Battle Planet

Seriously, who writes this stuff? Even worse, is the actors pool so shallow that they can't find a reasonably workable cast? The space sequences were passable; certainly no worse than what I could put together on a Mac. The dialogue was painful; obviously written by a freshman during his Movie Theory 101 class. But the portion that caused the most pain was the acting. They scraped together a couple of B/C list actors for the main characters, the female lead wearing enough heavy makeup and costume that you couldn't tell who she was. Neither of them were horrible, and they did the best they could with the laughable story and dialogue. The main character was forced to perform nearly the entire movie inside of a fishbowl. You'll see what I mean. Oh, but the supporting cast...it actually made me wince to listen to them. I've seen and heard local theater actors with better delivery. Bottom line: If there is NOTHING else on it will pass the time, assuming you have a crossword or magazine handy to fill in the blank spots, which will be most of the time. You've been warned. Good luck.

This film wasn't that bad, except that a lot of the "plot twists" were kind of predictable.

It's a future time, where Earth has joined an alliance with an bunch of aliens called the Pavonians, against another bunch called the Aquarians who live in fishbowls. So far, this is kind of standard Sci-Fi boilerplate.

Our hero is sent out in a prototype battlesuit to capture an unnamed war criminal. He encounters an alien general of the Pavonians, who is really hot despite the alien makeup. Except he is being set up to test human endurance, not to actually complete any mission. There are machinations that are about as shallow as you can get.

Acting is sub-par, the special effects look like they were worked up on someone's home computer. Still, I give this movie credit for being other than the typical Sci-Fi Channel template of "Monster on the loose".

The dialog was kind of shallow, and the actors all looked like they were recruited from a film-school class. Huge holes in the plot logic. (Did this alliance really keep its senior commanders on this ship,waiting for reports?)

Mediocre, at best. But I've seen millions spent on worse films.

The rating for this movie is not very good, but I didn't find it "extremely" bad. There are so many worse sci-fi movies. This movie actually held my attention well enough that I kept watching to the end. Although it was not very good, it was "different".

The visuals were the strong point. Nice ships, good props, great planetary scenery and bizarre-looking aliens. I've probably seen all of these things before in different movies. However, when you combine all of them with a guy stuck on a planet ... and stuck in an artificially intelligent suit ... and chasing an alien terrorist ... it's "sort of" interesting.

If you're sick of watching rubber-stamped insect/rat/snake movies on the sci-fi channel, this is a change for the better. If you're looking for high grade sci-fi, this won't exactly do it for you.

Yes-- the budget is low. This isn't Star Wars. This isn't Galactica. And other reviewers have pointed out its other flaws. . .

And yes-- the acting is wooden.

But folks! This is an intelligent Sci-Fi ACTION film that actually takes a STORY and puts it before you. The FX (Weapons, ships) are measured and to the point. The alien make-up is very good and consistent. The snatches of back-story gives you a hint of politics and secrecy to give the story some added depth. And the STORY actually holds your attention.

A Man on a classified Mission in a Suit endowed with Artificial Intelligence to find a terrorist on an untrammeled world runs into complications, not the least of which is the Suit in which he finds himself prisoner. It's refreshing. It's different.

And the Suit. . .Not Bad.

Those of you who actually READ Science Fiction-- just suspend your belief and watch. You will find it enjoyable. For the rest of you: It's a 'B' Movie, Not a Hollywood Box Office Blow-out. Just because it's 'B' does not make it 'Bad'. And best of all, the movie works because the actors are truly letting the movie tell it's story. Zack Ward and the other actors take the script seriously and they are giving it a professional send-up. And that's what makes this movie work.

Lower your expectations. Watch this one on a late Friday Night after a hard week at work. Have Chips and Dip on the couch with you. Just enjoy it!

I have to say, that I find this movie interesting.

Good Science Fiction tells stories that are difficult to tell in traditional drama or action venues; the story in this film does that.

Understanding a bit of the history of this movie, such as that the original title was "The Suit", should give the viewers a better understanding of the story then the one that was chosen by the SciFi Channel (SyFy). SyFy presumably felt that they needed a "SciFi" title to sell the movie, and no doubt put the pressure on.

The story isn't about a planet with lots of battles, but rather the story of a guy who is encased in what is a protective space suit. But the suit is actually a character in the movie. And the real question is, whom is it really protecting?

Since more difficult and subtle plot points are not the forte of the typical SyFy "made for TV movie", this much more nuanced story isn't your typical SyFy fair.

Given budget constraints, the art is quite good and original.

The acting is mixed, with some good performances. There are inherent difficulties in a film where one of the major characters acts inside of space suit, and another major character is an alien in full prosthetic makeup. But they manage to build a believable relationship by the end.

So while this film is not perfect, it has its moments, and its twists. It should keep many Science Fiction fans happy. But if you are looking for elaborate space fighting sequences, or broad fantasy themes, you may not like it. That doesn't mean you shouldn't at least give it a try. It might surprise you.