MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis

TV movies aren't exactly known for subtlety or a delicate hand in their execution; what of a TV movie based on a long-running series that, to at least some degree, was known for cleverness and detail? As it turns out, not even Angus MacGyver can shimmy his way out of the standards of the medium. The pacing is rather swift, and the dialogue and scene writing are sometimes downright lazy or sloppy, whether heavy-handed (such as shoehorning in lines about then-current events in the Balkans, or an excruciatingly ham-handed ending), clichéd, or otherwise. Above all, the writing prioritizes that every scene and every little facet of the plot should align Just So such that MacGyver and his friends can continue on their adventure, but do so with very specific, sometimes arbitrary stakes. Some broad strokes of the narrative are a bit predictable; characters might shift moods two or three times within one scene to match the needs of the forthright storytelling; some particular choices in the dialogue can only inspire skepticism. Even the story at large, clearly asking Richard Dean Anderson to all but don the whip, jacket, and fedora of Indiana Jones, plainly borrows from the blockbuster action-adventure franchise, including the appearance of a certain artifact, a character's motivations, a plot point or two, and the mannerisms that Brian Blessed adopts as Atticus (hello, Henry Jones, Sr.).

None of this is to say that 'MacGyver: Lost treasure of Atlantis' is inherently bad, or that it's not at all fun. It's well made, emphatically including production design, art direction, props, effects, and stunts. Michael Vejar's direction is quite fine, and David Geddes' cinematography; I like Ken Harrison's score. There are, still, flashes of minor brilliance at one point or another as the tale progresses. It's just that the series starring Anderson was nothing if not original and actively engaging, as the protagonist's keen wit was tested under various circumstances; even at its best, this TV movie feels all too imitative as the hockey-loving, mullet-wearing crafter of thingamabobs is thrust into a quasi-fantastical journey, even embracing pseudoscience for the sake of its plot. The "MacGyverisms" we quickly came to love in the series, improvised solutions, are present in some measure. Yet these are generally deemphasized in favor of half-hearted advancement of the story, and small moments that feel all too contrived - pure coincidences to get them out of a situation with something that is at the characters' disposal when there is no reason for it to be. With all this having been said, I think the cast do the very best they can with the material, and sometimes the performances are quite solid; on the other hand, there are definitely times, too, when the actors seem to be straining to be genuine.

I think what it really comes down to is that the screenplay needed to be developed a bit more to weave in more believable dialogue and scene writing. Even if it meant extending the runtime, maybe some scenes could have been added, or others simply built out, to bolster the plot development. And more than anything else: look, I love MacGyver, but this feature comes across as something that was written, greenlit, and ready to go as a standalone TV movie, in no way related to the character we know and love. I might be wrong, but it really seems like the protagonist was written in purely as an effort to cash in on the popularity of the series, or perhaps nostalgia for a series that by that time had run its course a few years prior. True, maybe there's nothing inherently wrong about this, either. The fact remains that save for Anderson's involvement, there's nothing about 'Lost treasure of Atlantis' to meaningfully connect it with 'MacGyver,' which accentuates to me that in the very least this isn't special even in the eyes of those who ordered it, and that it might have been rushed. Now, again, I believe this is well done more than not, and passably entertaining. Even if you're a diehard fan of the series, Anderson, Blessed, or someone else involved, however, I just don't think there's enough here to warrant going out of your way for it. Save 'Lost treasure of Atlantis' for a lazy day, when a "decent" film is good enough for suit your needs, and let's leave it at that.

This is really one of the best MacGyver adventures that have ever been put to screen! (Although it was just the TV screen release). If the original MacGyver series ever continued on this path (between the show and these two movies there was a ton of design ideas done differently) it could have been an amazing new twist of adventure energy.. Kind of like how the first season felt, you know..?

The supporting cast is also absolutely legendary in this movie. There is no doubt that they were going for the big vibes here, and I really love the vibrations!

It's also amazing how fresh this feels for a MacGyver adventure - it really feels like a whole new section of his life that I would love to explore more!

As a fan of Stargate SG-1, I watched MacGyver to see Richard Dean Anderson. The character of MacGyver is very similar to his current character in Stargate, Colonel Jack O'Neill. He has the same sense of humour,same characteristics and the same attitude towards people. In fact the only difference that I noticed was that Mac is a whole lot smarter than O'Neill. ( More along the lines of the IQ of Major Carter than O'Neill.) Examples of this are that the dialogue was so predictable in parts for anyone who watches Stargate. Maybe it's just me but that's my opinion.

This is an adventure featuring MacGyver's high-minded mentor, played by the great Brian Blessed.

Remember the Jupiter Effect? When the planets aligned in the 1990s all heck was supposed to break loose. But they didn't really align and the books and videos about the Jupiter Effect have gone on the rubbish heap with books on Y2K and 2012. Fear mongering really looks stupid in retrospect. It'll happen with Global Warming one day (when I was in school we were fearmongered into believing we were barreling into the next Ice Age; that changed on a dime and now sounds quite quaint. And now all the teachers of the next Ice Age ate dead and I alone have escaped to tell thee.

Too, the Greek word for fear is Phobos.

Still, exciting novels and movies have been made out of worse nonsense, so this Raiders of the Lost Ark knock off (More Roger Corman than Spielberg) is fun and exciting with several places for MacGyver to show his ingenuity to make something out of nothing. But he's not the man he was when the series started.

It actually has pretty good effects for a TV budget. Though the planets are never that big nor so perfectly aligned.

While this is not the best in class, it is a bit of a hoot when you get Brian Blessed and Richard Dean Anderson playing off each other. How could it be any otherwise? The premise is wonderfully silly and the walk through war torn Europe pointless, but over all the characters are clear and well-defined. The aristocratic baddie, the amoral professor, the smart heroine who needs rescuing, and of course MacGyver who out parodies himself with some wonderful made up solutions, it is hard to predict any of them.

Was it great? Well, it was great fun and still worth watching just to see Brian Blessed's larger than life acting. I am a huge fan of MacGyver, but those purest who whine about this being awful, really are missing the point. From the mullet hair cut to the overzealous Professor to the idea that together they are 'historians' is a bloody hoot! Great escapism that only the 90's could bring us. See it and enjoy it.