Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)

Touches You

Simply Perfect

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

In the second film though the main theme remains the same, there is more beauty to discover. Few movies are as relaxing as this one. The music of Basil Poledouris adds to the effect - it is one of the best ever written for the cinema. There are some clichés here and there but cannot mar the result. I honestly believe there must be something wrong with anyone that is not touched by the beauty in these movies.

At the end of the blue lagoon, the first movie made in 1980, when the ship crew find Richard, Emmaline, and paddy, they are asked by Richards father if they were dead, where the crew announces 'NO, NONE OF THEM ARE DEAD. THEY ARE JUST SLEEPING.' And in the beginning of the second movie, return to the blue lagoon in 1991, different people find them and announce them dead in the boat in different positions. When they were found alive and asleep during the first movie. Im sorry, but how did not on critic or viewer notice this? Everyone is talking about how the story line is similar when nobody even noticed that a second movie was near impossible because Richard Emma and paddy were all living at the end of movie 1. I could accept that if they died after the fact from the berries, but to REdiscover them and have them be FOUND dead? Did the director, screenwriter, or any actors even watch the first movie before deciding on this one? It shouldn't even be able to grace being referred to as a sequel. The stories don't even match up.

I can only think of one thing more incomprehensible than making a movie from a bad script and that is for a filmmaker to base his idea for a movie on another movie that is terrible. Normally directors try to rip off good movies, like the guy who directed "The Italian Connection" based on the "The French Connection" (good thinking because sometimes Americans confuse the French and the Italians), or the other fellow who directed the porno "American Booty" based on Sam Mendes' "American Beauty." And if all else fails, do a sequel like "Jaws II" based on the good "Jaws" or "Exorcist II" based on the great "Exorcist." I could go on, except I will be going off track and forgetting to tell you about the time when they decided to make the terrible "Return of the Blue Lagoon" based on the terrible "Blue Lagoon" which must have had the makers of sequels and rip offs scratching their heads.The problem with "Return to the Blue Lagoon" is the same as the last film. It is not about anything. It seems that the filmmakers felt, in spite of the bad critical reception of the first Blue Lagoon, that an exotic island and two teenagers discovering sex and then fornicating (though we see none of that) was enough to create an entertaining film. Of course, the filmmakers did a little tweaking for this film. There is the sad background story which explains how the two kids got stuck on the island, like the last two kids. Who says that Carl Orff's Carmina Burana does not have any influence over film-making. There is also an egg competition, an encounter with a native, a seductive English girl from the outside and a lascivious sailor. But other than that, Lilli (Milla Jovovich) and Richard (Brian Krause) go through the same motions as Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins as though they were destined to live the exact same lives as the previous couple on the island. What "Return to the Blue Lagoon" really is, if you think about it, is an unsexy pornographic movie for kids; a stage for kids to go through before they see the softcore and hardcore porn films. But even based on that sordid criteria, "Return to the Blue Lagoon" fails because even the sleaziest, worst acted pornos at least do something to your libido. "Return to the Blue Lagoon" does nothing because it has all the bad acting you would expect from a porno without any of any of the great sex (not least because the actors are underage). So if you are interested in a movie where a couple have lots of great sex on a deserted tropical island, watch Lina Wertmueller's "Swept Away by a Mysterious Destiny in the Blue Sea of August" instead. It has gorgeous pictures of a tropical paradise, far better acting, and you won't feel dirty and guilty by the end of the film because the actors, Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato, were both in their thirties (though they look like in the their twenties) at the time of filming.

It goes without saying that the plot device used to get Lilli and Richard to the Island is both preposterous and highly unbelievable. But what transpires once everything is in place makes this flaw forgivable. While Brooke Shields portrayed her character "Emmeline" as truly naive and innocent, Mila Jovovich amps up the sexuality of her character "lilli," playing her coy, teasing, and as someone who is aware of her own seductive qualities. Chris Atkins likewise played on 'Richard's' innocent, almost infantile qualities, which gave the original film a more innocent and sweet feeling. Brian Krause seemed slightly arrogant in comparison. It seems like the world was a bit more naive in 1980 than it was in 1991, i suppose.. Anyway the island is as lush as ever, and Jovovich and Krause rival Shields and Atkins in their physical beauty, so in this sense, "return..." is a highly enjoyable film, especially to someone who is not familiar with the original. But in this sequel, civilization is put "on trial" when a group of civilized travelers invade Lilli and Richard's private paradise. In the end, these two innocents come across as more civil than the visitors, who treat their hosts like pieces of meat, to be ogled, toyed with, even raped and killed! This gorgeous film echoes the same message as the notorious film "Cannibal Holocaust," in raising the question, "Who are the real savages?' Of course this one is much easier on the eye, and the stomach than that notorious cannibal film. "Return to the Blue Lagoon" is pure escapist cinema, that is in some ways, more sexually aggressive and graphic than the original, and does contain a bit more violence as well. For fans of Mila, this is an absolute must-see, as she is absolutely stunning in this, and is not as shy with nudity as Brooke Shields, who insisted on a body double. Sadly the DVD in North America is the horrible "pan & scan" format, which chops out some beautiful scenery, but for fans of this, the Euro DVD is in widescreen format. Not a great film, but certainly a pretty one.