Army Brat 2 Review

Distributor: Vivid Entertainment Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Classic (1990s Shot on Video) Run Time: 80 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 1989 Director: Paul Thomas Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: unknown Cast: Julianne James, Tracy Adams, Nina DePonca, Lynn Connelly, Sasha Strange (as Sasha), Peter North, Rick Savage, Tom Byron, Aja, Champagne, Jon Dough, Mark Weiss, Chip Dale (as Larry Zenon), Mr. Champagne Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Subtitles: none Video: Full Screen, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Disc: DVD 10 (Single Layer, Dual Sided) Special Features: Chapter Search, Vivid Bios, Vivid Stills, Vivid Live Action Scenes, Vivid Previews, Int. Tel. Sex DVD-ROM Special Features: none

Synopsis:
The Brat (Julianne James) gets a telegram from the U.S. Army calling her reserve unit to duty. She trains with her unit to go to a war in Nicaragua.

Video/Audio:
Army Brat 2: The New Recruit is in the full screen, 1.33:1, aspect ratio, which appears to be the film's original aspect ratio since the feature looks like it was shot directly on video. The picture is a bit soft but color levels are good and the picture is clear throughout the film. No more artifacts are present than would be expected.

Available audio tracks are 2.0 Stereo English and 5.1 Dolby Surround English. There are no other language tracks available on the disk and no subtitle options. Since the original film was filmed in mono, both tracks are nothing more than the film's original track slightly tweaked and the 5.1 tracks have added generic effects in the background so don't expect much from the sound tracks. All spoken dialog is clear and the music doesn't drown out the dialog.

Special Features:
On the “A” side of the DVD the special features are Bios, which contains short biographies with pictures for the current Vivid girls: Celeste, Jenna, Heather, Melissa, Asia, Dyanna, Jenteal and Nikki. Int. Tel. Sex contains three additional sex scenes from unknown films. There are six chapter breaks for the feature. With this small number, easy navigation through the movie is not possible.

On the “B” side of the DVD the special features are three hardcore scenes for each of the following stars: Asia, Heather Hunter, Nikki Tyler, Christy Canyon, Chasey Lain and Nikki Dial. There are also three bonus categories with hardcore scenes: Anal with four hardcore scenes, Threeway with four hardcore scenes and Girl Girl with four hardcore scenes. None of the scenes are at all labeled as to what movie they originally came from. The promised previews are not present anywhere on the disk.

Conclusion:
Army Brat 2 is another entry in Vivid's Brat series, but gone is the original Brat Jamie Summers. In her place is Julianne James who brings to the film none of the charm or acting ability that Jamie originally brought to the series. She is wooden and blurts out her lines with almost no mood or feeling.

Unfortunately, also gone from the series is the fun. Part of what made the earlier entries in the Brat series work was the fun that the cast appeared to be having. The script was always silly and had poor lines, but the cast seemed to know that and played with it, which carried over through the camera. Here it seems more routine than fun for the cast.

The plotting for the film is standard fare, not enough substance to keep you interested, but enough to flow the sex scenes together. The acting in the film is your standard adult fare, not much. Not much work went into the sets either, enough to give a little atmosphere, but little enough that you are reminded that the cast is not where the movie makes them out to be. The film does offer some inventive camera techniques, like in the opening when the reflection in the toaster is used to see the action, but this alone is not enough to make a great film.

As per the norm with Vivid disks, the extras have nothing to do with the feature presentation and add nothing of value to the disk. Many additional sex scenes are added to the disk, but that's all they are, no set-up or anything, just a scene pulled from an anonymous movie. This added material might be enjoyed more by fans of compilation films. The bios are for actresses not in the film. It would be nice to have the extras have something to do with either the featured film or at least the Brat series itself.

All in all, your standard adult fare. Safe couples sex, nothing new but keeps you interested. Worth picking up cheap if you enjoy any of the stars or are a fan of the series otherwise you might want to avoid.

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