Mark Battle’s Old Man 2 can be seen as an The Asylum style version of Sisu, on a low-no budget. For those not in the know, Z-Nation, Sharknado and many other schlock filled products are all the result of Asylum. In some ways very similar to the old Roger Corman days.
*Side Note: Both The Asylum and Corman have had bonafide hits. Z-Nation managed to reach heights of genius in several episodes, and quite a number of Corman’s films have taken on iconic status.*
Synopsis
Buster (John Mason in his first role) AKA prisoner 911 escapes captivity and goes in search of his old friend Doc (played by Battle). On his journey, he battles cybermen sent by his old adversary Dr Radley (Fabio Falorni).
Discussion
Mason acquits himself well in his role. In fact, all the actors play this action/comedy straight as a string. This adds to the film’s enjoyment factor immeasurably. Battles does well with his low budget feature despite a few problems.
It is interesting to note, that with the old man wig, Mason looks like Lee Marvin. This illusion is shattered the moment he speaks but until then the resemblance is amazing.
Everything about Old Man 2 works. Many times in spite of the low budget. Battles has managed to entertain with his The Asylum style version of Sisu.
*Side note: Sisu is set in WWII Lapland. The protagonist is an old man, a veteran who finds gold and heads out of the wilderness to put it in a bank. He runs into Naxis. The old former soldier is nigh on indestructible. Buster may not be looking for gold, but he is looking for his lost friend.*
we hate to mention it, but
Before we head on over to the “hate to mention it” portion of the review, we would like to praise Battle on this shooting locations. It is also imperative to mention that the creator of Old Man 2 does almost everything in terms of “backstage” tasks. The only things he did not do on the film was music and makeup. A real cottage industry kind of guy.
There were some things that were noticeable. (This is the “We hate to mention it.) During several scenes, the actors were trembling/shaking. It looks like those winter settings in the snow were pretty difficult to endure. Kudos to all the folks who gave their best with no heat.
The length of that cigarette in the field encounter. That thing must have been six inches long.
the verdict
There appear to be nods and winks to various films. The opening sequence could be a nod to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The last cyberman created by Dr Radley could well be a nod to Robocop. Whether these were intentional or not, they certainly felt like “homages” to other works.
Watch the trailer below and see what you think. We give it a solid 3.5 stars out of 5. What can we say? We liked it, warts and all.
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