One Line Review: Okay entertainment for what it is, but not really "good."
Let me begin by saying I'm a fan of the original. We enjoyed it when it came out, and have owned it on VHS and DVD so have multiple watchings. I know it gets a lot of hate online, but so what. I'm also a fan of STARGATE, so there.
The sequel does some things 'right,' but it's just a bit...poorly executed. I think the worse thing to me, personally, was that I just didn't CARE this time around. There was no suspense, really, and the characters (even the cool ones from the first movie) were cardboard cut-outs.
I also got sick of the "fly through something tight just as it closes/falls" cliche, which was WAY overdone in this movie. I found it interesting that Cecil of Good Bad Flicks mentioned the same thing (see below).
Another thing that bugged me is Hemsworth's character was supposed to be one of the 'main' guys this go around, but he really didn't DO all that much. He had little dialog, a heaped at us backstory, no real exceptional likability, and...well, he was just a face in the crowd it seemed...nothing stood out. That's not a slam on Hemsworth; it's a slam on the screenplay.
A similar remark could be made for ALL the main characters, including those from the first film. What did Goldblum really DO this time? Not much.
One thing I did kinda like, though, was the alternate timeline present day...a kind of cool glimpse into what Earth might look like 20 years after a nearly successful alien invasion attempt, and how humans would cannibalize and steal the tech. I mean, why not?
Chalk this one up to the film makers just trying to cash in on the 'name' or to create a 'franchise.' A fun enough popcorn flick, but not much really "there."
And, Cecil's review which I think sums up my reaction pretty well (as is my habit, watched this review AFTER watching the film):