Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

fom4life Between the last feature length Herbie Film 'Herbie Goes Bananas' and the re-launch of the series 'Herbie: Fully Loaded' with Linsey Lohan, there was the short lived TV series 'Herbie the Love Bug'. This does not exist anywhere on video. I cannot view it so I cannot review it. I mention it to let the reader know the many lives of the beloved Love Bug. More importantly for the sake of this review is the fact that existing between these two films is 'The Love Bug'. This film is sort of a remake. Many similar story lines that were used in the first are used again here in the remake, but the film despite the same title is actually sequel. It is another film in the franchise. Doug Jones even appears in the film as Jim Douglas.The film is only available on VHS. Interestingly enough there are Disney movies advertised on the VHS for certain movies that have either been released or will be released on VHS and DVD. So why was this never released on DVD if it has ads for films on DVD? Is it worth it? Lets See!The acting minus the villain (John Hannah from the Mummy films) and the actors from the previous movie really are not that great. Even Bruce Campbell , though a good actor in other films, is not here. The acting brings the movie down several notches. I mean it looks like a TV movie, which it is. The film even has Mickey from The Monkees.Despite several acting flaws the movie asks the right question. How can Herbie do the things he does? A car can't do wheelies? This question drives the action of the characters. That is good. The question results in finding the original maker of the car. We learn how Herbie got life. That is also good. We learn that Herbie adjusts to the person who owns him. His role in people's lives is explained and understood. That is also good. The name 'The Love Bug' is given to an article the main female character writes about Herbie. Jim Douglas hears this comment as an idea he has never heard before but finds interesting and satisfactory. We see Herbie's evil brother Horrace. Evil Brother? The maker of the car was found so he can make a car for the villain. He ends up making an anti-Herbie. An evil Herbie. This Herbie is named Horace as I said before. This evil Herbie ends up killing the good Herbie. But with help from Herbie's maker and a special guest appearance from Jim Douglas, he comes back to life. After Herbie is brought back to life, Doug Jones cameo is over and he says 'I'm not needed anymore' and walks off in the distance. What an interesting way to write someone off.In order to control the Horace, the Irish villain puts a Wheel Lock on the steering wheel. I thought that was an interesting little bit. He then challenges Good Herbie to race Evil Herbie. Winner takes all. It is then interesting to watch Horace race Herbie. But it is not just a race , but a battle between good and evil.As they race , Horace has been installed with all types of tricks he uses to cheat in the race. What happens in the race you'll have to fine a local library to view a copy. Or you can buy it at Amazon. The plot line and the concepts of this movie would make this worth adding to your library but only after getting all the other Herbie's first. Maybe this is a step above 'Fully Loaded'. I haven't yet re-watched the older ones but am sure they are excellent. They were when I watched them last, but I might have more sense now.If the new 'Love Bug', had better acting and took more TLC into the production, it would be an outstanding film and would be on DVD. But alas they allowed the poor acting and underdeveloped script to proceed without taking more time to develop their really interesting premise. But the premise is enough to keep the film interesting enough and keeps the film from completely sucking. But what it could have been. It's a better made for TV sequel then 'The Parent Trap II' proving that not all made for TV sequels are not all bad.One last thing. The villain utters the line in the end, "I'll get you and your little bug too.

bob the moo Herbie is passed onto a new owner, failed race driver and mechanic Hank Cooper. Hank finds the car to be able to do great things but doesn't believe his firend's ascertains that the car is alive. However when businessman Simon Moore III sees the car he traces down the man who invented Herbie and gets him to repeat the process – but adds bits and pieces of his own doing. The end result is a VW Beetle that is violent where Herbie is peaceful and vengeful where Herbie is loving. After a potentially fatal interaction with the car, Hank and Herbie team up to beat the car and Moore.A few years ago I caught five minutes of this on TV and thought `cool, they remade The Love Bug' and wished I'd watched it. A few days ago I saw it coming back on so I gave it a watch and wondered why I bothered! It's not that the film is bad, it's just that it is all rather pointless. The plot lacks the charm of the original Herbie movies and has a nasty streak with the creation of an `evil Herbie' in place of just a fast car. The gentle feel of wonder is lost in this TVM and the film falters because of it.The effects are poor even when you put them against the original Love Bug, here any computer altered visuals are crude and obvious and really make the film feel cheap. The cast all try hard to recreate the magic but none of them manage to do it – not even a cameo by original star Dean Jones can get anything close to the original. Campbell is a cult star and I do like to see him in anything, but he could have done with being a bit more tongue in cheek here to add a bit of fun to the mix. Hannah is terribly miscast as the `baddie', he has no character, no lines and nothing to work with – was he in it for the money or for the chance to be in a Herbie film?Overall this is a real letdown. Disney try to get something going from the old Herbie stable but fail to do anything new or worthwhile. The film lacks any of the original's magic or wonder and just puts along. The original wasn't a classic but it shines when viewed next to this film. Small children and Herbie completeists should seek it out but the rest of us will be happy with the original.

lorlex23 Love Bug 1997 was fun to watch and I laughed at a lot of it, but mostly Bruce Campbell's humor (either written by him or ad lib). I loved the evil bug and wish I owned one. It looked like it was fun to make, and since it's about Herbie, you can't focus too much on things that couldn't really happen (like a car still functioning after being cut in half).

Herbie-18 Disney, in making this movie, made lots of mistakes. First of all, the script was not at all like previous Herbie films. There was swearing and other bad words there. in addition, the "story" how Herbie was created was all lies. Everyone knows that Jim Douglas' friend Tennesee Steinmetz first named Herbie, and that all VWs had this peculiar quality (shown in Herbie Rides Again). This "Stumphel" thing was totally off. Also, Herbie himself was done wrong! Color, stripe color, sunroof color, interior, 53s, and other things too numerous. The only positive thing was Dean Jones, who was by far the best actor in that movie! I wish Disney would make another quality movie!