2 Lava 2 Lantula! (2016 TV Movie) User Reviews

2 Lava 2 Lantula!: Somewhat of a let down

[Platypuschow · 5/10 · 20 August 2017]

The first Lavalantula (2015) was a surprisingly entertaining movie especially as it had the same vibe as the Sharknado franchise. Another blend of two things (Lava and Tarantulas) and starring three of the original stars of the 1980's Police Academy movies I had a lot of fun with it.

I was surprised to see a sequel created, even more so when I realised all the cast would be reprising their roles and was eager for more flamey spiders.

Though not bad it didn't live up to my expectations and in a way felt like a rushed sequel cashing in on the current popularity of these cheesy scyfy original movies.

For a start Guttenbergs character has gone from endearing to deeply annoying and that hurt the film, the amount of movie references packed into the film as well looked desperate and was sorely not needed.

Overall 2 Lava 2 Lantula is a definite watch for fans of the first but if this is the direction these movies will go then best stop here.

The Good:

Still do like me some flamey spiders

One particularly horrific death scene

Martin Kove is excellent as always

The Bad:

Guttenberg is deeply annoying this time round

Things I learnt from this movie:

Actors are apparently trained to fly grade A military helicopters for roles

4hrs of training is still fresh in a persons mind 25yrs later

Somewhere through the years Marion Ramsey forgot how to act

"Steve Guttenberg Returns To Kick More Spider Butt!"

[gwnightscream · 5/10 · 14 August 2016]

Steve Guttenberg returns in this 2016 sci-fi action sequel to kick more spider butt. In this installment, actor, Colton West (Guttenberg) tries to save his step-daughter, Raya (Michele Weaver) and Florida from a new batch of destructive, lava-spitting tarantulas. This isn't a bad follow-up that shouldn't be taken too seriously. Like the first film, it has obvious CGI effects and some intentional overacting from Mr. Guttenberg. The film also pokes fun/references "Scarface," "Miami Vice," "Crocodile Dundee," "Cocoon" and even "The Karate Kid" in which co-star, Martin Kove appears here as Military Colonel, Jester. Guttenberg's "Police Academy" co-stars, Michael Winslow and Marion Ramsey also reprise their roles as Marty and Teddy. This is a cheesy, but fun flick I still recommend.

Miami lava

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 11 October 2016]

Lavalantula was a lot of cheesy fun, unusual for SyFy original movie. This sequel is not as good as the first one as Colton West (Steve Guttenberg) returns this time as a heroic action star because of the events of the first film.

This time he is making a film in Miami and his stepdaughter Raya is sunbathing in Fort Lauderdale when lava spitting spiders spew out of the ground and attack the people of Florida.

Colton with the help of his former Police Academy actors goes to rescue his daughter and with the help of the military, led by Colonel Jester (Martin Kove) he has to kill the giant gargantulantula.

Because of the Miami setting there are a lot of references to Miami Vice and Scarface but you will also spot references to Crocodile Dundee, Deliverance, Terminator, Jurassic Park, Die Hard, Independence Day, Indiana Jones and a lots of other films that will keep movie geeks satisfied.

It is still an enjoyable cheesy film, still better than a lot of SyFy films but an element of a rushed sequel as well.

2nd Time 2 Much 2 Silly

[Michael_Elliott · 15 January 2017]

2 Lava 2 Lantula! (2016)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Actor star Colton West (Steve Guttenberg) is on the set of his latest movie when his daughter is attacked by the giant lava spiders. West and Marty (Michael Winslow) must race there to try and save her as well as the rest of the world as these spiders are much bigger and much more damaging.

2 LAVA 2 LANTULA! just doesn't work. I will gladly admit that I enjoyed the first film as it was rather fun considering what it was. With that said, this sequel here is pretty darn lazy from start to finish and whatever entertainment the first picture had is certainly missing with this sequel. The biggestproblem is that the film really doesn't know what it wants to do. At times it's a straight monster movie and at other times they have it being so campy but these camp moments are more annoying than anything else.

Guttenberg was a lot of fun in the first movie but here they've got him over-acting so much that you can't help but not enjoy the performance. For some reason his line delivery is constantly changing as sometimes he speaks normal and other times he's way over the top with the macho guy routine. He does get to team up with POLICE ACADEMY co-stars Winslow and Marion Ramsey again so fans of that series will enjoy that.

The special effects are pretty much what you'd expect from a SyFy movie. The spiders here are mildly entertaining but there's no question that this sequel just feels rushed and it's rather annoying. It's really too bad because I enjoyed the first film but the spoofs and campy just doesn't work this time out.

Doesn't burn or bite enough

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 29 March 2018]

Enjoyed the first 'Lavalantula' in a guilty pleasure sort of way. It was not what one calls great, but manages actually to be one of SyFy's best and more watchable films by quite some distance. Being someone who, like many, mostly hates SyFy with a passion, that's saying quite a bit. For the record, it's their compulsive badness and curiosity to see if they have the ability to make something decent once in a while keeps me watching.

'2 Lava 2 Lantula' is very much an inferior follow-up, with the problems far more evident. '2 Lava 2 Lantula' is not terrible by any stretch and like 'Lavalantula' is also one of SyFy's better and more watchable films, but 'Lavalantula' had more freshness, more fire and more bite, was more focused story-wise and didn't take silliness too far, definitely easier to take as a guilty pleasure.

Again, like 'Lavalantula', as far as SyFy movies go '2 Lava 2 Lantula' looks decent. Editing and photography is tighter than most SyFy movies, locations are colourful and atmospheric, the way the production is lit is less drab than usual. The creature special effects are more mixed, at some pretty they're not bad at all, at other times they're fake and over-obvious. That doesn't stop thankfully that the creatures themselves do have menace and personality, and the film again knows how to utilise them.

The music score is groovy and eerie, is careful not to overshadow the dialogue and is used appropriately. The direction shows confidence.

While there are worse script in SyFy films, the script is one of the weakest assets here and doesn't have as much above average quality as before. There are amusing moments and there are some neat references that will have film and sci-fi fans grinning, but it lacks snap and bite and tongue-in-cheek too often apart from some moments is replaced by campiness. Campiness that tends to grate and be overused rather than endear.

It does make the mistake that 'Lavalantula' managed somehow to avoid, at times it does try too hard to be stupid and the tone and target and audience aren't as clear. The creature attacks are fun and suspenseful still though, if again lacking the scare factor. The story is even more disjointed and over-stretched and due to lacking freshness also feels predictable and derivative.

Characters are not as annoying certainly as other characters in SyFy films, and there is some lively pacing. The acting is vastly inferior here, it was above average before, it was not good here. Especially Steve Guttenberg, whose uncomfortable-looking over-acting was painful to watch. The rest were nice to see, but they could have had more to do and they tend to be stale. Michael Winslow gives the best performance, he at least knows what kind of film he's in and doesn't take it seriously while also not falling on the wrong side of camp.

Overall, watchable but a fairly difficult one to rate and review. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Oh, no, it's the gargantua lavalantua!

[Wuchakk · 4/10 · 17 November 2017]

RELEASED TO TV IN 2016 and directed by Nick Simon, "2 Lava 2 Lantula" chronicles events in Fort Lauderdale and the Everglades when volcanic activity releases fire-breathing arachnids the size of people. Steve Guttenberg plays a B-movie actor who rises to the challenge of annihilating the creatures. Michele Weaver plays his stepdaughter and Michael Winslow his pardner. RJ Walker & Jimmy Bellinger are also on hand. There are a lot of familiar faces.

Like the previous film from 2015, this sequel is a fun, campy non-horror flick with the expected cartoony CGI. I'm glad they switched the location to Florida to shake things up (although it was apparently shot in Louisiana). Lorynn York is comely as Raya's friend, but not enough is done with her. It's entertaining to a point, but at the end of the day it's a forgettable throwaway flick.

THE FILM RUNS 83 minutes and was shot in Louisiana with obvious establishing shots of Florida. WRITERS: Neil Elman & Ashley O'Neil.

GRADE: C/C- (4.5/10)

One question comes to mind; why?...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 13 October 2016]

They should have stopped with the first movie, because that was actually a good, wholesome movie.

But as it usually goes with sequels, then so was also the case with "2 Lava 2 Lantula!" "2 Lava 2 Lantula!" was nowhere near the same level of entertainment and movie experience as the 2015 "Lavalantula" turned out to be. Why? Well, perhaps because it just lacked a proper storyline, but mostly because of Steve Guttenbergs performance in this sequel. I mean, he really surprised with his performance in the first movie, but then pulled up something else entirely for the sequel. His performance was wooden, rigid and he delivered all of his lines as if he was struggling with indigestion or something.

The effects in "2 Lava 2 Lantula!" were good and did live up to the effects from the first movie. Sure there were moments here and there with the occasional questionable effect, but in overall then the CGI and special effects team managed to deliver their craft with a good result. The spiders looked good and realistic most of the time, aside from the garganlavalantula, which turned out quite poor.

And the weapons in the movie was a major step back for the movie, especially the two freeze weapons that Steve Guttenberg and Michael Winslow were equipped with. What was up with this? First of all, they were way too oversized, and then they were also just too far out there.

It was good, though, to have some of the original cast from the first movie to return to the sequel, albeit not all of the performances were living up to what we saw in the 2015 "Lavalantula" movie.

There were a couple of spoofs on other movies and TV shows to be seen throughout the course of "2 Lava 2 Lantula!". Personally then I found the one on the "Miami Vice" TV show to be the most funny.

I was more than surprised and entertained with the first movie, but I must admit that I found "2 Lava 2 Lantula!" to be less than mediocre. And as such, then it scores a meager four out of ten stars from me.

Too goofy and too much a parody of itself

[realityinmind · 4/10 · 9 October 2022]

The first one is great. Its a cheap action sci-fi film with all the good characteristics that made the Sharknado movie into a huge franchise. This franchise could have ran for a good 4 or 5 films but they parodied things too much. Whats the phrase... "too soon"...? Too much suspension of belief is required with Guttenberg's rough & raw voice acting. Also, the side story with his daughter takes up too much time in the movie and has more action than Guttenberg's scenes. Its not interesting to watch these C grade actors say and do what they say and do. The props are a bit cheap looking too. I know they are trying to make fun of different action movies and movies Guttenberg has acted in, but its just not funny. Did anyone notice the black army officer's teeth?? Looked so weird.... like they were fake.

Police Academy 8: Spiders on Patrol..

[FlashCallahan · 5/10 · 1 September 2016]

I've never seen the first one, but I know it's the next Sharknado franchise type thing that SyFy want to get off the ground, and after all Colton had a cameo in The Fourth Awakens.

So why not? The Sharknado films are a load of rubbish, but they know they are, and that's what makes them so watchable, they get sillier and sillier.

So Guttenberg was good in the eighties, he had the intelligence to bail on Police Academy when they were just becoming unbearable, so it can't be that terrible. Then I remembered about halfway through he went all action star in 1996, grew a mullet and made a film called Airborne.

20 years later....

The very difficult to say spiders have hit the beach where Colton's step-daughter, Raya, is taking a break from school.

Now an A-list movie star (the best joke of the film), Colton walks off the set of his latest blockbuster to save her.

Armed with specialised weapons, Colton, his personal assistant, and his best friend, Marty, race to save the residents of Florida......

And it's a lot of silly, wink at the camera rubbish....but I couldn't stop watching it. I don't know whether it was me wanting Winslow to start making his trademark noises, or getting the quiet one from Police Academy to do that aggressive shout she does when no one listens to her, or to see what film they could reference next, I couldn't stop watching it.

As expected, the effects are truly terrible, and a lot of the extras running on the beach just seem to be having too much fun to be fearing for their life, but this is what adds to the car crash element aspect of the film.

You know its terrible, but you can't help but watch.

Guttenberg is way over the top, Winslow looks ill for so,e reason, and the films they reference just don't make any sense. One minute it's Crocodile Dundee, the next its Miami Vice (talk about topical).

It's not got the cult value of Sharknado, but it's a lot of fun, although you won't admit it to anyone......will you?

Now lavalantulas attack the east coast!

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 10 August 2016]

The Santa Monica Mountains were finally rid of fire spewing giant tarantulas with major help from action movie star Colton West (Steve Guttenberg), making him a hero for saving Los Angeles. Now while filming another big money movie this time in Florida, Colton will walk off the set with his friends to answer a distress call from his step-daughter Raya (Michele Weaver), sunbathing in Fort Lauderdale. Those lava spewing spiders are now attacking Florida. West will be forced to compete with the military, led by Colonel Jester (Martin Kove), to kill the biggest, baddest of them all...gargantulantula.

Neil Elman writes and Nick Simon directs this spider fest (filmed mostly in New Orleans) that features: Michael Winslow, Lorynn York, RJ Walker, Josh Sussman, Jimmy Bellinger, Eric Etebari and Marion Ramsey.

I Smell Popcorn!

[xetaprime-64257 · 8/10 · 10 August 2016]

Seriously, who would watch this movie without knowing its absurdity so being critical is in itself a tad absurd. That said, it's way better than Sharknado 4, which is a good thing. Granted I'm only half way through and don't know the ending yet but know enough to say this is indeed a fun movie. Why does Steve Guttenberg growl and grunt? Maybe because in the film he plays an actor and he's digging the role? IDK. Not sure I care. But every now and then under his breath he speaks normally so in some way it's hysterical. The writing is witty and often times laugh out loud and for a Syfy movie that's saying something. Special effects are the usual TV sort and nothing special but in my opinion thus far and mid-way through, the script and the acting save this movie. Better than most I've seen from this channel. If you can get past the fact that we're all a bit older from our 'Academy' days you might get a spider kick out of this. Better than the first one I'd say but I may edit upon finishing.

2 bad 2 watch again

[shuttle-malaiseu · 4/10 · 19 November 2023]

I thoroughly enjoyed the first movie. It was everything you would want out of a SyFy Channel monster movie. It was campy, the special effects were entertaining, and the acting wasn't so bad that it was distracting. It was like they were all in on the joke with us so we could all laugh together. Steve Guttenberg shined as an earnest, troubled action hero, passed his prime. As another reviewer put it, he was endearing. Incredibly endearing.

This sequel, unfortunately, lost all of the charm of its predecessor. I don't know whose idea it was to make Guttenberg try to act like a poor man's Vin Diesel, but it was a lot. The constant gravelly speaking voice punctuated by the unnecessary growls in between got to be annoying after the first 10 minutes. Although I have to admit, I did chuckle when he growled (Fast and the Furious style), "I don't have friends, I have family."

It had the same premise as the first movie. Lavalantulas are attacking and Colton West and his Police Academy costars are off to save Colton's family. The spiders were bigger and just as hard to pronounce. They packed in a TON of movie references. I noticed Crocodile Dundee, Miami Vice, Independence Day, Cocoon, Jurassic Park, and of course 2 Fast 2 Furious. I'm sure I missed more.

I think it could have worked if they hadn't made Steve Guttenberg's character so unlikable. They changed his character too much and it negatively affected the overall feel of the movie.

Gutenberg made the first one and ruined the second!

[devlo-87631 · 6 August 2016]

For some reason they have Gutenberg start talking like some tough guy after the first few scenes...and the character sounds stupid. Really, it's a typical crappy SyFy movie with a few good puns but Gutenbergs character just ruins it.

We're watching its debut right now and it's bad. The first one was funnier but at least they didn't seem to try and "act"...you know what I mean...not taking it too seriously. Stupid conversations at inopportune times when they should be running or shooting something.

I think they're trying to pay productions costs with the commercials...they are insanely long and often.

More of this

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 10 May 2020]

Steve Guttenberg returns as Colton West in the sequel to Lavalantula. Once again, giant lava spitting spiders are killing people, but this time it's in Florida, where Colton's stepdaughter is on spring break. Guttenberg's former Police Academy co-stars Michael Winslow and Marion Ramsey are back to help stop them including biggest lavantula of them all - the Gargantulantula.

When Steve Guttenberg gives his inspirational speech, saying "There are no aliens in Florida," Tahnee Welch and Tyrone Power, Jr. are there They are playing their roles from Cocoon and Cocoon: The Return, a fact that is probably lost on everyone but maniacs like you and me.

SyFy and their damn movies got me to watch this by not only featuring Guttenberg, Winslow and Ramsey, but throwing in Martin Kove. Some people are suckers for their favorite hot actresses. I show up for Martin Kove in movies. Such is my lot in life.

If you want to watch a bad CGI giant monster movie about spiders that lay eggs in people and basically fart out fire, I can't stop you. I can't tell you not to make the mistakes I made. I can only wish you the best.

Haven't I just reviewed this?!?!?

[one9eighty · 3/10 · 24 July 2017]

If you've seen "Lavalantuas" (the first film), then you know what to expect and believe me, there's not much different going on here. Guttenberg is once again trying to save his family and the city from giant lava based tarantulas. Just as camp, tongue in cheek, and ridiculous as the first film, don't expect an award winning experience or believable CGI/storyline/acting.

Alright but a bit dull

[whiteandblackdesigns · 5/10 · 21 February 2017]

This film is WAY too predictable, not bad, but not very good either. There is little of the campy fun that makes these films watchable. Neither is there any great tension.

the big wobbly CGI spiders are back, begging to be shot in large numbers with big guns. It seems to me that they are less realistic than in the first film and look very un-scary. Still, it's not the worst either and is okay for a rainy afternoon.

Weak sequel that isn't that enjoyable.

[HorrorDisasterGuy-90617 · 4/10 · 2 October 2023]

The story is really similar to the first movie and it's not that good. Just like the first movie it's a rescue mission to go save his daughter and figure out a plan to defeat the lavalantula. The movie have a problem with its pacing with some scenes feels like it's dragging on a little bit too long. Also the movie try's way too hard to funny with its unfunny dialogue from current characters and pop culture references throughout.

The movie is still enjoyable with its action scenes of the lavalantula and it brings a few new ideas in it like them shooting spikes at people. The characters aren't as memorable compared to the first movie ones and some of them are pretty bad.

For the returning characters, Colton is still himself who doesn't have anything new about him. Marty is the annoying comedy relief who jokes never works. And Kyle acts more like a assistant to Colton.

The new characters aren't better, Raya is Colton daughter who is really bland. TJ is another fan of Colton who makes effective guns. Colonel Jester is just forgettable.

Another highly enjoyable creature feature

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 10/10 · 24 September 2016]

Getting his acting career back together, the movie-star-turned- spider-killer finds that his stepdaughter is among those trapped by a new outbreak of lavalantulas in Florida and gathers his friends once again as they race to save her and stop the creatures.

This here was quite the fun and enjoyably cheesy creature feature. What really tends to work well for this one is the fact that there's so much more fun cheesy action than expected here which provides this one with such a frantic pace that there's so much good times to come from this one. The first attack where they erupt on the beach is a great cheesy highlight with the formations appearing in the Florida skyline and the panic of the fleeing beach-crowds getting swarmed makes for a good time, the city-wide panic where they keep encountering the creatures in the apartment complex, at the car-depot and then the big scene with the creatures at the school while trying to re-check their supplies which introduces several big chases through the labs and classrooms trying to avoid them as their continued presence makes for a series of really enjoyable pieces that have a big impact on the film's overall pacing. That also manages to work for the rather shorter attacks throughout here that shows the spiders coming into play against the citizenry in fine form getting in the usual Sci-Fi Channel style fun and highly enjoyable encounters which manage to provide the big boost this needs to go into the finale which has the same overall fun and enjoyment with the big plan to finally take down the largest spider in the bunch which is where this one really gets quite enjoyable delivering plenty of thrilling action throughout here trying to execute their wacky plan to stop it that manages to top the exceptionally goofy and silly one from the original. That as well plays a big part of how much fun this one is as it still features the same overall attitude and tone as the first which helps to make the creatures that much more of a threat and gives the few silly lines that much more of an impact with the tone being quite consistent all the way through both. That said, there's still the one main flaw here that does tend to crop up in every single one of these films in that there's just absolutely nothing at all that realistic about the way the CGI looks in here, which is so obvious and fake that it really becomes distracting with the low-rent production getting this to look so out-of-sync with a real-life creature who fail to match their backgrounds all that accurately while managing to get the same overall grading and scene placement flaws that become prevalent and somewhat expected in these kinds of films. These, though, aren't detrimental at all and don't really tend to hold this one back too much.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

I'm not doing this again

[nogodnomasters · 9/10 · 22 September 2017]

The sequel continues in Sharknado fashion.

Guttenberg travels to Miami to save Florida from the gargantulantula. Michael Winslow, also from Police Academy fame is better utilized in this film, at one time he even imitates Scotty from Star Trek. There are many films which are spoofed, perhaps the most famous and notable is "Dr. Stangelove." The franchise is attracting better stars than before, and will soon be an A-lister cameo haven.

Asylum/SyFy made for TV