If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Blistering performances.

The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Abby Arcane (Heather Locklear) returns to the swamp to visit her stepdad and learns that he's doing strange experiments that are turning people into mutants. Before long she meets Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) who was a victim of her stepfather's and before long the two are falling for each other while he is battling the bad guys.I must admit right up front that I was never a big fan of Wes Craven's SWAMP THING. I tried watching it a couple times as a kid and then again as an adult but it just never worked for me. To me the film was way too serious and it seemed to forget that it should be fun. THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING comes from Jim Wynorski and there's no question that it captures the lighter mood of a comic book and delivers some fun throughout its running time.That's not to say that this here is a perfect movie because it's far from that. Truth be told, I can understand why some people wouldn't like this and especially since it does go over-the-top with its humor. I think the film was made campy on purpose and that's proven with some of the one-liners plus it never takes itself overly serious. The campy nature works well and especially during the action scenes as well as with creature designs. The mutants all look rather good in a low-budget way and help add to the fun.Of course, the story itself is basically THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU with pinches of the first film thrown in. For the most part I thought Durock was good in the lead, although the bad dubbing certainly didn't help the character. I also like Locklear in the part as she did the "dumb blonde" thing kind of well and she was certainly easy on the eyes. The villains in the film aren't the most memorable but they're far from awful as well.THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING has a different tone than the first movie and for my money that's okay.

Is this Jim Wynorski's best movie? Is that saying much? ROST is a good action/comedy aimed at kids, a far cry from the first film. The production and even the script are fine but Wynorski's fast and cheap style of directing robs the film of moments that could've worked better as serious or scary. Jim prefers blowing up props to making characters likable. At least the villains are evil cartoons, so you don't get bored. Louis Jordan and Sarah Douglas are amazing as usual as complex evildoers. This film is never dull or too dumb, but it could've been better than the first had it been taken more seriously.

THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING is a sequel to the Wes Craven original, directed by Jim Wynorski this time around. Given that Wynorski has never made a decent movie, the odds are stacked against this one too, and so it proves. This is silly, campy film throughout, one which is bogged down by awful overacting from the supporting players and a general lack of coherence.The story sees the titular character returning to fight villain Louis Jourdan once more, after he somehow survived at the end of the last picture. There's some rubbery action and lots of posing from starlet Heather Locklear, but the whole thing's a cheese fest along the lines of the TROLL movies. I always found Swamp Thing one of the silliest comic book heroes (sillier even than the Toxic Avenger) and so it proves here.

I enjoyed Wes Craven's film Swamp Thing very much, but some reviewers found it to be lacking in laughs. The same can not be said of this sequel. Return of Swamp Thing has far more humor than the first film and should not be taken seriously. It's a humorous superhero/monster mash with plenty of fun moments. The two goofy little kids are especially funny. I dug this sequel as much as the first movie. Dick Durock played Swamp Thing in both movies and also in the Swamp Thing TV series. It's too bad the TV series isn't available on DVD (PUT IT ON DVD SOMEBODY!). Return of Swamp Thing is a cheesy blast of fun! Pop some corn, grab a cold beverage, kick back, and enjoy!