Quantum Apocalypse

Scyfy originals are never going to meet critical acclaim but often they hold a certain charm about them that makes them watchable in that dumb viewing type of way.

Sadly Quantum Apocalypse doesn't have that charm and is one of their many many many many meteor apocalypse films and when you've seen one you've officially seen them all.

Containing that common scyfy original side plot about a step parent and resentful step child I do question why we see this so often.

Credit however where credit is due, many of the cast are quite competent including the highly underused Gigi "Farscape" Edgley and Rhett Giles who puts in a career best performance as an autistic.

Make no mistake they don't make up for this embarrassing clichéd mess but they do bring levity to what could have been one of the scyfy channels worst if they weren't present.

The Good: Gigi Edgley Usual Scyfy pseudo science

The Bad: Usual Scyfy pseudo science

Soundtrack

Offensively recycled and unoriginal

Dumb ending

Things I learnt from this movie:

Gigi Edgley needs to pick her roles better

My wife and I are Science fiction devotees and thus took a chance on this film when offered as a World Premiere by Comcast On Demand (should have realized it would be dreadful since the charge was only $3.99, much lower than most of its new fare). We managed to sit through all of it, mouths agape at the temerity of anyone actually making this load of rubbish. Difficult to put into words just how awful this film is, much worst than a middle school production - lame plot, dreadful dialogue, astonishingly unappealing cast, holes in the script, continuity problems, laughable acting, bad sound quality, absolutely nothing to recommend it. When Comcast offers a world premiere, duck! This film makes the usual fare on the Saturday Afternoon Science Fiction Channel look like Citizen Kane.

I would generally agree that the dialogue and acting was of a rather dismal standard for this movie, but then again, that's what it is -- a low budget film, without the resources or aspiration to do better.

I kept watching because of the extraordinary acting of the man who played the uncle with what appears to be a variant of Asperger's syndrome. I think it's the actor Rhett Giles, but can't confirm, as during the film his name (and that of too many other characters) was mentioned too few times to even establish his identity for the casual viewer.

I was very impressed with this actor's ability and would like to see more. He had the mannerisms down to a tee and the scriptwriters certainly knew the aptest lines to supply him with.

I thought the actor playing the mayor of the town, the brother of the character named above, did a competent job with the dialogue given him. I thought he had more on-screen presence than the man chosen to play the president.

The young man who played his son also showed some charisma, maybe it was just his dark good looks, but I am sure he will find other roles.

I was surprised and pleased to see Stephanie Jacobsen, an Australian who no longer sounds like one. But she's had significant roles in The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Battlestar Galactica, so I'm not sure why she would agree to sign on for a project that must have had so little funding behind it.

Despite the loss of 90 minutes when I could have been doing something else, I'm still glad I saw the slightly strange uncle character -- whoever played him (if it was Rhett Giles), he deserves an honourable mention.

There is really no other way for me to express what this movie is than this: A disaster movie where the only real disaster is the movie itself.

When reading the other reviews of this movie I thought to myself "Well, when a movie is bad enough I can usually laugh at it for being so bad and have a good enough time watching it anyway" and so I decided to see this with my own eyes. I implore you, dear reader, NOT to repeat my mistake! There is not enough alcohol, nitrous gas or low standards on the surface of the entire planet for anyone to find any enjoyable aspect in this movie at all.

Alphabetical order of flawed elements. Just because I want everyone to understand how bad this is.

Actors - The best ones are simply bad, the rest are horrible. Some of them at least make a bit of an effort.

Cameras and angles - Static shooting almost all the way, but it's actually not that bad compared to when the cameras move. In one scene where a character is driving, you'd think they bolted a $50 VHS camera to the hood and had him actually drive around with that.

Computer effects - You can easily spot them, if the graphic Ultra Low quality doesn't tip you off, the absence of the laws of physics will. Many movies from the 90's had Better computer generated effects. Even some of the Bad movies.

Other effects - I could not find a single one that was just slightly low-budget or just had a mild flaw. Every last one was flat out bad.

Script - Someone should be unemployed by now...

The rest - You probably already get the picture.

Summary: Gather your neighbors and have the most stupid one write the script, the most incompetent one manage effects, the ones with the worst poker faces be the actors and finally let someone with impaired motor skills handle the camera and you will make a masterpiece compared to this. Unfortunately I'm not joking.

It is what it is. A cheapie made for TV movie. However I did manage all the way through it in one sitting. It's another "end of the world" movie. And of course we all know it'll end well. Effects are typical TV poor, but effects don't make the movie (for me anyway) Typically poor acting, though there are a few exceptions. Most notably the savant uncle. Who is actually quite good, and believable. I know enough about computers and quantum physics to know crap when I hear it (which it is) However.... the ONE thing that saved the movie for me. In the early scene where the uncle and niece are making pancakes, and he says his are better than the mix. Niece says "How do you know? You've never made them before?" He replies "Yes I have! 762 times" I missed that connection in the beginning. Later after the silly time "rewind" it's repeated. He says "Yes I have! 76THREE times". He knows! He's the only one that realizes they are in a time "loop" and destined to repeat it. He's more knowledgeable than ALL of them... yet tells no one. I give it a lot of credit for that subtle surprise.