The Collection (2012)★★★★☆

Interestingly I have less to say about this one than about last night’s movie. It’s definitely the one with the higher budget and a more familiar cast, and while it doesn’t have quite the same feel to it, it’s an entertaining watch nonetheless. Oh, it turns out I really like Josh Stewart (Arkin). He was pretty badass in this one, and I was glad to see him back.

I’m a little confused about some parts of the story – wasn’t she Arkin’s ex-wife in the first movie? Why all the character development for Elena? That seemed out of place for this kind of movie, but it worked in this one. Maybe they were trying to justify Lucello’s existence (you know, aside from as a plot device)? That slow reveal about what happened when Elena was younger was a bit distracting and unnecessary, though.

This movie is paced a little better than the first and there’s a nice payoff at the end – while a lot is left to the imagination, it still feels satisfying. Overall if the first one was your kind of movie you’ll probably enjoy this one too. If not, well, this one probably won’t either.