Directed by Brent Maddock
Starring Michael Gross, Shawn Christian, Susan Chuang and Ariana Richards
My personal history with this flick is a bit of an interesting mixed bag. I remember not liking it AT ALL back when I first caught it in 2001, and I spent more than a decade pretty much not acknowledging its existence. There were a couple different factors that fed into my distate for it back then: (1) They seemed to be basing the entire script around whatever actors from the first film they could persuade to return, and (2) the Graboid and creature effects were nowhere near as good as what I was used to. Fortunately, I now become enraged to Incredible Hulk proportions whenever somebody gives me the "this movie sucks because it has crappy special effects" speech these days, so after giving it another try on AMC FearFest and re-watching it again on DVD, I can report that this movie is alright for what it is.
Ringing endorsement, I know.
Anyway, we've got a lot of the same actors from the first film for this one, and pretty much the EXACT same production and creative teams still in place. This time, it's Brent Maddock who gets the directing duties as we reach the digital age fully, and Michael Gross as your full-fledged star character Burt Gummer. By this point, the powers-that-be knew that this guy was the bread and butter character for the franchise, and this was a wise move - he's still just as awesome as he was before, particularly in the flick's opening sequence where he gets to mow down a large herd of Shriekers in the Argentinian countryside. And no, folks, I'm not going to explain the various factions of creatures contained in the Tremors universe this time. Look up my previous reviews or read them when they're posted, people.
From there, it's just like the title says...Back to Perfection, Nevada, and I've got to say that coming back to this setting actually does feel like a little bit of a homecoming. Years after its release, I actually do find the characters a bit more endearing than I did initially. There's Jodi Chang (Susan Chuang, and it's a shame she didn't get more roles - she's pretty and pretty great), Walter Chang's niece who now runs his general store. There's "Desert" Jack Sawyer (Shawn Christian), the character that turned me off this movie in a big way back in 2001, a kind of backwoods cool dude who runs Graboid "attack" tours for the tourists. Yeah, he is annoying, but take my word for it - he actually does grow on you with repeat viewings. Then we've got the returning characters - Miguel (Tony Genaro), Nancy (Charlotte Stewart), Mindy (Ariana Richards) and Melvin (Robert Jayne), all of whom have various roles of various importance levels. Another ringing endorsement, I'm sure.
But you don't come to Tremors for character drama. No, sir, you come for quirkiness, humor, action, and good, solid creature action, and in that regard, Tremors 3 gives us another decent helping. Burt has converted his survivalist compound into a Graboid-proof stronghold, and it's a good thing, because lo and behold there are three of the creatures roaming around the Perfection countryside (isn't calling this place "countryside" a little redundant, AMIRITE, people?). It seems that their egg gestation period is something like 300 years. Of course, Burt wants to blow all of them out of the water, but some slimy government agents show up to declare the Graboids an endangered species and threatening Burt's greatest eminent domain fear if he does so. It isn't long before the Graboids morph into Shriekers (well, with the exception of one - more on that later), leaving Burt, Jack, and Jodi primarily as a trio to fend them off once their next evolutionary phase comes into play.
And...yeah. The first gave us giant Graboids. The second gave us the biped Shriekers. And this one...has Ass Blasters. Not a typo. This form isn't quite as cool, and I'm not unconvinced that it's largely due to that ridiculous name, but that's pretty much what they are - creatures that fly after launching from their posterior nether-regions. The dialogue gets plenty of milage out of this, so much so that it actually gets a little annoying, but the action sequences are enough to break it up before it reaches punch in your TV levels. Listen, people - I really did like this movie. It's got its irritating passages, but fortunately it has a pretty big ace in its hole.
Time for the "broken record" phase of the Tremors "Attack-a-Thon" reviews - these movies are all about funny, quirky characters, not the monsters. Thus, while they don't look as cool and while we get goddamn ASS BLASTERS as villains for the final trimester, we've fortunately got Burt Gummer, Desert Jack, and Jodi Chang. Once again, this group of survivors is interesting enough during the Attack scenes that we've got an emotional investment, and that's the most important thing that any movie can have. I've said it approximately 7,484 times, so it must be true. I also hasten to mention that the movie has a pretty impactful character death, a pretty funny sequence in Burt's "safe room," plenty of jokes at the expense of Gummer's insane lifestyle, and a really solid setup for the TV series of the same name that followed involving the aforementioned Graboid that I said I would get to. Seems like this guy is sterile and Shriekerize, meaning that our heroes have to co-exist with a giant worm under their feet once these end credits roll. It's a a pretty nifty plot move, I must say.
Summary time. Tremors 3 isn't as strong as the first two flcks. That much is a given. But it's still a joy to return to this world every few years or so, and I'm glad I did return to this movie after many years of not giving it that chance. It's got a certain charm of its own, a nostalgia for the original film, old characters being used in new ways, and a couple new characters that grow on you like a Fungus. And while the production values definitely show their reduction, I wouldn't say that it lacks in action or excitement in the least bit.
*** out of ****. Give this a shot, people, because it's got its own things going for it. Another 100 minutes of Burt Gummer doesn't hurt, either.
No comments:
Post a Comment