Movie Review: Interceptor Force 2

Interceptor Force 2 a.k.a Alpha Force a.k.a They Have Returned 

Unified Film Organization (UFO), Interforce Productions LLC, Media Entertainment GMBH & Co.1 Filmproduktions KG, Sci Fi Pictures, USA, Bulgaria, 2002. 

As the Finnish DVD-title was "Alpha Force" I did not notice at first that this is a sequel to "Interceptor Force", which I haven't seen. 

U.S Predator surveillance drone is shot down in Chechnya. Lt. Sean Lambert (Olivier Gruner), the sole survivor of the Alpha Mission, is sent to retrieve it. He is captured and tortured. He escapes using a clever trick. The opening gambit looks like poor man's James Bond. 

Sean Lambert

Chechen rebels

Russian air force shoots down an UFO. Alien takes the form of a hooker (Eve Scheer) and destroys the original. The alien infiltrates and destroys Russian army base. It is planning to attack a nuclear plant. Lambert and Nathan McCallister (Roger R. Cross) barely have time for a couple of beers when they are sent back to Russia. Lambert can not choose his own team members but he is given a team instead. Chief Bavaro (Nigel Bennett) says take or leave it.

It's a UFO!

Alien woman (Eve Scheer))

McAllister

Together with Lambert and McCallister the happy lottery winners are demolition expert Adriana Sikes (Elizabeth Gracen) and German special agent Björn Hatch (Alex Jolig). Scientist Dawn DeSilvia (Adrienne Wilkinson) comes as a bonus. DeSilvia has examined the tissue samples that were left from the alien of the first film. The team has a formidable and futuristic arsenal: electromagnetic disruptor, microwave rifle and chain gun. 

Adriana Sikes

Björn Hatch

Dawn DeSilvia

Russian commander Gorskov (Hristo Shopov, regular actor  in Syfy and other TV movies) sends his own soldiers inside the nuclear plant. Too bad they are armed with regular pea guns. The Interceptor Force has to go save them. The shapeshifting alien is on a revenge mission and the plant is full of nuclear warheads. 

Gorskov

Alien

As with many direct-to-video movies Bulgaria is used to portray Russia. The alien creature combines ideas from space monsters in "The Thing", "Species" and "Predator." It can also can reassemble itself like liquid metal cyborg T-1000 from "Terminator 2." Also the movie makers have aimed at "The Thing"- style paranoia, as anyone of the characters can be alien. The UFO effects look nice although the limits of the CGI are seen on the alien effects. 

For being a SciFi Channel production this is quite good action flick, at least when leave your brain at the door. Considering the track record of the Unified Film Organization this is a positive surprise and on par with some of Steven Seagal's and Jean-Claude Van Damme's films produced in the 2000s. In the opening gambit Olivier Gruner shows some of his martial arts skills but for the rest of the film he mostly uses firearms. The rest of Lambert's team are veterans of TV-series or TV-movies and generally do good job. Although many of the Syfy-productions have hipster ironic touch, this one stays faithful to the direct-to-video action film style. 

Rating: Good (for a low budget scifi action film) 

Starring: Olivier Gruner, Roger R. Cross, Adrienne Wilkinson, Elizabeth Gracen, Alex Jolig, Eve Scheer, Nigel Bennett, Richard Gnolfo, Hristo Shopov, Vladimir Kolev, Maxim Genchev, Julian Vergov, Georgio Borissov, Georgi Ivanov, Alan Austin, Steven M. Blasini 

Director: Phillip J. Roth