This sequel picks up a few months after the original. Jeff Goldblum's baby is born and he is anything but normal. Growing up at an incredible pace, only at 5 years old he looks like an adult. But his father's fly genes have not escaped him and he awaits his terrible fate.
This sequel is nowhere near the class of the original but I didn't find it that bad either. Here the characters aren't as interesting, the pacing is uneven and in the end the film succumbs wholly to an FX showcase with little to no suspense.
But there are bright spots here I thought. The acting is generally very good, particularly Stoltz as the unfortunate offspring. He should be used to acting under heavy makeup and he fares well in building sympathy for his character. Richardson, as Stoltz father figure, is also good and on the whole their father-son-mentor-student relationship is well played out.
Spoiler alert.
I liked the ending quite a bit. When Stoltz finally turns into this bizarre fly the story takes a turn into revenge territory. Stoltz starts killing off his tormentors in a very grisly fashion and I thought that capped the film off well. Plus, the happy ending is welcomed, there was no need to let it end on a downbeat note.
End of spoiler.
All in all I found The Fly II to be a satisfactory viewing experience on a slow night. You could do a lot worse.
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