Endangered Species (2002)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Let's not nit pick. So what if "Batboy" of "National Enquirer" fame is on the DVD cover, but not in the movie. So what if the sci-fi element is really weak and not fully developed, except to rip off "The Hidden". So what if there is a ridiculously high body count and most of the budget seems to have been spent on explosions. So what if there is lots of gratuitous nudity. So what if the kids are absolutely annoying. None of this matters, because despite all these short comings, "Endangered Species" is entertaining. There is some sharp humor, pretty exciting action, and totally acceptable acting from Eric Roberts, Arnold Vosloo, John Rhys-Davies, and Tony Lo Bianco. Cut it some slack and you just might enjoy "Endangered Species" - MERK

Endangered Species starts as a city lives in fear, a city in fear of a serial killer who has claimed dozens of victims already. Lieutenant Mike 'Sully' Sullivan (Eric Roberts) & Lieutenant Wyznowski (John Rhys-Davies) are on the case but the only connecting factor is that all the killings have thus far took place in health or fitness clubs. The elusive killer has potentially made a mistake though as he left a witness alive at his last massacre, while visiting her in hospital Sully spots a mysterious guy (Arnold Vosloo) talking to her who runs away when challenged. Positive that the guy is involved with the killings Sully chases & catches him but he isn't prepared for what he will eventually discover. The guy is an alien space warden assigned to look after the human race from intergalactic poachers like the one killing people in the city & taking their skins to turn into alien clothes. Sully & the alien guy team up to stop the alien hunter...Written & directed by Kevin Tenney one has to say that this low budget rip-off of The Hidden (1987) & Dark Angel (1990) turned out a lot better than I was expecting, it ain't no masterpiece but provides some cheap & sometimes amusing sci-fi horror action entertainment. Endangered Species isn't that original & falls into the human cop vs alien killer type sub genre & as I say it's not too bad for it's type. The character's are OK, the alien guy's are rather underdeveloped but the mismatched double team of cops & regular B-Movie stars Eric Roberts & John Rhys-Davies play off each other quite nicely & there are one or two amusing moments between them. The story about an alien killing human beings for the skin to make jumpers out of could have been rather fun but the film tends to take itself a little bit too seriously & that plot comes across as too simplistic as the skinning & making jumpers & coats angle is largely ignored & a much more standard & forgettable serial killer on the loose approach is taken. The pace isn't too bad & there's a surprising amount of action & set-pieces from car chases, explosions, fights, shoot-outs & a couple of massacres, while none of it's particularly big budget or spectacular it kept me entertained & I reckon there's fun to be had here if your in the right mood which I evidently was.I was a little disappointed in the gore levels here, apart from some gunshot wounds & a few dead bodies there isn't any. The action is pretty good with the highlight being an impressive car chase as Sully & the alien guy chase an invisible van through the traffic in a sequence with a fair amount of stunts & exploding cars. There is also a sequence in which the near invincible alien hunter enters a police station systematically going through it shooting all the cops in a scene which plays like a homage or rip-off (whichever way you look at it) to the similar scene in The Terminator (1984). There's some gratuitous nudity too if that's your thing, the opening sequence in particular features a blonde with big breast's taking a shower. For a few minutes.Although set in the US this was shot on location in Vilnius in Lithuania, the film does have a slightly cheap made-for-telly look about it but not as cheap a some low budget horror films I have seen recently that look like they were shot on a camcorder. There's a good B-Movie cast here including the prolific Eric Roberts, Arnold Vosloo who went from The Mummy Returns (2001) to this & of course John Rhys-Davies who provides the comic relief.Endangered Species is a half decent little sci-fi action horror thriller that does at least provide sporadic moments of fun & entertainment throughout & overall passes the time harmlessly enough if your in the right mood.

It's no fantastic movie, granted.The acting tends to be wooden, there's too much nudity which, for me, tends to lean to a belief to save a movie because it has nothing else to go on, there tends to be borrowing from various other movies and TV shows, but .......the story is sound at least. Don't know if the same scenario exists in reality, but other aspects certainly do. Obvious plot holes that one might see at one point in the movie are solved at other points. People are reacting at points as they should be reacting, both professionally, occupationally, and personally.To me, this is that "Saturday matinée movie". Go to see something that suggests an alternate society, world, to get lost in for 70 minutes or so. I work nights and for me, I rent videos to replace the "bore me to tears" dribble of daytime television. This movie accomplishes that.If one were to watch it, by all means, rent it cheap.Sci-Fi is, in its basic, the situation of "What if?". This movie does that, tells a nice little story, and wraps it decently up.

It looks like Velocity Home Entertainment does some of the editing of the movies they release on home video because they all look the same. In "Mafioso: The Father, The Son" the editing of the violence or any sort of action is sped up to make it look "cool". The same goes with "Endangered Species". The DVD box art is not only horrible but misleading. There's a monster on the cover, even though it's about aliens. Direct To Video legend Eric Roberts is a detective figuring out who is killing people in spas and gyms. The plot is ridiculous, the special effects are laughable. The chase scene in this movie is so inept and badly edited that all you can do is stare at the screen in disbelief. The saving graces are: The good performance by Eric Roberts, the gratuitous nudity, and the gunfight at the police station (which does contain some unexpected surprises) If you want to laugh, rent it now!For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com