The Film

Release Date: September 4th, 2007
Running Time: 93 Minutes

Direct-to-DVD films have flooded the market to the point where I feel like they are losing their B-movie credibility. There was a time where you could roam the video store looking for the random film that has just the level of cheese you are looking for. Now you’re likely to find dozens. How does one choose? Animal 2 is perfect for people having an Oz itch but who have already exhausted the TV show. It’s not on the same level, but who doesn’t like a little prison violence?

Ving Rhames stars as prison inmate Animal. Yes, the film stars Ving freaking Rhames as a badass named Animal, that is really all you need to know. Animal is serving a life sentence after taking the fall for his eldest son. A race riot in his current prison forces him to be transferred to Susanville Prison where he encounters an inmate named Kasada. Kasada wants Animal to embrace his past and once again become a vicious money fighter. When Animal refuses, Kasada has his youngest son framed for murder. Unable to do anything else to protect his son, Animal is forced to fight once again. Fighting brings him a level power and credibility that helps Animal uncover the truth behind a violent conspiracy aimed at total ethnic gang warfare.

Animal 2 is classic, late-night TV cheese. Don’t overanalyze the script, there are plenty of plot holes and convenient moments that move along the story, but do you really care that much? If you’ve rented Animal 2, chances are you just want to see Rhames beat up on some people. In that respect, the film does deliver.

The DVD

The video is presented in an unspecified 16×9 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The quality is merely decent, featuring below average levels of detail, plenty of grain, and moments with compression artifacts. It is definitely direct-to-DVD quality.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. The track features some basic stereo effects and the dialogue is easily understood though the music can be overpowering at times.

The Extras

“The Making of Animal 2” is a 27-minute EPK featurette that has the usual cast/crew interviews talking about how great an experience it is to film, the plot and characters, etc etc. If you’ve seen one of these featurettes, you’ve seen them all.

Also offered are the Trailer and Previews.

Final Thoughts

Animal 2 reminds of the kind of movie you’d find at Blockbuster on a late night before direct-to-DVD films became so prevalent. It’s not high cinema, but certainly entertaining in its own way. – Jeff Ritchie