Neither a sequel nor a remake of the highly popular series from '92, but rather a new film/sequel unto itself, Secrets of/Revenge of Bonnie and Clyde is sort of a misnomer.  (The reason for the volume numbers 3 & 4 has more to do with Vivid's shrewd marketing). The fact that the features take the concept a step further in directions both artistic and erotic demands that they be analyzed even more rigorously than their predecessor.

These two stand up. Proudly and provocatively. Circumventing the sequel route, scripter Raven Touchstone goes for the psychological angle in a parable of parallelism which splits the performers into two distinct personae: The actors, making a period Bonnie & Clyde flick, and the characters themselves, whose lives on the page/screen run a concurrent track. If anybody thought Racquel Darrian was just another pretty Vivid contract girl, this two part film proves to be an astute example of commitment and passion bearing the fruit of true talent. Not only does she smolder as Bonnie to Derrick Lane's reserved Clyde, but she's also able to steal scenes like a thespian pickpocket from experienced pros like Buck Adams (as the producer — her lover).

As a couple they argue perpetually; he's overprotective and she's naive and carnally curious about her co-star Lane. Buck's paranoid sexual fantasies about Darrian infest his mind like a plague of locusts eating away at his psychic vegetation. Personified in the period costume, Lane and his onscreen brother Jon Dough take Darrian on the hood of their Model T in the middle of the countryside; perhaps even more picturesque and stimulating as a similar encounter in Bonnie & Clyde, Part One.

Simmer turns to boil when Buck surreptitiously hires Lane to keep an eye on his gal. To make matters worse, Lane's lingering lover Isis Nile cops a job behind the scenes to make herself a royal pain in the ass. Naturally, for the glory of the job Isis surrenders herself not only to Buck, but also to director Steven St. Croix and actor Tony Tedeschi in Revenge. If one had to make a momentous decision between the two; opt for the first, as all her slurping oral skills drain Buck of his monogamous will.

Probably the toughest element to condone, particularly on feature films, is the inclusion of gratuitous sexuality, which usually outnumbers the motivated sequences three to one. Yet Revenge contains some of the most evocative, stirring and yes, pointless intimate intrigue that's been lensed this year. Set up to be a scene within the film —i.e. a mainstream release —Jon Dough and Dyanna Lauren almost burn down the barn. Primo angles from underneath catch all the doggie action while she plays rapturously with her clit. Even less appropriate but riveting nonetheless is a three-way girl/girl labiafest with Asia Carrera, Tara Monroe and Raquel, an explosive trio of beauty if there ever was one. Unlike much of the (well-received) Ry Cooder-ish melodies that back the majority of the feature, this music is hot and contemporary; as is the lighting. Truth be told, Bonnie & Clyde 3 & 4 is a pad job, but one that doesn't disappoint. By the time the coupling between Darrian and Lane is reached, with all its attendant tease (and the addition of Dyanna Lauren to the mix — a curious move but hardly egregious), logic falls by the wayside of primal desire in one of the year's best scenes.

Bonnie and Clyde has all the right elements; costuming, music and cinematography (by Ralph Parfait) deserve special mention. Oh, yes... it's all brought to us by Paul Thomas, who knows a thing or two about satisfying adult fare.