts for the "R" rating.For people who liked "The Arrival," many of them (me included) got stuck with this one added to that on the double-featured DVD.

I had great expectation of this movie, the first part being an excellent sci-fi with Charlie Sheen as lead actor. Well, this sequel SUCKS. The entire crew should be banned from making films forever. I started suspecting this will be a BAD movie when the woman in the pub wanted to "comfort" the guy then she was walking around all naked. I have nothing against naked women in movies but in a sci-fi it is definitely a sign of desperation (of the talentless, dumb director.)Watch the original The Arrival and avoid this junk at all costs.