SPOILERS AHEAD! Consider yourself warned!
Seriously, is there any science fiction film of the last thirty years, down to and including the Flash Gordon movie with the nifty Queen soundtrack, not ripped off by this one? Even Independence Day gets ripped off in a scene where hovering spaceships menace a planet.
With a nearly Lucas-caliber disregard for physics (news flash: human bodies at 700 degrees Fahrenheit, whether in the direct rays of the sun or not, would vaporize before you could say "This planet is named WHAT?"); a main character who is the walking, beefy definition of a Gary Stu (look it up) to the extent that he can tame giant, spiky rats just by staring them in the CGI-balls; a Lady Macbeth who shares a closet with the Borg Queen; dialogue very possibly stolen from a group of 12-year-olds playing ninja; and an ending that deserves catcalls of disbelief, this movie is saved -- even if, like the annoying Kyra, who you KNOW would get splatted in the first ten minutes of the movie if the Aliens were involved, it subsequently dies again -- only by the few minutes of Dame Judi Dench lowering herself to appear in it. And even then, her character is still saddled with a name ("Aereon") that would go much better on a car.
Thandie Newton's performance deserves special mention, because it helps you understand why the movie version of Beloved was such a flop. Her Dame Vaako is going straight to Star Trek supporting-cast hell, right along with Lwaxanna Troi. Karl Urban, who looked like a Harley dude in the LotR trilogy, fits in a bit better here, because people aren't expected to make sense.
One defender of this "movie" asks its critics what they themselves have ever created, particularly in film. I reply: You don't have to be a cordon-bleu chef to figure out when there's a rat in your hamburger. Especially a giant, spiky one that cuddles with Vin Diesel.
Seriously, is there any science fiction film of the last thirty years, down to and including the Flash Gordon movie with the nifty Queen soundtrack, not ripped off by this one? Even Independence Day gets ripped off in a scene where hovering spaceships menace a planet.
With a nearly Lucas-caliber disregard for physics (news flash: human bodies at 700 degrees Fahrenheit, whether in the direct rays of the sun or not, would vaporize before you could say "This planet is named WHAT?"); a main character who is the walking, beefy definition of a Gary Stu (look it up) to the extent that he can tame giant, spiky rats just by staring them in the CGI-balls; a Lady Macbeth who shares a closet with the Borg Queen; dialogue very possibly stolen from a group of 12-year-olds playing ninja; and an ending that deserves catcalls of disbelief, this movie is saved -- even if, like the annoying Kyra, who you KNOW would get splatted in the first ten minutes of the movie if the Aliens were involved, it subsequently dies again -- only by the few minutes of Dame Judi Dench lowering herself to appear in it. And even then, her character is still saddled with a name ("Aereon") that would go much better on a car.
Thandie Newton's performance deserves special mention, because it helps you understand why the movie version of Beloved was such a flop. Her Dame Vaako is going straight to Star Trek supporting-cast hell, right along with Lwaxanna Troi. Karl Urban, who looked like a Harley dude in the LotR trilogy, fits in a bit better here, because people aren't expected to make sense.
One defender of this "movie" asks its critics what they themselves have ever created, particularly in film. I reply: You don't have to be a cordon-bleu chef to figure out when there's a rat in your hamburger. Especially a giant, spiky one that cuddles with Vin Diesel.