Zëiram 2 (1994)

First off, my hat goes off to all who watch this movie. Now to business, first off, reviewing a movie such as this one has been.....difficult because of the fact that these films are usually harder to find than my keys when the apartment is a mess. However, I give this movie a 7 out of 10 for a good reason. First off, most people who watch these films give a bad review for one reason. The effects are not what they are wanting, as is the story line. Most people expect a George Lucas (My apologies in advanced) style story. I liked this film because it takes me back to the old monster films of the 50's to 70's. The story is unique in its own right. The characters are well told. The monster effects, while many people call them campy, cheesy, etc., are normal fair for all tokusatsu series. And yes, I like these films.

I came across this movie some time back and decided to pick it up since the anime version remains one of my favorites of all time. The premise seemed promising, as did the cast of characters. Iria and her partners Bob and Fujikuro face off against an army of intergalactic mercenaries, thugs, etc. and a new robotic Zeiram unit is assigned to help them out. With Iria's old friends Kamiya and Teppei stumbling upon the face-off, the fusion of the first film and the anime was complete and success assured. And then somehow the director let everything fall apart at an amazing rate. Whatever potential the elements from the anime storyline had were completely wasted in favor of reiterating the first movie. As a result, by the end of the first hour you have the feeling that you've seen it all before, and performed a lot better the first time around. All in all, the ONLY reason to get this movie would be for the exceedingly small satisfaction of completing the Zeiram series. Otherwise, stick to the first two installments (Zeiram & Iria: Zeiram the Animation) and you'll be a lot better off.

At first, when I heard there was a Zeiram 2, I was a bit doubtful about it and was fearing that it would not be as good as the first movie and anime series, but boy, was I surprised at the results.Zeiram 2 follows Iria and her smart alecky sidekick Fujikuro, Teppei and Kamiya and a mad group of warriors. As these warriors try to rid of Iria, Zeiram strangely shows up and kills everyone, but spares her. It is revealed that the unit was covered up and sealed. But that would not last long, since the evil priest destroys and bleeds all over the unit, unmasking Zeiram's killer persona, and even eats a dog in one gulp.Man, a lot happens in this movie. It is even a little more intense than the first one. Just too bad Amemiya did not make a Zeiram 3. That would be cool.

Not funny bad... just plain bad (and very boring). Poorly directed, written and acted. The best that I can say about it is that some of the costumes were of average quality. Reminded me vaguely of the Power Rangers without any campy fun (not that the PR had much it's just that this is quite possibly worse). Avoid at all costs.