TITANIC II
(not rated)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
STARRING
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
It’s the 100th anniversary of the original voyage of the Titanic, and a new ocean liner has been given the doomed name of Titanic II. All precautions are made so as to not repeat the original disaster, and this ship is a state-of-the-art vessel. However, the ship, its crew and its passengers did not anticipate a massive tsunami to form when an iceberg falls off a shelf and threatens the ship.
WHAT I LIKED
Being a release from The Asylum, you can’t expect anything from “Titanic II” beyond a modern Roger Corman movie. And that’s exactly what you get. But like many of the other films from The Asylum, “Titanic II” is a lot of fun for a mindless Saturday afternoon.
The special effects aren’t brilliant, but they work well enough for a cheesy disaster movie. It is “Titanic II,” after all. In fact, considering some of the quality of work we’ve seen in previous Asylum movies, it’s great to see one of them that moves the stars out of a control room and actually tries to tell a different story… well, at least different from another “Transmorphers” story.
In the end, there’s enough happening in terms of set-up and eventual disaster with “Titanic II” to keep me watching. And its lean 90-minute running time makes it work.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The stars that director/writer/star Shane Van Dyke landed for this film aren’t the best we’ve seen in an Asylum movie. Bruce Davison ain’t bad, but I can’t say I recognize the other box cover draw Brooke Burns. Also, Van Dyke might be talented in making these low-budget schlock films, but he’s not exactly the best choice to star in his own work.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with a making-of featurette, a gag reel and several trailers.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who can get past the title “Titanic II”