If you were one of the few of people who were waiting with bated breath for a sequel to the low-budget laugher, The Circuit, well thank your lucky stars because the day has finally come. If you sense sarcasm, you are right, because The Circuit 2 is even more of a stink-fest than the original, which is a feat in and of its self.
When we last left Dirk Longstreet (Olivier Gruner), he was recovering from infiltrating an underground fighting circuit to save his brother who had become wrapped up i… it. Now, Dirk is about to propose to his reporter girlfriend, Nicole (Gail Harris), who is once again trying to uncover an illegal-fighting ring, this time in the local state prison. As she is researching the story she is brutally attacked and left for dead. Dirk isn’t too happy about this and becomes an undercover inmate in the prison to learn more about the attackers. This time another reporter friend aids him, played by Lorenzo Lamas.
Wow. It doesn’t get much worse than this. Sure, I agree that the crew had budget limitations, but that is no reason to make the movie incomprehensible. When Nicole is in the hospital, people refer to her as dead AND in a coma. It can’t be both, fellas. And at the end of the movie, when I was hoping to see Nicole pull through, she isn’t even referred to. Before the end credits roll, Dirk says something to the effect that every time he fights, someone close to him dies. So I guess that Nicole didn’t make it… what a shame.
Also, Michael Blanks, who was one of Dirk’s human punching bag in Part 1, must be a totally different character this time around. After seeing Dirk in action, his character says that he thinks he remembers Dirk fighting in the circuit. Well I would hope so because it was your ass he was kicking, Mike! Add to that a scene where prison guards open fire on fleeing spectators for no reason and you have proof that this movie has no brain at all.
If I have to say one good thing about The Circuit 2, it is that the fight scenes are better and more frequent than the original. So there, I said it. My fingers were crossed, though.
Video
The plot isn’t the only confusing thing about this DVD; the back of the movie case is too. It leads one to believe that the movie is widescreen, but to my disappointment, the movie is still filmed in the 4:3 ratio. There is no improvement from the original movie in image quality. Again, I couldn’t tell if I was watching a DVD or a 10-year-old movie on cable. Grain, faded and washed-out colors do this picture in.
Audio
One of the few pleasant surprises of The Circuit was its rather nice Dolby Digital 5.1 track. No such luck for the sequel. We are given a standard Dolby Digital 2.0 track, which isn’t bad, but it’s nothing special either. Surrounds are once again neglected and there is no low frequency to speak of. A Spanish 2.0 track is also included.
Special Features
Again, one of the traits that made the original disc better than it should have been was the abundance of extras, which this disc lacks. What we do have is a minute long trailer for the DVD.
Final Thoughts
Whereas The Circuit made up for its shortcomings with a nice presentation and lots of extras, The Circuit 2 practically lacks everything. There is no Dolby Digital 5.1 track this time around and the picture hasn’t been improved, even though the back of the box would lead you to believe that it was widescreen. The Circuit 2 also lacks “so bad its good” moments meaning this one is just bad, bad, bad.
Special Features List
- Trailer
