Babylon 5: The River of Souls

Usually, JMS and his crew do a great job. There is no argument that Babylon 5 may have been the finest science fiction series ever to come to television. In this entry in the long series of good films, however, things become a little more slack, and the result is an uninvolving, mildly amusing detour. A Dumb subplot involving the fight with a virtual brothel does nothing to help this film; it is, in a sense, weighted down by the inability of the producers to add anything new into the Babylon 5 universe. Instead of generating a strong storyline, the creators have opted for a plot about a lost "river" of souls and the claimant who arrives unexpectedly to collect his stolen property. Martin Sheen as the alien "soul hunter" is one of the most ludicrous examples of miscasting since Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery.

The obsessed Professor Robert Bryson (Ian McShane) is in a planet looking for the eternal life and soon he is hunted down by the owners, the Soul Hunters. Meanwhile, Capt. Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins) is sued by the lawyer of the shyster Jacob Mayhew (Joel Brooks). When a soul hunter (Martin Sheen) visits her, she has another problem to resolve in the station.

"Babylon 5: The River of Souls" is a good film about Babylon 5. The plot is very tense and well resolved in the end. Martin Sheen has a good performance. The conclusion is excellent and is worthwhile watching this movie. . My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Babylon 5 - O Rio das Almas" ("Babylon 5: The River of Souls")

The Soul Hunter plot to this movie was excellent. That brothel sub plot was a little funny, but totally unnecessary. Martin Sheen gives an excellent performance. I also like how they make good use of Garabaldi. The special effects were great as usual. This an okay entry to the B5 story.

One billion souls, ready to escape and wreak revenge upon their captors. Of course, they don't actually escape, at least not all of them. And they don't even scratch the Soulhunter (played fairly by Martin Sheen) until the very end, when he willingly sacrifices his soul to build a bridge to peace.

The special effects were nice, as always with Babylon 5, but the plot I thought was lacking. When the highlight of a film is seeing Tracy Scoggins in hot pink lingerie, you can't say much about the storyline.

Well I gave this movie a 7. It was better than "Thirdspace" but not as good as "In the Beginning" as far as the B5 movies go. I really think the television series did a much better job overall with the special effects and character portrayal. Let's hope the producers and cast get the next series "Crusade" up to the standards of B5.