“Dark Angels 2” Review

This year, the fight for Best Movie honors at the AVN Awards (not that there is such an honor, technically, since the official categories are Best Film and Best Video Feature—but does anyone besides the judges pay attention to such distinctions?) is between three titles, one of which is director Nic Andrews' bloody, squibby, and sexy "Dark Angels 2: Bloodline". But does it have enough bite to crush "Catherine"'s crinolines and knock those "Pirates" right out of the water—not to mention make you forget how egregiously we're mixing metaphors here? Read Fleshbot's own Porn Valley Correpondent Gram Ponante's review after the gap.

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"Dark Angels 2: Bloodline"
Review by Gram Ponante

This vampire hunter sequel attempts to get out of Sunny Lane's way, but keeps crashing into her like its climactic and much-ballyhooed SUV rollover scene. Barrett Blade, as a musclebound former LA cop and bane of the undead Jack Cross, appears more ripped as the movie progresses, probably hitting the weights between scenes out of frustration that Lane delivers lines like the blood is slowly draining from her.

At one point Blade, who carries the movie, observes that Lane looks tired. I'm sure that was improvised.

Lane is beautiful and virginal, picture-perfect as the innocent vessel of the "pure" blood a team of vampires crave, but though she has ample opportunity to just act—even a little—she keeps blowing it. Only a skinned-knee sex scene atop a dusty Mustang allows Lane to redeem this performance.

With a budget big enough for helicopter shots and cinematography that beats any porn film I've seen this year, director Nic Andrews doesn't squander the talent of his female cast, especially supporting players like Monica Mayhem and Karina Kay, who each deliver spectacularly in the small amount of screen time they're given.

Saddled with lines like "Our existence is what we are!", Dillon as vampire boss Draken has a tough time in a performance that doesn't allow for much variety. Even sidekick Evan Stone doesn't get to shine. (He does get to fuck Mayhem, though, so don't feel too bad for him).

While Evan Stone and Monica Mayhem have vampire sex, his cum looks normal enough. This defies my knowledge of vampire lore that I spent so much time attaining during my CSUN Associates program.

From a hype:payoff standpoint, however, "Dark Angels 2" delivers the best bang of the year. Though there are no exemplary sex scenes, each one looks good. Though the effects are a little tacky, they are not spectacularly so. It doesn't forget it's a porn movie, even if it does forget—and often—that top-billed female talent should be right for the role. It almost seemd like a crime to put Lane in that situation.

Comparisons to "Catherine" and "Pirates" are numerous (there are skeletons, for example), but I'll save those for later. Suffice to say that the ending leaves room for a sequel ... but until then, remember that "the world you live in is a sugar-coated topping. The real world—the world underneath, is a world of chaos, darkness, and vampires". And who are we to argue?

· "Dark Angels 2" (official film site @ darkangels2.com)
· New Sensations (newsensations.com)
· Sunny Lane (sunnylanexxx.com)
Order: "Dark Angels 2: Bloodline" (Adult DVD Empire)

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Previously: Porn Valley Dispatch Archive