pretty dang bad

Rating: 4/10 (25 March 2008)

Others have already explained how bad the plot is. But on top of that, I seem to be one of the few people who thought the acting was absolutely horrible. Sure, the actors had lousy dialog to work with, but Sienna Guillory was particularly unbelievable as a badass cop, not just from the delivery of her lines, but in her body language and poise. I don't mind having hot chicks play action leads, but at least make it believable, like Sigourney Weaver or Linda Hamilton or even Milla Jovovich. Actresses who know how to carry themselves with poise and confidence and make every single motion with a high degree of intent behind it. Guillory gives us the mannerisms and trappings of a tough cop without any of the inner presence, and she moves around like a little girl pretending to be a cop. Fail. Complete fail. Just because a woman is pretty and has a nice rack doesn't mean they can act. Oded Fehr didn't fare much better, coming across as way over-the-top. But Epps was decent, as was the little girl.
The plot was also a joke. The original made good use of multiple players with motives that were hard to discern. This one makes it pretty clear off the bat who the good guys and bad guys were, and what the goal would be, and events unfold fairly predictably without much of anything new.
The action sequences were okay, albeit nothing special or memorable. Nowhere near as good as "The Matrix" but not as bad as, say, Joel Schumacher films. And the climactic fight was a bit problematic, given that your bad guy is wearing this ridiculously bulky costume that is clearly not suited for hand-to-hand combat. And the characters aren't developed well enough for you to feel much suspense during any of the action sequences, but they're entertaining enough.
All in all, not worth paying money for. Not even for a rental.