The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting

Floundering and unnecessary sequel to a classic
Upon first look at the Hitcher 2, your first question will simply be, why? Why was this direct to video sequel to an 80's horror/suspense classic even green lighted? Who knows, but it shouldn't have been. Despite some relatively good stretches, for the most part the Hitcher 2, which retreads on the plot of the original, is a routine and predictable pot boiler. An older C. Thomas Howell returns as Jim, who is now a troubled cop trying to put his past behind him and go away for a little R&R with his girlfriend (Kari Wuhrer). Eventually, they come across a hitcher (Jake Busey) whom they pick up, and well, you know where this is going. Busey is good as a murdering psychopath who may or may not be Rutger Hauer's character from the original film, but Howell looks so bored in his brief return as Jim, and Wuhrer's acting abilities are wasted leaving her as eye candy (which isn't such a bad thing). The police force is presented here as ignorant hillbillies, a stereotype which the...

Drive on. There's nothing to see here.
With what seems like the most unnecessary sequel in recent cinema history, THE HITCHER 2: I'VE BEEN WAITING is ''finally'' here. Coming from out of nowhere, this film not only doesn't need to be made, but actually succeeds in making you know that it doesn't need to be made.

The story picks up years after the first movie closed, as Jim Halsey (played by C.Thomas Howell, who has grown up to resemble a rejected member of Motley Crue) is still haunted by the nightmare that was Rutger Hauer. He is now a veteran cop, undergoing serious stress and anxiety. In an effort to get his life back on track, he seeks out his police mentor buddy (Jeffrey DeMunn's character from the original, here played by someone else). However, to get to him, he must travel down that same stretch of road from the original movie, where he first encountered Hauer's malevolent villain.

En route, he takes his girlfriend Maggie (Kari Wuhrer in serious direct-to-video fatigue), who is blissfully unaware of Jim's past...

SEQUEL?
Face it people, this is not T2 or The Godfather Part II, and why is there a sequel to the hitcher anyway? The first "The Hitcher" was a classic movie which was a perfect reimagining of Steven Speilberg's classic DUEL. There was no need for a sequel. The story was told, nothing more to tell. A sequel? Dragonheart fell victim for this. A sequel will just tell the story all over again. Not even C. Thomas Howell could save this movie from being a failure. All in all, not entertaining and unnecessary. Not recomended.

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