MovieFreak.com - "Anatomy 2" Special Edition DVD Review by Dennis Landmann

Starring: Barnaby Metschurat, Herbert Knaup, Heike Makatsch, Roman Knizka, Frank Giering, Franka Potente

In the research department of Berlin's most prestigious hospital, a centuries-old secret society is once again operating outside the rules of medical science - and the laws of nature. This time Anti-Hippocratics are led by a renowned neurosurgeon bent on developing the first synthetic body parts at all costs. Assisted by a handpicked team of ambitious medical students, the doctor is close to achieving his ruthless dream until an inquisitive young intern (Barnaby Metschurat) and a relentless investigator (Franka Potente) try to expose the team's experiments.

Stefan Ruzowitzky directed the original Anatomy which was a successful, smart and entertaining horror/thriller. The producers mulled over a possible sequel, understanding such is a common practice among American film producers. Following that standard the producers enlisted Ruzowitzky to write and direct the sequel. I enjoyed the first film and was looking forward to the sequel when its Region 1 release was announced. However, I'm sad to report Anatomy 2 doesn't live up to expectations or the standards set by the first film. A chilling opening sequence, a young man cuts himself with a knife in front of a large crowd, sets the mood, but what follows is less than exciting. Here are a few reasons why this film doesn't work.

Over the course of the film the lead character Jo (Metschurat) becomes less sympathetic, not to mention some of his inexplicable actions. Late in the film he cries out and slaps his crippled brother across the face. Yes, he's probably totally stressed out, but that outburst and his other behavior just doesn't make for a compelling central character. So, Franka Potente was much more effective and interesting in the first film.

Another reason why Anatomy 2 fails is in its story. It's really nothing more than a rehash of the original; just change the characters, locations, and the experiments. The narrative sometimes likes to present a rational view of the Anti-Hippocratics' beliefs, but those attempts are usually clichés. For example, "Our work will revolutionize medical science," or other silly lines of dialogue. Speaking of clichés, a lot of the characters are one-dimensional and plain dull. There is the hard-nosed professor, the sexy girl in the group (Heike Makatsch), the buff bad guy, the professor's rejected love child or ass kisser, the failure, and, of course, the inquisitive newbie (Barnaby Metschurat). Such characters don't make the story interesting, they distract.

For all its flaws, Anatomy 2 also gets a few things right. Ruzowitzky shoots the film in a stylistic and effective manner. As he notes in the commentary he intended the film to look more dynamic. As viewers will notice, the camera is always moving to give the film a more vigorous appearance. Ruzowitzky achieves this very nicely, and in addition the editing and score mix together to form very nice technical filmmaking. The few action scenes that exist in the film are really just fights and chases, but they suffice, I guess.

On the other hand, Ruzowitzky doesn't get very far in telling an involving and intelligent story, which I already mentioned. The story also lacks mystery, basically because viewers will already know the bad guys after the first twenty minutes. As far as the acting goes, Barnaby Metschurat does the best he can with the material. In some scenes he certainly enjoys himself, such as the soccer game, but that's it. The supporting cast is limited in material, but a few showcase some potential. Making a cameo appearance is Franka Potente as her character from the first film who is now an investigator.

Make of it what you like, but it's evident Anatomy 2 continues the streak of inferior (and sometimes unnecessary) sequels. I think the story needed a whole different angle, but whatever. Though I do think the "illegal experiments" performed by the Anti-Hippocratics is interesting, which includes research on engineered muscles. Anatomy 2 is not a terrible sequel, it's just terribly average.

Columbia Tristar presents Anatomy 2 in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. The variety of colors here are effective and at times elicit very specific moods for a scene. There is a lot of blue, red, and green in here, which seems a bit too subdued, yet this film is an attempt at a dark horror or thriller. Color detail is pretty decent. With colors adding variety of the picture, print flaws are another thing. Minor flaws are grain and a few specks, mostly during night scenes. Daylight scenes look good. Dark tones and black levels don't have a lot of depth, but prevail most of the time. The overall presentation is pretty nice.

Columbia Tristar presents Anatomy 2 in German 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The first problem with this track is the quiet nature of dialog presentation. Even though I speak and understand German fluently I was forced to turn on the English subtitles for most of the time because dialog was at times hard to understand, most likely due to the actors mumbling their lines. I had to increase the volume to a ridiculous level to really understand the dialog. The presentation also lacked definitive dynamic range, but did have good bass. Aside from those problems, sound effects are neatly reproduced from the rear and front speakers. Marius Ruhland's score fits the film's mood and come across nicely in this presentation. The overall presentation is good but does have a few flaws.

Alternate audio options include 5.1 dubs for Spanish and Portuguese in addition to a French Dolby dub track.

The back of the DVD claims Anatomy 2 to be "the terrifying sequel to Anatomy." And I guess that statement is true if you read it the right way. Despite that little irk, the special features for Anatomy 2 are a good batch.

First, director Stefan Ruzowitzky and star Barnaby Metschurat provide an audio commentary. It's in German but English subtitles translate their comments for the viewer. They reveal some small anecdotes, and also talk about the production and their co-workers. Discussions are generally interesting and they share some nice dynamics as they chat. Following it is a Making-of featurette that lasts for about 17 minutes. It's neither basic nor very in-depth, but provides decent behind-the-scenes footage, cast & crew interviews, obligatory film clips, and a short segment on the film's "horrifyingly realistic" make-up. It's also a bit self-indulgent, but that's nothing new.

Moving on, there are a 5 deleted scenes with optional commentary. Two scenes explored the possibilities of the central character to jump high into the air, but these were thankfully dropped to avoid making the film too silly. Again, Stefan Ruzowitzky and star Barnaby Metschurat sit down to discuss the scenes, which can be viewed with production sound, commentary, or picture-in-picture with the two appearing at the bottom half of the screen. Also on hand are 3 screen tests, which viewers can compare to the final scenes in the film. Not my cup of tea in this case.

Rounding out the extras is a production artwork gallery, a photo gallery, the film's theatrical trailer, bonus trailers, and filmographies. Scene selections and interactive menus are also featured. The overall impression of these extras is decent, but the inclusion of 7 subtitles puts the rating up a point.

You can select to view the film with optional English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai subtitles. That's a lot. The 101-minute feature is organized into twenty-eight chapters.

Anatomy 2 is somewhat of a disappointment, but for a sequel it is simply average. The film looks good, but the story lacks depth. Video quality is nice, but audio lacks dynamic range. Extras are pretty decent. Rent it.

THE MOVIE	6
THE VIDEO	8
THE AUDIO	7
THE EXTRAS	6
OVERALL (not an average)	6