HALF PAST DEAD 2 is the follow up to a prison flick starring Steven Seagal (during one of his fatter periods) most people have never heard of. This sequel jettisons Seagal, replacing him with wrestler-turned-actor Bill Goldberg and pairing him up with rapper-turned-actor Kurupt.
Despite the poverty-row budget and the distinct lack of originality in terms of the premise, HALF PAST DEAD 2 is a film that proves to be surprisingly entertaining. The reason is down to the narrative, which eschews the usual prison drama clichés and replaces them with a backdrop involving a massive prison riot which leads to almost non-stop suspense and action.
The movie has plenty of flaws, not least in the script which gives almost every character defunct dialogue to spout. Goldberg (UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN) is too poor an actor to elicit sympathy, but he's better than the obnoxious Kurupt and the rest of the walking stereotypes making up the supporting cast. Watch out for Robert LaSardo, once again playing to type.
The action is fairly poorly handled but the pacing is spot on and I found myself caught up in the cheesy events as they moved towards something of a climax. It's certainly no classic but I enjoyed it more than the substantially more expensive original which is saying something.
Despite the poverty-row budget and the distinct lack of originality in terms of the premise, HALF PAST DEAD 2 is a film that proves to be surprisingly entertaining. The reason is down to the narrative, which eschews the usual prison drama clichés and replaces them with a backdrop involving a massive prison riot which leads to almost non-stop suspense and action.
The movie has plenty of flaws, not least in the script which gives almost every character defunct dialogue to spout. Goldberg (UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN) is too poor an actor to elicit sympathy, but he's better than the obnoxious Kurupt and the rest of the walking stereotypes making up the supporting cast. Watch out for Robert LaSardo, once again playing to type.
The action is fairly poorly handled but the pacing is spot on and I found myself caught up in the cheesy events as they moved towards something of a climax. It's certainly no classic but I enjoyed it more than the substantially more expensive original which is saying something.