Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) - Theatrical Review

Director: Roland Emmerich

Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pulman, Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe, Vivica A. Fox

Country: United States

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 120 min

1996's Independence Day (ID4) is, in my opinion, an undeniably flawed, but hugely entertaining blockbuster. Whereas previous ground breaking blockbusters like Jaws and Star Wars offered escapist entertainment with complex characters and haute tension, ID4 simplified everything down to a point that can be described as safe escapist entertainment with oodles of comedic relief and special effects galore. Although ID4 features some fairly solid filmmaking courtesy of director Roland Emmerich, he still cannot match the likes of Steven Spielberg or George Lucas, as he seems to only use his characters as conduits for stories about worldwide destruction. Ever since Emmerich began his fetish for destruction with ID4, he has always challenged himself as to how much destruction he can depict within his films. From Godzilla, to The Day After Tomorrow, to 2012, to White House Down, Emmerich has always been obsessed with disaster epics.

But Independence Day: Resurgence (ID4:R) represents a new low for Emmerich, a filmmaker who used to be somewhat reliable as far as blockbuster devastation came. Not only is the sequel more ridiculous and absurd than the previous, but it fails to deliver the believable character relationships and affective pacing that makes the original still so affective to this day. There's no denying it, the original ID4 is an iconic film, based mainly upon its destructive imagery, but also upon its ability to make stars out of its actors. Whether you want to admit it or not, ID4 was the biggest film of 1996, and one that is still celebrated every Fourth of July. But let me tell you, no one is going to be celebrating ID4:R ever, let alone remembering it even came out by next month. ID4:R might as well be the biggest budgeted SyFy Channel television movie ever made, as it features the horrendous plotting and inept character work of their low budget turds. Coupled along with some absurd science fiction imagery and laughable green screens that will make anyone snicker in their seat, ID4:R is one of the laziest sequels ever to be produced by a major Hollywood studio.

I wish we lived in a world where we could shrug off damage like this like it's nothing.

If you've seen the posters or the trailers, I don't even need to tell you what happens next. But alas, I will. Since the previous alien invasion of 1996 (they even refer to it as the War of '96 in a desperate effort to expand the ID4 mythos), Earth has settled its differences to unify together and prepare for a possible response attack from the aliens. Twenty years later, Earth has harnessed the aliens' technology to create weapons and vehicles in preparation for their eventual return. They even created a base on the moon in order to spot them as soon as they arrive. When the aliens do arrive, which is more of an expected story beat and hardly a surprise to any one at all (it's almost as if they've read the script), they arrive in only one ship this time with a far simpler and like minded purpose, drill to the center of the Earth in order to absorb the Earth's molten energy and leave it for dead. But these aliens messed with the wrong planet! Because we've got Will Sm...Jessie Usher! And we won't go down without a fight!

Independence Day: Resurgence is this year's Terminator: Genisys, a long delayed sequel to a generation defining franchise that pales in comparison to its predecessor and proves that certain intellectual properties (IP) are no longer as "cool" as they used to be. But while the Terminator series has slowly but surely pumped out a sequel every eight or so years, thereby keeping it somewhat relevant and within the public conscious, ID4:R arrives a whopping twenty years after the original film. While there has always been talk of a sequel, the amount of time that has passed since the first film had always convinced people that a sequel would never get made and that ID4 would always be a fun one-off in which the world triumphs over generic alien invaders. But lo and behold, Hollywood's desperation for marketable brand name and recognizable IP can make anything happen. When one looks at 20th Century Fox's lack of successful franchises and Emmerich's previous flop White House Down, ID4:R sure seemed like a safe sequel to green light in order to ensure both the studio and filmmakers' liveliness. Unfortunately, Fox and Emmerich will have to learn the hard way that previously successful IP's are no longer the box office juggernauts that they used to be. Not only does an Independence Day sequel released within 2016 scream "desperate," but also "lame."

Jeff Goldblum and Baby Thor stare in awe at the aliens.

The poster's tagline, "We had twenty years to prepare. So did they," might as well state, "We had twenty years to prepare for this sequel. This is all we could come up with," because ID4:R is essentially ID4 all over again but with less imagination and humanity. It's almost shocking that the film has a whopping five (!) credited screenwriters, and that two of those screenwriters are actually characters within the film! Who the heck are these guys and why is Emmerich giving them the time of day like this? Anyways, ID4:R also shares the same flaws as this year's absymal, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in that the film takes no time to introduce its characters or bother with exposition. It simply throws you right into the mix and expects you to accept everything as it is. While ID4 is regarded as a science fiction film, the only science fiction aspects are the invading aliens. Everything else is fairly real world and grounded in how our planet would react to such an attack. However, ID4:R's future world is quite shocking, as the entire planet is now entirely sci-fi based, thereby removing all similarities to real life or even the original film. To simply throw the viewer into such a world, barely give them an update, and hope they accept it without asking any questions, is not only world shaking, but dare I say, even comical.

After watching both ID4 and ID4:R within close proximity to each other, I realized just how well made the original ID4 is. For starters, ID4:R has a major pacing issue, as every plot point, character moment, and action beat is utterly rushed to the point where it almost feels shocking how quickly the scenes transition with one another. What's that? You were just starting to enjoy the level of destruction the alien ship was causing on Earth? Too bad, we're moving on. What's that? You want to lament the death of that character? Too bad, we're moving on. When I first saw that the sequel was only two hours long, a whopping twenty five minutes shorter than the original, I let out a sigh of relief for its somewhat brief run time. But alas, it turns out that all of that missing screen time was necessary in order to provide the film with its much needed build up. 

Speaking of build up, ID4:R has none of it. Much the same way that the film throws the viewer into its world with nary any exposition, the aliens show up and are physically presented on the screen as if it were no big deal. It's a shame, because the original film had such excellent build up and treated the aliens as if they were these awe-inspiring and menacing creatures instead of just the lifeless computer generated presence that they are in the sequel. This brings up another problem, in that the aliens are computer generated (CG) throughout the entire film. Besides one practical shot of an alien's foot (Oh Emmerich, you spoil us), the aliens are always CG and always bland. They're simply, well, there.

Another problem with the sequel is that there are simply too many characters and sub-plots to do justice within a two hour run time. ID4 already flirted with this issue, having a plethora of characters without much to do and an entire sub-plot involving Randy Quaid's character that only pays off at the film's end. However, ID4:R kicks this flaw into overdrive, with not only all of the returning cast members, but also far too many inconsequential and flat characters, especially the two who are also screenwriters. It would take a long long time for me to write about every single one of these characters, as there are a lot, but I'll single out a few who are deserved of praise. The only actors who come out of the picture unschated are Jeff Goldblum and Brent Spiner, who are both returning players. While every other actor, including the filmmakers themselves, play the film extremely straight and take the subject matter way too seriously, Goldblum and Spiner seem to understand the ridiculousness of it all and play the picture with a bubbly and joyous energy that is absent in everyone else. Star Trek: Next Generation fans will be pleased to see Spiner score more screen time here than even in the original.

Come on! How can you not laugh at this!

Many people have pointed out that without Will Smith, who is sorely missed, the sequel lacks a "cool" and relatable human character to ground and carry the adventure with. While this is entirely true, it seems that Liam Hemsworth's character is apparently Emmerich's replacement for this likable human lead. I enjoy his tie to the former President's daughter, which thereby ties him to Bill Pullman and the original picture, but Hemsworth is as flat and generic as they come. Even the President's daughter, played by Maika Monroe, who was excellent in two of contemporary indie horror's greatest films, The Guest and It Follows, comes off especially flat. Seriously, there isn't a single interesting human character in this film, let alone a likable or believable relationship to go along with said characters. It's a shame that Jeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch's characters, who are father and son, are kept separated until the very end, because their relationship produces a few honest to goodness laughs towards the end that breathes some much needed life into an otherwise bland sequel.

By the way, character deaths are borderline comical. Two major characters, who shall remained unnamed, are killed off so quickly and suddenly, that I honestly couldn't believe how blatant their deaths were. However, Emmerich makes sure to give Spiner's lab assistant friend significant mourning time right after his death. You know, because he was such a lovable character in the first place. Overall, don't come to ID4:R expecting good character work, because it's non-existent.

The original ID4 won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects, and deservedly so. The reason ID4 won an award and is so fondly remembered is because it combined every special effects technique possible to great effect. The film's alien ships, aliens, and explosive devastation was depicted not only through CG effects, which were just taking over Hollywood in the 90s, but also animatronics, miniatures, and practical costumes. ID4 was the final dying breath of classic special effects work. Which now brings me to ID4:R, a film entirely devoid of the creativity and ingenuity found in the original. Not only are all of the aliens and ships CG, but terrible green screens permeate many shots. The digital and nonsensical destruction is so over the top and artificial, that there is no possible way that me or any viewer could possibly take the damage seriously. One shot (pictured above) in which Dubai's the Burj flies through the air and lands in London is near tear inducing. It's one of the funniest things that I have seen all year.

"Earth is not for the taking!"

Overall, there are no surprises here. Besides a second alien species that shamelessly sets up a sequel (which I somewhat want because it will be absurd) and a finale in which a giant alien queen chases Goldblum and friends around in a bus (no joke), everything is as expected. The only time the film becomes fresh and watchable is when it steers away from the boring "been there done that" territory of the original for a ridiculous finale in which a giant alien queen runs around with a laser gun. Although I tore ID4:R to shreds, it is without a doubt one of the most enjoyably schlocky blockbusters to come along in a long time. Nowadays, with how horrendous blockbusters tend to be, simply being not boring is an achievement in and of itself. But in all seriousness, this is not a good sequel, nor a good movie. I recommend getting drunk or getting a group of friends together to laugh at it, but otherwise, look elsewhere for legitimate sci-fi entertainment, because you won't find it here.

Rating: 3/10 - Although devoid of creativity, utterly rushed, and over stuffed with more characters than an ensemble romantic comedy, ID4:R is laughable science fiction schlock from beginning to end.

Franchise:
Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996)
Independence Day: Resurgence (Roland Emmerich, 2016)

Universal Soldier Triple Feature - Universal Soldier (1992), Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009), Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)

The faces of the franchise.

The Universal Soldier series is a surprisingly large franchise. It heavily resembles the Highlander series in that it contains numerous films that change up the continuity and canon of the series with each release. Franchises like this are extremely frustrating to watch and can make one wonder why the filmmakers couldn't just stick to one timeline in the first place.

Anyways, the Universal Soldier series is comprised of six films...

Universal Soldier (1992) - Theatrical
Universal Soldier II: Brothers In Arms (1998) - DTV
Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business (1998) - DTV
Universal Soldier: The Return (1999) - Theatrical
Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) - DTV
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012) - Limited Theatrical + DTV

Of these six films, the first film and the two newest DTV releases are considered official canon. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th films don't count at all (even though The Return stars Van Damme). The 1st, 5th, and 6th films form a trilogy of their own. They are also the only three films in the series to include both Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren.

As a die hard action fan, I always believe in watching every single installment in an action franchise. However, I don't have that much of an interest in diving into every single Universal Soldier film when I know that three of them don't even count and aren't considered great films either. Therefore, I have noted that fans online and the filmmakers themselves note that the only ones really worth watching are the three official canon releases. I may review the other films another day but don't have that much of a pressing interest in them at all. Therefore, let's get to it.

Director: Roland Emmerich

Cast: Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Norris, Leon Rippy, Ally Walker

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 103 minutes

Universal Soldier starts off with an excellent prolouge that sets the stage for the rest of the film and the series in general. The year is 1969 and the Vietnam War is in full bloom. Private Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) has been ordered to protect a small village. Unfortunately, Luc's superior Sergeant Andrew Scott (Lundgren) has snapped and gone on a killing spree. He's slaughtered everyone in the village and severed their ears to create a makeshift ear necklace. When Luc finds Andrew about to kill two villagers, he attacks Andrew and tells the villagers to run. The villagers aren't fast enough though and Andrew shoots them down. Distraught, Luc stabs Andrew with the bayonet attached to his rifle. In his dying moments, Andrew pulls out his hand gun and shoots Luc to death as well. The two plummet backwards and splash dead into the wet ground. 

When American soldiers arrive upon the scene, they bag up the two deceased soldiers and sign them up for the Universal Soldier program. The program takes once deceased men and turns them into UniSols, invincible cyborgs that serve the government however they please. They can't think or speak for themselves. They simply take orders and go on dangerous missions taking out terrorists whenever they are needed. When a reporter named Veronica (Ally Walker) sneaks onto the UniSol training ground, she accidentally triggers old memories in both Luc and Andrew. Andrew immediately resorts back to being an unstoppable killing machine while Luc resorts back to being a good natured and protective soldier. It's essentially one big chase across the country as Andrew wants his revenge against Luc for killing him so many years ago.

Universal Soldier is an action film with a great set up that sounds like a sure fire hit. However, I found myself to be quite disappointed with this film the same way that I found myself disappointed with the original Highlander film. There is great potential here but it is all completely wasted. For starters, nothing in the film really engaged me. I was never once sucked into the exciting chase concept of the film. Second, the female lead is extremely annoying. She spends the entire movie with her jaw open whenever Van Damme does something silly like walk around naked to cool off or throw people out of a window.  And third, why is there so much unnecessary humor and silly antics in this film? It kept reminding me of the issues with Die Hard 2.

Writer/director team Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin seem to have a habit of taking science fiction/action films and injecting them with lots of unnecessary humor and annoying characters. Their habit to ruin great stories with dumb logic and annoying humor continued into blockbuster hits like Independence Day (1996) and Godzilla (1998). I think the two created a great mythology and set up for an action movie with Universal Soldier, I really do. However, the two didn't even attempt to explore interesting themes with their film and ended up wasting two great action icons in the process.

Universal Soldier isn't all bad though. You could say that the film is also what Devlin/Emmerich do well: dumb action packed fun. Like I said before, the opening prolouge and the first 20 minutes are extremely entertaining. I love that the UniSols get sent on a mission to take down some terrorists at what looked like Hoover Dam. What terrorists would have the balls to take over Hoover Dam?

Lundgren and Van Damme also get to show off their action prowress with numerous car chases, fist fights, and shootouts. Even though I didn't find any of the action scenes in this film to be especially impressive, I did appreciate the variety of action on display. The film almost plays out as a versus film between Van Damme and Lundgren. They continue to chase one another across the country and duke it out numerous times. Their final fight is pretty solid too.

I don't have much to say about this film because not a whole lot happens in it. I think there was great potential to explore something interesting with in this kind of film. Maybe an exploration of the loss of humanity that the UniSols suffer from? Instead, Devlin and Emmerich just wanted to make a dumb action film and that is exactly what they made. I recommend this film only to Van Damme and Lundgren fans because there isn't much else here besides the two of them duking it out. It's also worth checking out if you want to see what a low budget Emmerich film looks like.

Rating: 5/10 - A flawed but dumb and decent sci-fi actioner featuring two of action cinema's greatest stars.

Director: John Hyams

Cast: Andrei Arlovski, Dolph Lundgren, Jean Claude Van Damme, Mike Pyle

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 97 minutes

After two DTV (direct to video) sequels and a failed theatrical sequel, the reception and continuity of the Universal Soldier series was all over the place. If a theatrical sequel couldn't save it than nothing could. Therefore, the series remained dormant for 10 years. In 2009, John Hyams revived the franchise and miraculously brought Universal Soldier back to life. The film erased the continuity of the previous films and acted as a sequel to the original Roland Emmerich film.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration is a breath of fresh air in the direct to video landscape. It avoids all of the pitfalls of so many other DTV action flicks by doing almost everything right. The film's plot is extremely simple to follow, the action scenes are incredibly well shot and choreographed, and the acting is pretty solid too. Nothing looks cheap and nothing screams "direct to video budget." The film also ditches the humor of the previous installments and plays things deadly seriously. Universal Soldier: Regeneration is a gritty, violent, and realistic sci-fi actioner that all action fans must check out.

The film starts with a literal bang as terrorists kidnap the Ukrainian prime minister's children in broad day light. Theses terrorists will only let the children go if hundreds of political prisoners are let go from prison. In addition, the terrorists take over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and threaten to detonate the entire site if their demands are not met in 72 hours. These terrorists have a key element to their plan. They own an NGU, a Next Generation UniSol). NGU's are stronger and more powerful Universal Soldiers that were decommissioned long ago. However, one of the scientists who worked on the original NGU's long ago has joined forces with the terrorists. He and his remaining NGU (Andrei Arlovski) work for the terrorists in exchange for money.

The military sends in human soldiers and even four old UniSols to rescue the children in the power plant. Unfortunately for them, the NGU is extremely powerful and quickly destroys all UniSols and human soldiers with ease. When all seems lost, the military try to use the last remaining UniSol they know of, Luc Deveraux (Van Damme). Deveraux is being conditioned back into society with the help of a female doctor. However, the military want Deveraux to give up all of his human conditioning and turn him into a killing machine once again. If they can't get Deveraux to turn into a mindless UniSol again, than no one can stop the terrorists and their NGU.

What's interesting about Universal Soldier: Regeneration is that Luc Deveraux doesn't even get in on any action until the last 30 minutes of the film. The entire first hour of the film consists of the military trying to get into the plant and failing numerous times. The film jumps back and forth between the military's efforts, the villain's plot, and Deveraux's therapy sessions. If any one character has the most screen time, it might be the NGU played by former UFC fighter Andrei Arlovski. I was surprised that the filmmakers went this route because Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren don't get in on any of the action until the big finale. Even though everyone gets a chance to shine, Arlovski really steals the show in this.

The action in this film is far better than the action found in the original film. It's brutal, bloody, and well shot too. All of the blood and gun effects are physical as well. This means the filmmakers really put their time and effort into creating a realistic action film and didn't opt out to be lazy with digital flare shots or digital blood. Director Peter Hyams (Outland, Timecop, Sudden Death, End of Days) acts as the director of photography and brings an excellent sense of camera work to the film. Having an experienced filmmaker like Peter act as the D.P. to his own son's film turns this DTV material into quality theatrical material. This impressive camera work really shows during an excellent tracking shot when Van Damme mows down numerous terrorists.

Dolph Lundgren is the second billed name on this film. But in all honesty, his screen time must come out to at least 7 minutes. He's essentially a cameo and a great one too. Dolph and Van Damme have a rematch at the end of this film that is much better than the final fight that the two shared in Universal Soldier. The choreography is better, the fight lasts longer, and it ends with one of the best kill shots I have ever seen. There is also a throwback to the opening scene of Universal Soldier right before Dolph and Van Damme duke it out. It was both excellent fan service and my favorite scene in the whole film.

Regeneration is a basic and hard as nails action film that proves that overly complicated plots and poor editing aren't present in every DTV film. The action in this film is far better than many of the fight scenes and shootouts one will find in theatrically produced material. I recommend reading up on what occurs in the original Universal Soldier film and skipping right ahead to this one.

Rating: 7/10 - If well produced action is your thing, than Regeneration is the action movie for you. It revives a dead franchise and proves that DTV material is not to be scoffed at.

Director: John Hyams
Cast: Scott Adkins, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Andrei Arlovski
Country: United States
Rating: R
Run Time: 114 minutes

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is nothing like I expected it to be. It is completely different in almost every way from the previous film. There is now a central protagonist to relate to, the violence and nudity is far more graphic, the plot is very complicated and unpredictable, and Luc Deveraux is now a psychotic villain controlling an army of UniSols. While Regeneration was a safe DTV sequel, Day of Reckoning is a daring and challenging arthouse sequel that transcends both its formulaic genre and DTV trappings.

Day of Reckoning follows one central protagonist, a man named John (Scott Adkins). John wakes up one night and finds masked men in his kitchen. They beat him up and murder his wife and child in front of his eyes. One of the masked men takes off his mask and reveals himself to be a bald Luc Deveraux (Van Damme). John wakes up out of a coma months later and begins to investigate into what happened to him. He quickly discovers that he may not be who he thinks he is and that everything he knows may just be programmed memories.

Luc Deveraux has apparently snapped and cloned an entire army of UniSols to attack the government who created him in the first place. He's even brought back his old pal Andrew (Dolph Lundgren) and found a way to control all UniSols with a simple injection. Deveraux even gets ahold of the clone of the NGU (Andrei Arlovski) from Regeneration and sends it after John to stop him from investigating further. It's a race against the F.B.I., the NGU, and his own sanity as John has to quickly discover what is the truth and stop the UniSol army.

Day of Reckoning feels like an action film directed by foreign filmmakers like Gaspar Noe (Irreversible, Enter the Void) or Nicholas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising, Drive). Unlike Regeneration, the film has an extreme visual style the consists of near headache inducing blinking lights, sound drop outs, numerous tracking shots, slowed down and sped up footage, hazy lighting, POV camera shots with blinking eye effects, and insanely gory violence. This is not your grandpa's DTV sequel. This is a crazy and unique arthouse-esque film that draws from the influences of many other filmmakers and applies that to the action genre.

The plot of the film is quite confusing. I may need to watch this film a second time because I still don't quite understand everything. Unlike so many other films, Day of Reckoning hardly explains much of the film's proceedings. Many things are left unsaid or unexplained and left to the viewer to understand or decipher. The film never treats the audience like a child and expects us all to be actively viewing the film instead of just passively viewing mindless action. Day of Reckoning also reminded me a lot of Paul Veerhoven's masterpiece Total Recall because it dealt with the themes of questioning one's identity and reality.

Day of Reckoning really pulled a switcheroo on me. I never thought that the hero of the previous film would become the villain of this film. The film even introduces a completely new character as the central protagonist. I have always loved Scott Adkins (The Assassination Games, Ninja) and think this is his best work to date. He finally gets an opportunity to really act in this film and not just shoot people's heads off. Adkins is like a DTV Jason Statham but far more athletic and violent in his action scenes. If you ask me, I think that Adkins is the hardest working and most impressive action star currently working in the United States besides Liam Neeson, Jason Statham, Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, and Daniel Craig.

Dolph Lundgren and Van Damme are reduced to surprisingly very small supporting performances. They only get a few scenes each and earn most of their screen time during the film's final action scene. Van Damme actually out-crazies Lundgren (a real surprise considering Dolph's insane antics over the last few films) by the end of this film when he paints the top half of his head white and the bottom half black. I enjoyed their small roles simply as cameos. Adkins is the true star of this picture and his head deserves to be bigger than theirs on the poster.

Unlike the previous two installments, I am discovering that I could write a whole helluva lot about this film. The action scenes in this film are so brutal and violent that they rival the on screen gore found in Rambo, Punisher: War Zone, and both of Gareth Evans' Raid films. Characters' fingers are literally chopped off of their hands, heads are blown in half from shotguns, and faces are stabbed with machetes. Adkins also has three extremely impressive fight scenes in the film that show off the film's high octane choreography. He has an incredible one on one fight with Arlovski in a sporting goods store that makes great use of baseball bats, medicine balls, coolers, and even clothes racks. Adkins even has a one on one fight with Lundgren and Van Damme in the film's finale. I preferred the Lundgren fight because it incorporated close quarter gun fighting instead of just fists and melee weapons.

John Hyams continues to show his admiration for tracking shots with the film's epic run and gun finale. Adkins runs around an underground cave and continually takes out UniSol after UniSol. The scene is shot entirely with a steadicam and fades to black each time Adkins enters a new room. The filmmakers were clearly cutting in between each room but the fights inside of each new room are completely single takes. If you are a fan of action scenes where characters run around and rack up a body count, than this is one of the best action scenes I have seen in recent memory.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration is what you expect from a Universal Soldier sequel. However, this film is completely different from what anyone could have seen coming. It's so unique, stylistic, and different from the previous film that I could definitely see some people hating it. I am not sure whether I prefer this film or Regeneration but it is a really tough call. I might lean towards this because the action scenes are far more brutal and the film begs repeat viewings. Day or Reckoning is a rare DTV film that really feels like a theatrically produced arthouse film. Even though the film was released on VOD and in very few limited theaters in 3D, I still consider it to be DTV material.

Rating: 8/10 - One of the most unique and far out action sequels I have ever seen. Day of Reckoning sets the bar for how to do a sequel to a once deceased franchise. I highly anticipate the next entry and pray that both Adkins and Hyams return.