Vivica A. Fox returns to the seedy, sexy side of Atlanta (Who knew?) in the slick follow-up to the surprise DVD hit ‘Motives.’
I’m going to be honest with everybody right up front – I didn’t see the first ‘Motives’. Boo and hiss all you want people (Hi, mom!), but I’ll be darned if I was going to rent the first ‘Motives’ to catch myself up. I did, however, read the synopsis on imdb.com so I think I approached ‘Motives 2’ with a fairly decent understanding considering this is not just a retread of that first film with a 2 tacked on (as most straight-to-DVD sequels are) but a direct continuation of the story.
The first ‘Motives’ followed the story of one Emery Simms. Simms was one lucky SOB. He had a successful chain of restaurants with money, cars and a gorgeous wife as a result. But his life was thrown into turmoil with an accidental murder that started a domino effect of mischief. Contributing to his misery was an affair gone wrong at the hands of the mistress’s ex-boyfriend. All the while, two very trusted people have a bit of a surprise for him.
‘Motives 2’ picks up with Emery Simms (Shemar Moore) wrongfully imprisoned due to a frame up. His ex-wife Connie (Vivica A. Fox) has shacked up with Emery’s best friend Brandon (Sean Blakemore) with the pair kicking it in style in Atlanta with a thriving restaurant and nightclub. Enter Emery’s brother Donovan (Brian White), who comes to town looking for the answers behind his brother’s ruin.
There will be people who want to uncover the truth and several who will do their best to keep the deceptions under lock and key. As this film is about a myriad of lies and double-crossings, its best to take the vague approach, although I’m not sure I could go into further detail even if I wanted to…so, yeah, let’s say I fully understood what was going on but I’m taking the vague approach.
I don’t really have much to offer on this film in the way of a valid critique. The film is very well-made for its kind with solid direction from music video director Aaron Courseault and competent turns by the cast. Vivica A. Fox always has charisma to spare and that doesn’t change with this film. But it had an unmistakable air of a day-time soap opera or one of those late-night playing-it-safe Skinemax thrillers where you wonder, what’s the point? It’s better than those comparisons due to more committed cast and crew where you can tell their actually striving for something better…but only just. Far from being awful, for me it’s still one of those films that dissipated as I watched it.
I’d also like to throw out that sometimes the surrounding circumstances of a DVD critic are not always appropriate for a particular film. Let’s consider this film. As I was trying to ingest myself in the glammed-up, sexy, thrilling world of this story where attractive people spin a web of lies and deceit in perfectly pressed suits, I had a toddler dumping Mr. Potato Head parts on herself all the while grabbing big handfuls of my beloved cat’s rabbit-like fur and stuffing the hair into her mouth like cotton candy. As I was juggling these two unfolding events, I heard a ghastly scream from the upstairs office and a resounding thump! I hurried up, toddler under arm, to find that my wife had zipped herself off the treadmill with an amazing lack of grace.
Her rumpled body lay on the floor in a distorted mess and my first reaction was to laugh, followed quickly by my second reaction which was to run. So as I put ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ band-aids on my wife’s knees with my daughter staring on with cat fur hanging out of her mouth, I hope one can appreciate the sometimes difficult task of being a DVD critic.
What did all that have to do with this movie? Absolutely nothing, but I needed filler as I don’t have much to say about ‘Motives 2.’ The film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen and is enhanced for widescreen televisions. Shot in Digital HD, the film looks pretty sharp. Sony gives us some decent extras for this title with a full-length commentary from the director, writer and Vivica A. Fox. I listened to a portion of it and it seems to be a decent treat for fans. There is also a Behind-the-Scenes featurette and trailers for an assortment of other Sony Pictures releases.
Well, what can I say? If you clicked on this review because you were a fan of the first ‘Motives,’ then I imagine I will be getting some angry talk-back soon, as I consider this my first non-review. I had utterly nothing enlightening to offer about the film. Its slick, shot well, sporting a decent cast and yet after watching it last night, I can’t remember much about it. If you’re a fan of the first film or these types of straight-to-DVD upper-society thrillers, by all means don’t hesitate…
Motives 2 is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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