Android Apocalypse

ANDROID APOCALYPSE, a film set in some kind of dodgy post-apocalyptic world where android helpers are now the norm, is the usual kind of cheapo sci-fi made-for-TV movie trash. The central story, about an unlikely relationship between a human and an android wandering through an unfamiliar wilderness, is copied from ENEMY MINE, with the alien replaced by an android.

That's the only interesting part of the story, but sadly the script isn't really up to much and the characterisation is virtually zilch. Scott Bairstow does his best to deliver an edgy performance but Joseph Lawrence mistakes being wooden for being robotic and never comes across as believable in his crucial role. The other androids are even less authentic and the evil-government-corporation stuff is so hackneyed as to be totally passe.

I'm guessing this is a 'SyFy channel' movie because the production values are cheap and cheesy and the special effects are equally cheap and cheesy, and although a little bit fun to go with it. But overall, despite the title promising something explosive and action-packed, ANDROID APOCALYPSE is as defunct as a malfunctioning android and a film whose sole entertainment value comes from watching WWF star Chris Jericho getting beaten up as a robot wrestler.

A fairly decent sci-fi caper, along the same lines as 'terminator' but with a well trodden plot of a replicant android who starts to develop human feelings. Some exciting action sequences keep it rolling along just fine.

In my opinion, those that have rated & reviewed this film as poor must have no heart! If you have seen Enemy Mine and loved that as I have, you'll understand and appreciate Android Apocalypse as I did. It's not quite up to the standard of Enemy Mine, but is written and created with a similar heart. In many ways it is a similar story.

Bear in mind that this was not a big Hollywood movie, judge it in this context, watch it through the wonder-filled eyes of a child, immerse yourself into the lead characters and the relationship between beings from opposite sides of a divide, and you'll find this is an enjoyable film.

A quick word on the soundtrack by Todd Bryanton. Tron-esque. That's a good thing!

Good enough to want to see how they ended it, and to appreciate creative low budgetry.

I was expecting little, seeing as how awful a lot of SyFy original movies are. Actually while not great, Android Apocalypse is not that bad. It does have a lot of flaws, which I sensed were going to be there. The CGI has been worse before and since but definitely could've done with more clarity and believability, they did look flat and fake-looking. I do agree also about the set design, they don't look bad and are decently lit but they are never authentic, when you should see a prison, then one you should see, not what looks like a factory. The writing is rather shallow and cheesy, and again never feels natural in how it flows, while the story is structurally thin with a lot of the action unexciting and the final twenty minutes were far too overly-silly for my tastes. However, the editing is less haphazard than it often is with SyFy, and the music less generic, actually having a haunting tone. But the real improvements were with the characters and the acting. Instead of the underdeveloped, stereotypical characters we usually see, there is a noble and mostly successful attempt to give the characters some humanity and depth. The acting is often bland, overdone or non-existent, I also didn't find that to be the case here, the leads are especially likable. So all in all, definitely one of Syfy's more tolerable movies though it was still lacking. 5/10 Bethany Cox