hmmm, I don't know about 'a lot' worse....it just doesn't have the visceral edge of the first one. Too many kids killed all at once, and you never even see their faces, let alone get to know them. It also drags a bit in places, and has way too many dramatic monologues for my taste. But there are some neat new ideas introduced (like a new spin on the explosive collars) and I like the anti-empire messages...plus there are some great battle scenes....
I downloaded it quite a while ago and haven't felt the need to get it on DVD, unlike the original. Not to say I wouldn't mind a copy, but there are other films I'd rather have in my collection...
...such as all the rapture/tribulation/armageddon films Mr. Cameron has been cranking out lately....
What can I say? I'm a glutton for fundamentalist info-tainment...
Aren't we all? 
