Another 9 1/2 Weeks

Rating:
Summary: under appreciated...just like Mickey Rourke
Review: Antoher 9 1/2 weeks is an interesting film which works on various levels. On one level it's soft core porn and cheap exploitation. That's a fact and you won't get any arguement to the contrary out of me. I bet Everhart and Rourke would agree too. It is what it is...one one level. On another level it's a great inversion of the first 9 1/2 Weeks and a great character study of Mickey Rourke's John. All of the negative things that others have said about this flick are the very reasons I loved this movie. Yes it doesn't have the magic of the first film and John isnpornographic't the same man. He's older and darker and lost. This John is mentally and emotionally destroyed. He's made mistakes that have caused him to lose what he held most dear and he's got the scars to prove it. Let's face it: Rourke fits that description perfectly. His role in this flick is haunting. I can't watch 9 1/2 Weeks without getting to the end of it and thinking about the more tragic take on the character of John that this sequel presents. It's so tragic and ugly that it's beautiful folks. Yes it's cheap soft-core (...)exploitation. Yes it's not pretty. That only helps to set the tone for a tale of man lost in the dark gutters of despair. Watch it as cheap exploitation and enjoy the nudity, or watch it as a great portrait of loss. It's all there. Just don't tell me there isn't something haunting and moving in the writing, the direction, and the performance of Rourke.

Rating:
Summary: poor mickey rourke
Review: i used to love mickey i thought he was so gourgrous what happened to him he looks drugged and hes judt going through the motiond another nine and a half weeks was almost as bad as exir in red i cant believe how bad mickey looked and acted i want the old mickey back from nine and a half weeks why did he have to mess up his face so bad he just looks plain sad and im sad for him what a shame but dont wasre your time and money on this movie its awful

Rating:
Summary: Oops!
Review: In a previous review I tried to say that this film can be called "pornographic" but that word ended up inserted into the middle of another word making my review incoherent! Ugh!
The point I was trying to make was: yeah some will find this pornographic and yeah it's exploitation BUT that's not all. There's anoter level to this film which serves as a portrait of a man suffering a great loss. Yes this sequel is darker than the original 9 1/2 Weeks and yes it is missing the fun of the original. That's the point. Elizabeth is gone and John is a darker character in a darker world who is struggling to deal with her loss. I don't know about you but that's pretty heavy stuff for "pornographic exploitation". Rourke is fantastic in this role. This is the film that really made me notice what a great actor he is. His boxing damaged face only adds to the destroyed character he's playing and the scars that his character carries with him. This film goes beyond the manipulative mysterious character of the first film and shows how vulnerable and damaged he has become. It's much better than some say it is. This isa great performance by Rourke. John's pain is tragic and not something you'll find in just any erotic film.

Rating:
Summary: dark and addictive
Review: It's hard for me not to like this movie. Mickey Rourke reprises his role from the first 9 1/2 Weeks and this time he brings a pathos to the role that was only briefly glimpsed at the end of the first film. He's obviously a broken man without Elizabeth and that's one of the things that makes this both a good and not-so-good movie. This isn't just about a man playing sexual mind games and instead it's about a man who has lost the love of his life. That's very different from the first 9 1/2 Weeks and one of the things that turned a lot of people off from this one. Such tragedy doesn't make for a very "fun" movie. For me it does make for dark and addictive viewing and there are some sexy and cheesy direct to video bits that help make things goofy and fun. Ms Everhart isn't the best actress ever but she brings a fun "B movie temptress" vibe to the movie. You can pick on her acting but must admit she does bring some silly fun to a largely bleak story. For the most part this is a tragic story. Rourke pulls it off extremely well. Mickey looks bad here. Real bad. You can tell by watching him that Mickey is no stranger to pain. That is exactly what makes what shouldn't work at all a pretty compelling little movie. Mickey seems to knows exactly what makes the character of John tick and exactly what it's like to feel such pain. You wont find the fun of the first 9 1/2 Weeks here. Much of this movie, like Rourke's battered face, ain't pretty. It's hard for me not to watch it though and harder still not to feel for John and his loss.

Rating:
Summary: should we sit through another 9 1/2 weeks?
Review: the answer is yes. it's definately worth a look & it's definately not going to break your wallet if you purchase this one. if you are really afraid that you won't like it, go to blockbuster or hollywood & just rent it first to make sure. let's get a couple of things atraight first though. first of all, this is not meant to be a rehash of the orignal so you needn't walk into it expecting to see kim basinger & o'rourke meeting up for the first time all over again. if you can get past that, there may be a chance you will find the sequel an interesting watch. secondly, there is not a great deal of explicit sex here contrary to what many reviewers will tell you so look elsewhere if this is your main interest in picking up a copy. in fact, i think the 1st one has a lot more graphic sex or sexuality. lastly, angie everhart is simply gorgeous & i think she has potential but her skills aren't quite as harnassed as ms. basinger's unfortunately. still interested? john has been alone for some time or hasn't quite found a woman as passionate as elzabeth since they split up. what does he do? he flies to paris & buys all of her paintings at an auction in hopes of seing her again. instead of running into elizabeth mcgraw, he runs into her supposed best friend(everhart) after he notices her wearing a scarf he gave to elizabeth. during their fiurst few meets, she teases with him & plays head games(you weren't expecting this?) but refuses to offer any information on the whereabouts of elizabeth. eventually, the two embark on an erotic affair not unlike the one we witnessed in the original film & things get a tad bit steamy. after viewing 3/4 of another 9 1/2 weeks, we learn what happened to elizabeth after the relationship was broken & why john will never see her again. although i do appreciate the creative work behind the sequel, i would recommend viewing the 1st 9 1/2 weeks before picking this up. overall, pretty good film but doesn'tm quite have as much power as i'd hoped it would.

Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: The first 5 minutes of this movie hold the theme that continues throughout. Stupidity. This is a laught-out-loud example of a movie trying to be 'artsy' and 'deep'. Perhaps this is a new genre, 'soft porn noir'. Dark, brooding with enough symbolism to kill a horse (if you have to ask what the many confusing, unrelated scenes mean; then you are just not artsy enough!).

Rating:
Summary: poor sequal to a real hit.
Review: The first 9 1/2 weeks was about obsession, love, and the S&M sub culture. In another 9 1/2 weeks you have a similar idea, but it is with a cast that just doesn't work. Miki does a fantastic job with what he is dealt with here, but his female foil is just so lame you want to give up. She tries so hard to top from the bottom that you are left hoping and wishing that Miki would just tie her up some where and forget about her. A big let down.

David

Rating:
Summary: "you just don't get it"
Review: There is a point in the movie where John tells Lea "You just don't get it, do you?"

All I can say is that the screenwriter and director of the sequel just don't get it. The magic in the original 9 1/2 weeks was the power and control games - that is what made the sexual tension between John and Elizabeth so captivating. The sex scenes themselves weren't even all that explicit, but the foreplay and interaction was so intruiging that the viewer can imagine how hot the sex itself was. Even just Mickey Rourke's way of staring at Kim with that supreme self-confidence and knowing smile was enough to make the movie "en fuego" (on fire).

Another 9 1/2 weeks, by contrast, is full of gratuitous sex scenes with no real force behind them. John is jaded and has given up on his previous style of seduction. He no longer holds the sex appeal he had in the original movie - no confidence, no little smile. At the same time, Lea is just pathetic as she tries to egg him into playing his old games. The ending is a predictable and shameless rip-off of the original.

If you're looking for more in the style of the original 9 1/2 Weeks, I recommend you buy the book by Elizabeth McNeill. It is more violent and graphic, but extremely well written, and lets you dive into Elizabeth's mind as the power gap between she and John slowly widens and she abandons all control.

Rating:
Summary: completely different from the first
Review: This sequel wont please many fans of the first movie since it's almost the total opposite of what the first was all about. That one was largely joyous and arousing. This sequel is morbid and sad. That's a big difference and I was thrown off at first - but this slowly drew me in. It works well as a tragic love story and at times it breaks free of it's low budget restraints and really strikes a chord - but it's a somber chord and that's not what most viewers will be looking for.
I don't bame the makers of this one for going in that direction. It makes sense. It's just not what I expected at first.