Heike Makatsch in Anatomie 2 (2003)
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Review
Stefan Ruzowitzky’s horror thriller Anatomie was the most successful German film of 2000. Despite this fact, a sequel was never actually intended--until Columbia Tristar started asking for it. When Ruzowitzky was assigned to write and direct Anatomie 2, he set out to do anything possible to keep it from becoming the victim of comon sequel diseases: lack of originality and overt repitition. In order to achieve this goal the Austrian not only opted for a completely new cast (with the exception of Franka Potente who briefly reprises her role from the first part) but also for a different setting (Berlin instead of Heidelberg) and probably most important: a change of style. While Anatomie was basically a German variation of American teen horror flicks (I Know What You Did Last Summer or Urban Legend come to mind), its sequel is stylistically far closer to classic medical thrillers like Coma and particularly Extreme Measures.
Anatomie 2 centers on young doctor Jo Hauser (Barnaby Metschurat, Solino) who leaves working class Duisburg to begin his internship at an acclaimed Berlin hospital where he hopes to find a way to cure his sick brother Willi (Hanno Koffler, Ganz und gar), who suffers from a rare muscular disease. After performing a successful (but unauthorised) operation, the fulfillment of this goal comes closer as Jo gets invited to meet professor Müller-LaRousse (Herbert Knaup, Die Sieger) and his team headed by Viktoria (Heike Makatsch, Resident Evil), Sven (Frank Giering, Absolute Giganten), Gregor (Wotan Wilke Möhring, Das Experiment), and Hagen (Roman Knizka, Vergiss Amerika). Although it turns out that Müller-LaRousse and the others don’t hesitate to use illegal experiments to enhance their careers, Jo joins them since the experiments involve something that might save Willi’s life: artificial muscles. But when Sven “accidentally” gets killed informing the police, the going gets tough and the only person left to help Jo is the Filipino nurse Lee (Rosie Alvarez, Casuality)…
German critics were pretty hard on Anatomie 2, which is partially understandable. While I agree that the movie could have used more tense moments and a bit more blood, it remains a well-photographed, -edited, and -scored thriller that never actually gets boring. Among the things that bothered me most were a few lame soccer scenes, some cheesy make-up effects (those ridiculously obvious scars), and the particularly weak ending.
The performances are a mixed bag. Although Anatomie 2 (together with Solino) earned leading man Barnaby Metschurat a Bavarian Film Award for “Best Young Actor,” he is only decent at best and often lacks the passion one would expect from a young doctor fighting for his beloved brother’s life. The usually reliable Herbert Knaup has seen better days, but newcomer Rosie Alvarez and sexy Heike Makatsch deliver excellent performances. While the cute Alvarez provides some welcome humor by ridiculing common prejudices regarding Asians, Makatsch’s over-the-top portrayal of the drug-fueled über-babe from hell is plain terrific.
For those who notice that I barely mention Franka Potente’s name--that’s because her part as a doctor turned police officer is completely superfluous and has next-to-nothing to do with the movie! In brief this means that lovely Franka is completely wasted!
Nudity Report: None! Heike Makatsch shows a little bit of cleavage prior to having nicely edited sex with Barnaby Metschurat. In addition she can be seen wearing only her underwear after yet another sexual encounter. Sadly, Rosie Alvarez stays fully dressed without ever coming close to providing some skin. Tear...
Critics: IMDB: 5.7 out of 10 (77 votes). Udo: 2/4. Mildly entertaining and sparked with two fine performances by Makatsch and Alvarez but also in desperate need of some really good scares and a better ending.
Box Office: It premiered in German theaters on the 6th of February 2003.
Ratings: Anatomie 2 is rated “ab 16” in Germany and would be “R” in the US for violence/gore, language, drug content, and some sexuality.
Written by: Udo Baumann, Skin Central Germany