A young man by the name of David moves to “the city” to further his veterinary studies. It’s a tale as old as time: Boy meets girl, girl is nearly shot by a robber, boy discovers he has telekinetic powers when he psychically blows a softball-sized chunk of brain matter out of the robber’s head. The special effect is not as spectacular as the famous head explosion in the original film, but it’s by no means disappointing, either. In fact, it looks great and appropriately gruesome. It’s a different flavor of gore, to be sure.
David always knew he wasn’t like other people, but growing up in a secluded country home prevented his scanner abilities from going haywire. What he doesn’t know is that the police commander, the film’s mediocre villain, is looking for “a scanner with a virgin mind” that he can corrupt. Working hand-in-hand with a scanner research facility, the villain ultimately forces David to scan the mayor to name him the new chief of police. I’ve glossed over the fact that the villain is already working with another scanner who murdered the previous mayor for reasons unclear. If his plan was to have David scan the new mayor, why kill the old mayor? So you’d know he’s the bad guy, duh.
In another instance of questionable plotting, David is well aware that the bad guys know who his girlfriend is and where she lives. Once he goes on the run, he informs her he has to leave her behind so they can’t hurt her. Any idiot can see she’s in as much danger as he is. Hell, she’s in more danger, considering the threat is psychic and she’s defenseless in that regard. Whatever. These issues are minor and the characters aren’t entirely unlikable. Most of the supporting actors are fine, too. While I commended Cronenberg’s original film for not making a superhero out of his remarkably human hero, I commend this film for some comic book henchmen who are a lot more interesting than the main villain. The only interesting choice the story makes with the main villain is not making him a scanner, which is one of many reasons this film doesn’t film like a lazy retread.
As with the Robocop franchise, the first sequel to Scanners adjusts the formula, favoring action over ideas. This isn’t to say Scanners II is as good as Robocop 2, but it’s still highly enjoyable. Even though it looks like a generic sequel (I was reminded of Highlander 2 and The Lawnmower Man 2), it’s not without artistic merits. The cinematography is a bit more inspired than you would expect, employing dutch angles and competent action when it isn’t going full 90s MTV music video.
Scanners II is only bad if you don’t know what to expect from a 90s straight-to-video sequel. Those who do know what to expect will find their expectations exceeded… just maybe not by a lot. For my money it’s a worthwhile continuation. I just love this kooky universe and I’m willing to follow it just about anywhere it goes.
