Darkhearted thriller...

Rating: 5/10 (11 July 2006)

...but not much in the way of family fun.
Action sequences and effects were stunning, but the tone of the film is a stark departure from the lighthearted fun of the first, which is, of course, what made the first movie so enjoyable.
Frankly, though I enjoyed it, I found it to suffer from sequel-itis: action, one-liners, and gore replace measured plot development as we're led from fantastic locale to fantastic locale on the trail of near interminable titillation.
The producers took for granted that we were going to care about the characters and root them on in their endeavors, so they declined to actually give us a reason to give a damn about the success or failure of their missions.
My children (older) were disturbed and disappointed.
I'll be skipping the third go'round.