Le secret du vol 353

A man loses his daughter and wife in a plane crash. He has to cope with the loss, and in the process of finding out why the plane went down he meets a woman who someone wants to kill and subsequently starts being hunted by a few CIA agents. The agents were involved in cloning people with special gifts. There favorite was a boy who could get into the mind of people and influence them to kill people the CIA wanted dead (assassinated). Gloria Reuben's (ER) character is one of the scientists who was cloning people, and cloned this girl with special gifts like healing. The CIA thought the girl was a threat to their project and wanted her dead. They had their boy cause the plane crash in which the man lost his daughter and wife. Gloria Reuben's character and the girl with the special powers survived the plane crash because the girl transported both of them into another dimension. I started watching the series, without realizing what I was really watching. The suspense grabbed me although I make a point of watching nothing that brings fear into my head. This two-part mini series did not bring fear, but was a suspenseful sci-fi type of story that really caught my attention and I enjoyed watching it. Favorite Scenes: The girl healing people. Awesome! Favorite Quote": Thank you for the cookies and for the gun." I recommend the series!

This is an amazing story of a man who lost everything that was really important to him as an airplane crashed killing his wife and child. He copes with the depression, but soon learns that life does not end after death, and who better to teach him but the last person to ever see his family alive, a six year old escaped test-subject, named 21-21 who survived.....but how....the answer is something this man has to cope with ever more. I think this is one of the most touching things I've seen in a long time, and believe me, there are so many twists to it, what I've said doesn't even start to explain it, in fact, I don't even think you could.

My one-line summary for this movie, and most of this critique, seems to hold for most Dean Koontz books/movies that I have read/seen. They are a combination of Stephen King fantasy, horror and mystery; "supported", sort of, by a Michael Crichton "high tech". The combination works well up to a point, but for reasons that I don't quite understand, it doesn't quite become "great". It seems that Koontz isn't quite comfortable with a good fantasy story, that he seems to "need" some kind of scientific justification, which he doesn't.

This particular movie/story rolls along quite nicely, a lot of interest, possibly a little too long before the denouement, when we find out what's really going on. But overall, a "very good" movie. I see strong similarities between this movie and "Phantoms" in particular.

I also think that the violence is a little gratuitous. But against that is that there is not a single swear word, not a single glimpse of naked flesh; where there is plenty of opportunity to include that if he wanted to.

Having said all that, it IS a good movie. I would always be prepared to hire out a Dean Koontz movie on the strength of his name alone. It's simply that here on IMDB I get to wax philosophical about it...

In Seattle, while grieving in the cemetery the lost of his wife and little daughter in a plane crash, the former reporter Joe Carpenter (Billy Zane) is contacted by a strange woman that is being chased by FBI. She makes him understand that his daughter might be alive. Joe decides to investigate deeper what happened with the domestic flight 353 and the causes of the mysterious accident. Meanwhile, the sadistic agent Yates (John C. McGinley) follows Joe, killing and torturing people contacted by Joe, trying to catch Rose. "Sole Survivor" is a too long movie, with lots of unnecessary flashbacks and a disappointing twist. The story has a good beginning as if it were X-Files, and a terrible ending. The stupid and unbelievable character of Yates, with gratuity sadism with people, is the worst in this mini. The accident is explained, but the reason for such lunatic kills and tortures so many persons along the story is simply ridiculous. The reason why Rose contacts Joe is also silly. "Sole Survivor" is only recommended for a rainy day without any other option for killing time. My vote is six. Title (Brazil) "O Sobrevivente" ("The Survival")

I have always enjoyed Dean Koontz's miniseries and this is no exception. I saw this with an open mind, and it captured my imagination brilliantly. Everyone was well cast and the filming was very precise. The writing was also excellent and was without flaw. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys fantasy. Although the miniseries has already aired, you can catch it on video whenever it comes out. This is an exceptional miniseries.