Michael Elliott
Senior HTF Member
Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe’s War
Studio: New Line
Year: 1996
Rated: PG-13
Film Length: 92 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: DD 5.1 Surround, DD Stereo Surround
Subtitles: English
1992’s The Lawnmower Man was a disastrous film that somehow gained a cult following. Perhaps it was the special effects or perhaps it was the wicked performance of Jeff Fahey as the dimwitted Jobe that made people enjoy the movie. For some unknown reason four years later we got Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe’s War, which fell into theaters in January and was on video within months. The first film was bad but this one here is something far worse.
This sequel starts off where the previous film ended. The dimwit turned genius by virtual reality training Jobe (Matt Frewer) has been blown up but when special agents check out the building they find him still breathing. Jobe, missing his legs must undergo plastic surgery to save his face (and to bring a new actor in) and then the scientists try to figure out more about him. The evil Jonathan Walker (Kevin Conway) wants Jobe to teach him about the Chiron chip, which would be able to let Walker into any computer throughout the world. By doing this Walker could overtake the world and end it as we know it (God knows he isn’t the first to try this).
Due to the explosion and various other mental problems, Jobe has plans of his own, which included taking over the world himself. Jobe goes cyber surfing to a futuristic Los Angeles where he discovers his old friend Peter (Austin O’Brien), the same kid who gave him Twinkies in the first film (he’s aged a lot for one day). Jobe tries to get Peter to help him but when the kid discovers what Jobe’s plans are here turns to Dr. Trace (Patrick Bergin) who might be able to stop the maniac from taking over the world and saving us all. Are you on the edge of your seat yet?
Lawnmower Man 2 is one of those films that’s so bad I’d recommend you stick needles in your eyes instead of watching the film. I love bad movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space and Reefer Madness but this here is just so bad that I dare you not to hit the FF button or return it to the video store after the first five minutes. I’m really not sure why sequels like these are made. I’m really not sure who’d want to watch the film but I guess producers are hoping fans of the original will flock to this over the title.
I’m really at a loss of words on talking about this film. I did a little research on the film and learned that it’s number twenty on the worst films list over at the IMDB. To think there are people out there who think nineteen other movies are worst than this really blows my mind to no point. The media wants to mock and make fun of a recent Ben and Jen flick yet I bet none of them sat through this film. The acting makes Lopez seem like Bette Davis. The screenplay here makes Ed Wood look like Woody Allen.
Another thing missing from this film is just a person choice of mine but I’ve always enjoyed Jeff Fahey as an actor. I enjoyed him in the first film and other horror films like Psycho 3 and Body Parts. I’m sure he wasn’t too busy when this movie was made and the fact he turned it down says a lot about it. I always hate it when sequels come along with the same characters being played by different actors. The most mind blowing thing however is that the studio opened this in over fifteen-hundred theaters, which is a shame considering how many better films never get into one.
VIDEO---The movie is shown widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 TVs. The picture quality is very good throughout especially considering this was a low budget film. The colors are all very good especially during the cyber scenes, which really come to life and show how good the transfer is. Some of the darker scenes contain a bit too much grain and a couple are overly dark but there’s nothing too distracting here. There’s a P&S version on the disc as well.
AUDIO---We get a Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as a DD 2.0 Stereo Surround track. I was rather surprised at how well the 5.1 track was, although it’s certainly not reference quality. The track has wonderfully separation especially during all the battle scenes and the scenes inside cyberspace. None of them packs a major punch but it does enough to make the movie somewhat more entertaining.
EXTRAS---We get the film’s theatrical trailer as well as a trailer for Willard.
OVERALL---This is without a doubt one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. At the moment I can only think of one worse, which was Orgy of the Dead but at least it had naked dancing ghouls moving to an Ed Wood script. As bad as the film is New Line has delivered another very good disc but good luck with the movie.
Release Date: October 7, 2003
