Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1995) - Nineties predictions of the future of the internet

I remember when the original 'Lawnmower Man' film came out.  There was quite a lot of hype surrounding it.  Not only was it based on a Stephen King book, but it was also the first film that heavily relied on virtual reality (I don't think the original 'Tron' counted!).  However, it never really set the Box Office ablaze as many thought it should.  It just kind of faded out of the public consciousness, so any sequel that came after was always destined to be a 'straight to video' affair.

I'm not really sure why this film was made.  It's a bit of a 'nothing-burger' really.  And, not only does it effectively fall flat at every turn, but it also ignores much of what happened in the original.  A group of generic nineties bad guys in suits have brought Jobe (the guy who mowed lawns in the first movie, before he got a 'cyberspace upgrade' and tried to take over the world) back to life and now he wants to get into cyberspace to take over the world?  Hang on, didn't he achieve that in the first one?  Never mind.  Now, discount version of the original's star Pierce Brosnan must team up with the kid from 'Last Action Hero' and stop him.

I guess I should point out that, due to the story's content, a lot of computer special effects are needed for the plot - and, believe it or not, they don't look that bad.

Single compliment over - the rest of the tale is just bland.  If you - like most people - haven't already forgotten the first 'Lawnmower Man' then you'll definitely forget this one.  About the main fun you can have with it is laughing at how you can now apply modern day internet technology (and the fears surrounding being online) to the villainous plots the bad guys had in this film.  Wouldn't it be terrible if people when online all over the world and ended up feeling 'disconnected' with their fellow real humans?  Thanks, social media.  And wouldn't it be terrible if you went online and had to hand over all your private details for using this website or that.  Thanks, cookies.

Anyway, taking the tragically depressing irony aside, there's not much here worth recommending.

4/10 You can watch this film while you're doing the ironing (you'll still get the general gist of it)