User Reviews

one thing i really didn't get was that the girls always clashed with a group of three girls. it really seemed like an online video game- the first fight was with three ill-prepared girls, the second fight was with three girls who were better fighters, the third fight was with some very fierce girls, etc.

that aside, the story-line wasn't very deep - maybe i speak too soon as i haven't seen the first film, but the characters were stereotypes, more or less.

a bright side to the film was that the actual fight scenes were well-coordinated and realistic, and the situation the characters are in is believable, hence the three stars.

I found the commentary on the current North American situation to be quite on point and relevant beyond anything that most "scientific journals" have been printing in the last many years. Although I cannot say that I agree with Lucia's proposed solutions to the problems of sexism and domestic violence, I did agree with her opinions about how to amp up our collapsed economy by revitalizing national pride through the used sporting goods industry. It might have been prudent however if some mention about the environmental impacts of aluminum vs. wood had been discussed in order to assist the public with their purchasing decisions. Personally I find the idea of asthma plagued children being plagued by the noxious smelting process of aluminum enough to make my decision for wood an obvious one. But I digress, back to the film.

One of the most refreshing and original things about this movie is it's underlying theme of refusing to give into the current trend in any film of action to have overly choreographed fight scenes with professional martial artists, wires, assistant stunt men etc. Hoodrats 2 tries to recapture that innocence of raw street fights as seen in movies like "The Warriors", and although it doesn't quite capture that same sort of hyper aggression it does have baseball bat battles in the park.

Another of the pleasantly original stances the movie takes is to free itself from the prevalent idea in the world wide movie industry that woman need to shed their clothes in order to grasp the attention of male viewers. This movie is devoid of such nonsense and instead relies on the issues of feminine grace in a violent world to encapsulate the overall dilemma of how to find one's home in this turbulent post 911 world.

On a more technical level the movie stands up to anything made recently strictly based on the sound effects. In particular, the wind noise made when Lucia does her expertly performed somersault avoidance move when confronted by the chain disarm technique in the battle between the "Hoodrats" & the "Aerobo-psychos" gangs. I for one, while sitting in the theater, felt the exhilaration of a wild fire gust of wind through my hair. Well done and Kudos to the sound man/woman. Although I could go on and on about the pleasures to be found in this movie I must cut my commentary short so as to allow you, the viewer, a chance to find your own path to enlightenment through the subtle commentary and artistic merit of this film. I feel that in order to be fair and not seem too much a sycophant I must end this commentary with a slight negative criticism on the film; I did feel that the words Plesiosaur and bitch might have been used more.

Hoodrats 2 is a low budget action movie with a little bit of feminist themes going through it. The main character, Lucinda, has a friend who gets beaten by her boyfriend. The boyfriend happens to be a gang leader, but Lucinda is so upset, she jacks him up with a baseball bat. Now she and her two friends have the gang looking for them. They have several battles when they run into other three-girl teams trying to help the gang catch them. In the end, all the women of the city unite and tell the men they won't let them beat on them any more.

I thought it was a lot of fun. I really liked the cast. Some of the performances felt very natural, like the guy who beat up his girlfriend, and some were cartoonish, like the pimp. I will definitely watch this one again.

Similar recommendations: Senorita Justice, Carlito's Angels, Bitch Slap.