Too much of everything

Just so...so bad

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

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

Kevin Tenney's sequel to David Twoey's highly under-seen 1996 original that involved a secret alien invasion and starred Charlie Sheen is a low-budget, straight-to-video exercise that marginally manages to capture some of that mystery, paranoia and intrigue that engulfed the first feature. It does begin strongly (with most of the striking elements appearing then), but soon becomes routine and a little plain. Tenney's directorial methods keep things down-pat with only sudden ripples of fast paced thrills and brazen stunts in an on-the-run format. Nothing out of the ordinary and the suspense can be uneven, but the scenes are executed very well. However it's Bruno Philip's roaming cinematography that gives it a verve-like boost and Ned Bouhalassa's emphatic music score adds to the high octane bursts. The lack of anything really expansive shows its minimal barriers, but this doesn't stop the aspiring imagination and clever concepts that can be found in its drawn up story. It's probably not as thought-provoking, focused and eerie in the material like its predecessor, and the location-choices here don't have that same lasting effect. Still Tenney's old-fashion tailoring keeps it moving along without any real worries. The computer special effects (which do feature largely) look chintzy and formulate some flat images, but for the budget its stands-up. Well that's if you're willing to overlook it, which could be hard. Set-designs in many sequences can look dodgy and plastic, especially towards the climax. There are average performances with Patrick Muldoon and Jane Sibbett leading the way. Michael Sarrazin engages for a short while. A smoking hot Catharine Blythe and the imposable Mike Scherer get all the fun. Decent, but not a patch on the original.

I liked "The Arrival," but this is a weak sequel. Lead actor Charlie Sheen is gone from the first movie and all that's left, except for Michael Sarrazin, are no-name actors. Actually, Sarrazin hasn't been seen much of in recent years, either. The movie does have some decent special effects and good good suspense, both of which make it fairly interesting and fast-moving. The problem is weak dialog and generally unlikeable characters, the worst being the obnoxious reporter played by Jane Sibbett. She was just downright annoying, ruining some of the enjoyment of watching this. Patrick Muldoon's character is a bit too sleazy, too. Cahterine Blythe was involved in some gratuitous sex scene, which accounts for the "R" rating.For people who liked "The Arrival," many of them (me included) got stuck with this one added to that on the double-featured DVD.

Since I loved the original (The Arrival) so much, any sequel was going to be hard-pressed to beat it. But I certainly thought this one would be better than what I saw. The Second Arrival merely rides on the coattails of the original and adds little, if any, to the story. The budget for this film is quite evident, as they even steal special effects from the original and use it as their own. Perhaps they were just trying to get viewers to identify this movie with the first, but the attempt is lame. For quite some time I thought it starred Rob Lowe in the lead, but it's actually Patrick Muldoon. I'd swear those two are twins.This movie picks up with Zane Zaminsky's death from a "supposed" heart attack. With the event of his death, envelopes are mailed to several of Zane's close colleagues and contacts with information on how earth is occupied by an alien presence. This informed few try to discover more about the aliens while also trying to survive. 3/10

The Arrival II in My honest opinion is just a ok sequel. I was much more pleased with the original as it didn't have any sex or any think like that plus it showed the great looking aliens a lot more and views of the sky.Don't get Me wrong here the movie is not boring or dull its just that I think that the original one is the better of the two but if you like the Arrival and haven't seen the sequel then check it out and see what you think!