#5 – Scanners II: The New Order (1991)
This initial sequel to Cronenberg’s original is the worst of the lot, but actually isn’t a bad film. The only follow-up to see theatrical release, Scanners II: The New Order hews fairly close to the tone and plot of its predecessor. While not a straight-up retread, it still bears the same basic beats, with a young scanner being taken under the wing of a well-meaning mentor (a cop, in this case) who is trying to build a group of scanners that can better humanity. Or so it seems at first. Cue dramatic music!
Naturally there are people operating behind the scenes wishing to use scanners to influence society and kill those who oppose them. We also have the requisite pure evil scanner (Raoul Trujillo), who wants nothing more than to cause as much carnage as his handlers will allow. Cue epic scanner battle in the finale.
What sets this as the worst in the series, at least in my eyes, is the writing. The main plot is simply stretched too thin and constantly collapsing under the weight of way too many subplots. It feels less like a film and, at times, more like enough plot for a short TV series crammed into a single feature. As a result, both the main narrative and the various subplots all feel undeserved. There’s just too much going on here. Still, the FX are good and there’s plenty of good character actor work to enjoy.
