Godawful sequel to a pretty damn good urban revenge thriller... Ginty is back but original director James Glickenhaus is not. And that's the problem right there, as the film's original producer, Mark Buntzman, thought he had what it took to write, produce AND DIRECT this misfire. Well, to be blunt, he DIDN'T.
Can a film be both boring and sadistic at the same time? Exterminator 2 answers these questions but not a whole lot more. Ginty's Exterminator is seen in the beginning of the film listening to a police scanner where a dispatcher is requesting backup to a liquor store that is being robbed. The hilariously evil perpetrators are seen torturing and killing the owners in a contrived scene that simply sets up what's next: a scene in the alley outside where our vigilante friend burns these guys with a flame thrower. From here on it's apparent that writer/director Buntzman decided to throw out the window any thoughts of social relevance and just make an urban action flick. Exterminator 2 fails at that as well. Ginty is partially to be blamed as he sleepwalks through this film though he isn't given a very good script. For instance, we aren't given any insight into why he wishes to continue his vigilante ways. The first film set these motives up well as he was prompted by not only his best friend getting crippled for life by a thoughtless group of thugs, but by the casual everyday crime he witnessed on the streets (not to mention the ineffectual response from the police). The viewer who did not watch the first Exterminator would have no idea as to why he wanders the streets killing people.
The rest of the cast looks uncomfortable with the exception of Mario Van Peebles as "X" -- a gang leader who gives a gleefully evil performance that looks like something borrowed from the script of Cannon's similar "Death Wish III" movie.
Well, you've been warned...
Can a film be both boring and sadistic at the same time? Exterminator 2 answers these questions but not a whole lot more. Ginty's Exterminator is seen in the beginning of the film listening to a police scanner where a dispatcher is requesting backup to a liquor store that is being robbed. The hilariously evil perpetrators are seen torturing and killing the owners in a contrived scene that simply sets up what's next: a scene in the alley outside where our vigilante friend burns these guys with a flame thrower. From here on it's apparent that writer/director Buntzman decided to throw out the window any thoughts of social relevance and just make an urban action flick. Exterminator 2 fails at that as well. Ginty is partially to be blamed as he sleepwalks through this film though he isn't given a very good script. For instance, we aren't given any insight into why he wishes to continue his vigilante ways. The first film set these motives up well as he was prompted by not only his best friend getting crippled for life by a thoughtless group of thugs, but by the casual everyday crime he witnessed on the streets (not to mention the ineffectual response from the police). The viewer who did not watch the first Exterminator would have no idea as to why he wanders the streets killing people.
The rest of the cast looks uncomfortable with the exception of Mario Van Peebles as "X" -- a gang leader who gives a gleefully evil performance that looks like something borrowed from the script of Cannon's similar "Death Wish III" movie.
Well, you've been warned...