I <3 Spec-ab-ies

[Guest evenflowDDT]

So, yesterday I popped in my highly-anticipated Species III unrated edition DVD (and to think that same Netflix account has given me a City of God that's been sitting in various backpacks/coffee tables for over a month ), and I've gotta say I was really let down. Realizing it was filmed/released direct-to-DVD, it had the feel of something worse...a direct-to-TV production (which is fitting since it premiered on the SciFi channel a week before it hit stores). It was very episodic, with lots of various plot elements suddenly appearing and then disappearing, the acting wasn't so hot (noticeable not just because of the lack of A-List casting, but because it's fairly talky), and the writing was fairly atrocious.

 

All this got me to thinking about the original...that greatest of great, mid-'90s, high-budget b-picture from Metro Goldwyn Mayer. You know, the one with Natasha Henstridge, Ben Kingsley, Forest Whitaker, Michael Madsen and Alfred Molina? The sensuous nature of this flick was high enough I still remember it fondly all these years later

 

Then there's even the sequel, which, while not really "good" in the traditional sense, is still highly enjoyable because of its balls-to-the-wall switching of salaciousness with sleaze. Gore galore (including an uncomfortably high number of exploding women) and perhaps the most blatantly misogynistic/racist plot elements of a mainstream film in years are just a few of the surprises Species II has tucked away.

 

So...six years from the sequel, and almost a decade removed from the original, what's the deal with Species III? Any other thoughts, on any of the Species films?