The Fly II

Last updated
The Fly II
Fly2Poster.JPG
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Chris Walas
Screenplay by
Based onCharacters
by George Langelaan
Produced by Steven-Charles Jaffe
Starring
CinematographyRobin Vidgeon
Edited bySean Barton
Music by Christopher Young
Production
companies
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • February 10, 1989 (1989-02-10)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$38.9 million [1]

The Fly II is a 1989 American science fiction horror film directed by Chris Walas. The film stars Eric Stoltz and Daphne Zuniga, and is a sequel to the 1986 film The Fly , itself a remake of the 1958 film of the same name. Stoltz's character in this sequel is the adult son of Veronica Quaife and Seth Brundle, a scientist who became a human-fly hybrid as a result of an experiment gone awry, played by Jeff Goldblum in the 1986 remake. With the exception of footage of Goldblum from the first film, John Getz was the only actor to reprise his role, with another actress filling the Geena Davis role as Quaife in the opening birth scene. Unlike the previous film, this film received negative reviews.

Contents

Plot

Several months after the events of The Fly , Veronica Quaife gives birth to a larval sac and dies. The sac splits open to reveal a seemingly normal baby boy. Anton Bartok, the owner of the company that financed Seth Brundle's teleportation experiments, adopts the child and names him Martin. Martin grows up in a clinical environment. His physical and mental maturity is highly accelerated, and he possesses a genius-level intellect, incredible reflexes, and no need for sleep. He knows he is aging faster than a normal human, but is unaware of the true cause, having been told his father died from the same rapid aging disease.

At age three, Martin has the physique of a 10-year-old and frequently sneaks around to explore the Bartok complex. He finds a room containing laboratory animals and befriends a dog. The next night, he brings it food but finds it missing. He enters an observation booth overlooking Bay 17. There, scientists have reassembled Brundle's Telepods, but have been unable to duplicate the programming that enabled them to teleport living subjects. An attempt to teleport the dog fails, leaving it horribly deformed. It maims one of the scientists, horrifying Martin. Two years later, Martin's body has matured to that of a 25-year-old. On his fifth birthday, Bartok presents Martin with a bungalow on the Bartok facility's property and offers Martin the job of repairing his father's Telepods. When Martin is uneasy about the proposition, Bartok shows him Veronica Quaife's videotapes, which documented Seth Brundle's progress with the Telepods. Seeing his father describe how the Telepods ostensibly improved and energized his body, Martin accepts Bartok's proposal.

As he works on the Telepods, Martin befriends an employee, Beth Logan. Beth invites Martin to a party at the specimens division, where he learns that the mutated dog is still kept alive and studied. Thinking Beth is aware of the dog's imprisonment, Martin argues with her, leaves the party, and goes to the animal's holding pen. The deformed dog, in terrible pain, still remembers Martin, and he tearfully euthanizes it with chloroform. Martin reconciles with Beth and arrives at his father's revelation and realizes the Telepods' computer needs to analyze living flesh. Martin shows Beth his perfected Telepods by teleporting a kitten without harm. They become lovers, but Martin shows signs of his eventual mutation into a human-fly hybrid. Martin devises a potential cure for his condition, which involves swapping out his mutated genes for healthy human genes. Martin shelves this idea when he realizes the other person would be subject to a grotesque genetic disfigurement.

Eventually, Martin learns that Bartok has hidden cameras in his bungalow. Martin breaks into Bartok's records room, where he learns of his father's true fate. Bartok confronts Martin and explains that he is aware of and has been waiting for his inevitable mutation. Bartok reveals his plan to use Martin's body and the Telepods' potential for genetic manipulation for profit. Martin's insect genes fully awaken and his transformation into a human-insect hybrid begins, and he escapes from Bartok Industries. Bartok is unable to use the Telepods, as they are locked by a password. Martin also installed a computer virus which will erase the Telepods' programming if the wrong password is entered. Bartok orders a search for Martin.

Martin goes to Beth and explains the situation, and the two flee. They visit Veronica Quaife's old confidant, Stathis Borans, now a bitter, reclusive drunk after Veronica's death, who confirms for Martin that the Telepods are his only chance for a cure. They keep running, but Martin's physical and emotional changes become too much for Beth to handle, and she eventually surrenders them both to Bartok. Without revealing the password, Martin becomes enveloped in a cocoon. Bartok interrogates Beth for the password. Shortly after, the fully transformed Martin emerges from his cocoon and breaks into Bay 17. He grabs Bartok, forces him to type in the password, "Dad", and drags Bartok and himself into a Telepod. Martin gestures Beth to activate the gene-swapping sequence and she complies. Martin is restored to a fully human form, and Bartok is transformed into a deformed monstrosity.

Inside the dog's former enclosure, the Bartok creature crawls towards a food bowl filled with slops, and sees a single housefly sitting on its edge.

Cast

In addition, Saffron Henderson briefly appears as Veronica Quaife, the role played by Geena Davis in the original film while archive footage of Jeff Goldblum, uncredited, shows him in the Seth Brundle role from the original film.

Production

Geena Davis, who played Veronica Quaife in the first film, was replaced by Saffron Henderson for the sequel, as Davis refused to reprise her role due to her character's death in the first act disallowing the opportunity for character development. [2] [3] Keanu Reeves was offered the role of Brundle but turned it down as he disliked the script. [4] Josh Brolin was passed after a failed audition for the role. [5] [6] The Fly II is an early entry in the filmography of Frank Darabont, who co-wrote the screenplay. [2] Tom Sullivan worked as a sculptor for the film's visual effects. [7] Ken and Jim Wheat were tasked with rewriting Mick Garris's draft of the screenplay after Fox turned down the duo's proposal for After Midnight [8] The Wheat's described the initial draft of the film as "broad" and attempted to refocus the film but were unable to do so due to Fox's rushed schedule as well as receiving notes from eight different people that were oftentimes in conflict with each other. [8]

Release

Home media

The film was released on VHS by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and in 2000, the film was released on DVD as a double feature with The Fly. [9] The film received a standalone DVD release on October 5, 2004. [10] In March 2017, Australian distribution company Via Vision Entertainment released a five-disc, region-free box set containing the original 1958 The Fly, its sequels Return of the Fly and Curse of the Fly , the 1986 version of The Fly, and The Fly II on Blu-ray. [11] [12]

Reception

Box office

The Fly II grossed $20,021,322 at the US box office and a further $18,881,857 abroad, resulting in a worldwide total of $38,903,179. [1]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 33% based on 17 reviews with a weighted average rating of 4.57/10. [13] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 36 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [14]

Janet Maslin from The New York Times gave the film a negative review, writing, "The only respect in which it matches Mr. Cronenberg's Fly is in its sheer repulsiveness, since this film degenerates into a series of slime-ridden, glop-oozing special effects in its final half hour." [15] Richard Harrington from The Washington Post offered the film similar criticism, calling the film's script "flat", and criticized the film's special effects as being "clumsy". [16] Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film his lowest rating, calling the film "Alternately dull and messy but mostly dull". [17] David Hughes from Empire awarded the film 3/5 stars, writing, "Whilst this fly is not as tightly scripted or keenly directed as its parent, it does have pace, breathless tension and the sort of gross-out effects that rules out kebabs for some time after the credits have rolled." [18] Ryan Lambie of Den of Geek wrote that while the film "wasn't particularly clever, ... as an exercise in pure, claret-stained entertainment, it deserves far more credit than it frequently receives". [2]

Other media

Comic books

Beginning in March 2015, IDW Publishing released a five-issue comic book miniseries titled The Fly: Outbreak, written by Brandon Seifert. [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>Back to the Future</i> 1985 film by Robert Zemeckis

Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, it follows Marty McFly (Fox), a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd), where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love – threatening his own existence – and is forced to reconcile them and somehow get back to the future.

<i>Babe</i> (film) 1995 film by Chris Noonan

Babe is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by Chris Noonan, produced by George Miller and written by both. It is an adaptation of Dick King-Smith's 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, which tells the story of a farm pig who wants to do the work of a sheepdog. The film is narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne and the main animal characters are played by both real animals and animatronic puppets.

<i>Earth Girls Are Easy</i> 1988 film by Julien Temple

Earth Girls Are Easy is a 1988 American science fiction musical romantic comedy film that was produced by Tony Garnett, Duncan Henderson, and Terrence E. McNally and was directed by Julien Temple. The film stars Geena Davis, Julie Brown, Charles Rocket, Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayans, and Jim Carrey. The plot is based on the song "Earth Girls Are Easy" from Brown's 1984 EP Goddess in Progress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geena Davis</span> American actor (born 1956)

Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actor. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty McFly</span> Protagonist of the Back to the Future franchise

Marty McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Back to the Future franchise. He is a high school student living in the fictional town of Hill Valley, California, who accidentally becomes a time traveler and alters history after his scientist friend Emmett Brown invents a DeLorean time machine. He was created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. In the film trilogy, he is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. Back to the Future established Fox as a film star, such was the commercial success and popularity of the film upon its release in 1985. Marty returned in two film sequels, Back to the Future Part II in 1989 and Back to the Future Part III in 1990.

<i>The Fly</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by David Cronenberg

The Fly is a 1986 American science fiction horror film directed and co-written by David Cronenberg. Produced by Brooksfilms and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film stars Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, and John Getz. Loosely based on George Langelaan's 1957 short story of the same name and the 1958 film of the same name, The Fly tells of an eccentric scientist who, after one of his experiments goes wrong, slowly turns into a fly-hybrid creature. The score was composed by Howard Shore and the make-up effects were created by Chris Walas, along with makeup artist Stephan Dupuis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Stoltz</span> American actor, director and film producer

Eric Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Brolin</span> American actor (born 1968)

Josh James Brolin is an American actor. A son of actor James Brolin, he gained fame in his youth for his role in the adventure film The Goonies (1985). After years of decline, Brolin had a resurgence with his starring role in the crime film No Country for Old Men (2007). Brolin received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying Dan White in the biopic Milk (2008).

<i>The Karate Kid Part II</i> 1986 American film

The Karate Kid Part II is a 1986 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the second installment in the Karate Kid franchise and the sequel to the 1984 film The Karate Kid, starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. The Karate Kid Part II follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), who accompanies his karate teacher Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to see his dying father in Okinawa, only to encounter an old friend-turned-rival with a long-harbored grudge against Miyagi.

<i>The Pacifier</i> 2005 film by Adam Shankman

The Pacifier is a 2005 American family action comedy film directed by Adam Shankman, written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant and stars Vin Diesel. After a failed rescue mission, Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe is assigned as babysitter to the dead man's family.

<i>The Great Waldo Pepper</i> 1975 film by George Roy Hill

The Great Waldo Pepper is a 1975 American drama film directed, produced, and co-written by George Roy Hill. Set during 1926–1931, the film stars Robert Redford as a disaffected World War I veteran pilot who missed the opportunity to fly in combat, and examines his sense of postwar dislocation in 1920s America. The cast includes Margot Kidder, Bo Svenson, Edward Herrmann and Susan Sarandon. The Great Waldo Pepper depicts barnstorming during the 1920s and the accidents that led to aviation regulations by the Air Commerce Act.

"The Fly" is a science fiction horror short story by French-British writer George Langelaan. It was published in the June 1957 issue of Playboy magazine. It appeared in SF The Year's Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy, Dell First Edition B119, 1958. It was first filmed in 1958, and then again in 1986. An opera of the same name by Howard Shore premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, in 2008. The short story "The Fly" is included in Langelaan's short story collection Out of Time (1964).

<i>Transylvania 6-5000</i> (1985 film) 1985 horror comedy film directed by Rudy De Luca

Transylvania 6-5000 is a 1985 horror comedy film about two tabloid reporters who travel to modern-day Transylvania to uncover the truth behind Frankenstein sightings. Along the way, they encounter other horror film staples—a mummy, a werewolf, a vampire—each with a twist.

<i>Adam Resurrected</i> 2008 film directed by Paul Schrader

Adam Resurrected is a 2008 American-German-Israeli drama film directed by Paul Schrader and written by Noah Stollman based on a 1969 novel of the same name by Israeli author Yoram Kaniuk. The Hebrew title literally translates to Adam, Son of a Dog.

The Godfather is a trilogy of American crime films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the 1969 novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo. The films follow the trials of the fictional Italian American mafia Corleone family whose patriarch, Vito Corleone, rises to be a major figure in American organized crime. His youngest son, Michael Corleone, becomes his successor. The films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and released in 1972, 1974, and 1990. The series achieved success at the box office, with the films earning between $430 and $517 million worldwide. The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are both seen by many as two of the greatest films of all time. The series is heavily awarded, winning 9 out of 28 total Academy Award nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Goldblum</span> American actor and musician (born 1952)

Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, such as Jurassic Park (1993) and Independence Day (1996), as well as their sequels.

<i>Jonah Hex</i> (film) 2010 film

Jonah Hex is a 2010 American Western superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jimmy Hayward from a screenplay by Neveldine/Taylor, the film stars Josh Brolin in the title role, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon and Wes Bentley.

<i>The Fly</i> (film series) American film series

The film series of The Fly is a sequence of science fiction-horror films, consisting of an original series started in 1958 and a remake series made in the 1980s. The first film of the series, The Fly, was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox in 1958 as a colour film. The two following black and white sequels, Return of the Fly and Curse of the Fly, both produced by Associated Producers, were released in 1959 and 1965 respectively. The original film was remade in 1986, The Fly directed by David Cronenberg. The remake film received the Academy Award for Best Makeup in 1987. Its sequel, The Fly II, was released in 1989. All five films within the series were distributed by 20th Century Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Brundle</span> Fictional character from The Fly

Dr. Seth Brundle, also known as Brundlefly, is a fictional character and the tragic hero in David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly. He is played by Jeff Goldblum. Brundle was the third of Goldblum's "nerdy scientist" roles and is one of his most famous roles to date.

Ian Malcolm (<i>Jurassic Park</i>) Jurassic Park character

Dr. Ian Malcolm is a fictional character from the Jurassic Park franchise created by Michael Crichton and portrayed by Jeff Goldblum. Malcolm is a gifted mathematician who specializes in chaos theory. The character was inspired in part by American historian of science James Gleick and French mathematician Ivar Ekeland. In Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park and its 1993 film adaptation, Malcolm is invited by insurance lawyer Donald Gennaro to notice any problems with John Hammond's dinosaur theme park, Jurassic Park. Malcolm was intended by Crichton to fill in the role of the audience in the scenarios he is put through. Malcolm is a secondary protagonist in the original novel and the main protagonist in the sequel, The Lost World, due to positive fan reception from Goldblum's performance as the character in director Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of the original novel.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Fly II - Box Office". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 1st July 2016
  2. 1 2 3 Ryan Lambie (January 21, 2013). "Looking back at The Fly II". Den of Geek . Dennis Publisher. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  3. ↑ "The Fly II - Bloody Disgusting". Bloody Disgusting. May 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  4. ↑ "The Young and the Restless :: WINM :: Keanu Reeves Articles & Interviews Archive".
  5. ↑ Ewing, Jeff (8 April 2022). "Josh Brolin Had A Ridiculous Failed Audition For The Fly 2". SlashFilm. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Josh Brolin interview at Hot Ones". YouTube. 7 April 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Interview with Tom Sullivan (The Evil Dead)". Love-It-Loud. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Szebin, Frederick C.; Biodrowski, Steve (January 1990). "After Midnight". Cinefantastique . Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  9. ↑ D. K. Holm (2000). "The Fly/The Fly II: Fox Double Feature". The DVD Journal. Archived from the original on December 16, 2000. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ Ian Jane (October 3, 2005). "The Fly II - Special Edition". DVD Talk. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  11. ↑ Jeff Spry (January 24, 2017). "New 5-disc The Fly Blu-ray box set buzzing into stores this March". SYFY Wire. Syfy. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  12. ↑ Chris Coffel (June 7, 2017). "[Blu-ray Review] Via Vision Entertainment's 'The Fly: The Ultimate Collection' is a Must-Own!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  13. ↑ "The Fly II (1989) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Flixer. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "The Fly II Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Metacritic. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  15. ↑ Maslin, Janet (11 February 1989). "Review/Film; Another Look at Insecthood As a Possible Way of Life - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  16. ↑ Harrington, Richard. "'The Fly II' (R)". Washington Post.com. Richard Harrington. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  17. ↑ Leonard Maltin (29 September 2015). Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965: Third Edition. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 478. ISBN   978-0-698-19729-9.
  18. ↑ Hughes, David (January 2000). "The Fly II Review". Empire Online.com. David Hughes. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  19. ↑ Orange, Alan (December 17, 2014). "David Cronenberg's 'The Fly' Gets a Comic Book Sequel". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.