The Sender

With some of the most wooden acting ever seen on screen, derivative plot, aliens and spaceships that have come straight from central casting, this film is one you should avoid at all costs. The only thing that keeps your interest are the explosions and that is cleary where the money went.

This was an intriguing movie from PM Entertainment. I personally like Michael Madsen. He has that comical way of looking at someone sideways like the doggies in commercials when a human does something stupid. I also really like R.Lee Emory. This guy is your resident slickster/quasi-military hardass/part-time mercenary (just like the part he played in "On Deadly Ground). He's always hard-core and looks crazy.

Plot was derivative (as other viewers pointed out), but the chases and scenes inside the alien spacecraft were not bad at all. Especially for a flick of this type. The actress portraying the alien was very pretty. Seen her before but don't remember where. Stephen Williams was over the top, with his white hair and eyebrows.

Another viewer commented that no one seemed freaked out over the alien presence. A valid point that dilutes the story a bit. Especialy Madsen. And that's what makes him a Grade A "Straight To cable" guy! Just too cool!

Michael Madsen, and R Lee Ermey, are totally wasted in this explosion fest, masquerading as a sci-fi film. It's almost like the marketing department said we have some car chase scenes and explosions, can you wrap a paper thin script around it? After a promising opening with the Corsairs encountering a U.F.O over the Bermuda Triangle, everything falls apart, and for the next hour and twenty tortuous minutes nothing happens except car chases, explosions, and shootings, car chases, explosions, and shootings. Then everything is supposedly tied up by the sci-fi ending, but by that time, you might be running to your dentist for a tooth extraction, something that would be less painful than watching "The Sender" - MERK

THE SENDER is a cheesy and unintentionally funny late '90s sci-fi thriller, clearly made to tap into the success of THE X-FILES around that time. Hell, it even has Steven Williams ('Mr. X' from the show) present, complete with ridiculously dyed white hair.

Sadly this is a goofy messy of a movie, only worth watching to laugh at. Michael Madsen continues a trend of appearing in cheap B-movie action flicks and gives what can only be termed a wooden performance. There are some surprising faces in support, including Robert Vaughn and R. Lee Ermey, but it's no surprise that the characters they're playing are so stereotyped.

THE SENDER adopts an action template throughout, with lots of senseless shoot-outs and some ridiculous vehicle chases to enjoy. Also, you can play 'spot Madsen's stuntman' throughout. Worst of all is the female alien, who turns up wearing a silver lame dress and glitter wig. At this point, you just know you're not going to be able to take this film seriously anymore.

Wow! This is one of the most amazing films I've ever seen. And I don't mean that in a good way. (grin) Once you get past the endless car chases and senseless shoot-em-ups, you have to shake your head in amazement at just how badly this film was botched. I mean, it had the stench of rotting cheese you could smell all the way back to the alien's home planet.

If I had to guess, I'd say this was a first-time effort for the director, the screenwriter, AND the musical effects people. It just reeked of "We have NO clue what we're doing", which made it pretty darn funny, once you got over the expectation that you were going to see a "real movie".

It's difficult to capture the essence of how this film plays out, but I'd characterize it best by saying, ...what would happen if you got a bunch of actors together, didn't let them read a script, then handed them their lines one page at a time, just before shooting each scene?

They'd have no idea what was going on. They'd ask, "what's my motivation here?", to which the director would respond, "forget motivation, just say your lines". And that's exactly what the "actors" here do, 90% of the time. They just say lines. They don't act, they don't react, they don't respond to what's going on around them, there's no emotion. It's just bizarre. And the movie is full of these "WTF? moments". I kept asking myself, "Are these human beings, or zombies?". The one exception being R. Lee Ermy, who goes postal at the drop of a hat, with no provocation whatsoever.

I'm baffled how someone could get funding to make a film this poorly, but I'd guess they didn't get to make any more. So here's your opportunity to catch a real schlock-fest. If you go into it with no expectations; like lots of action, with no suspense; don't mind gaping plot holes and a senseless script, you could be in for an amusing hour and a half of shaking your head and saying "unfreaking-believable!". I can't believe I watched the WHOLE thing. (smile)