Tremors, the first film, was top. A quirky, funny and strangely satisfying movie, you just wanted to see it again & again. Of course, Universal realised this, and decided to give us what we wanted - More Tremors.
Unfortunately, it just didn't exude the same qualities of the first film. Tremors II goes down the formulaic action-comedy route, steering clear of the original's quirkiness and subtle humour and replacing it with crass one-liners and in-your-face action scenes. Much of the team involved in the original film are present here, though it does feel slightly lost without Kevin Bacon. The young actor attempting to replace him gives a reasonable performance, but his character in the film is just a bit too streetwise and 'smart', and he doesn't make a convincing on-screen partnership with Fred Ward.
The plot is different to Tremors, but still contains the Tremor-creating 'graboids' that were present in the original. In fact, the special effects of these are one of the film's strong points. The camerawork & directing is passable, as are the performances from all involved. Will you enjoy this film? It depends. If you're looking for a straight-up action movie, then this wouldn't be a bad choice. If, however, you're looking for a good sequel to Tremors, you'll be disappointed. Overall rating: 5.5/10