The Void

...but it was poorly fleshed out. The writers of the movie obviously had a technical background, because they were pretty close to reality about black hole physics. And the idea about what could possibly happen if someone created a black hole right on earth, is a very fascinating question. Unfortunately, using this idea as the basis for a movie plot by itself, doesn't seem to be enough, so they threw in a romance, a bunch of murders, etc., etc.

I'd love to see this idea resurrected in some other, higher-budget movie, one day. But then in such a movie they may get the scientific principles wrong, but come up with better romances and political murders.

Without a doubt, one of the most unsatisfying movies I have seen in a very long time. No wonder it never made it in the theatres. The actors have nothing to do given the atrocious script. What could have been a good idea turns into a romp. The worst part is having started a black hole that will do something, the writers decide not to even bother with a conclusion. The conclusion we are left with is as if the story had never happened. It's a good job I watched it on my VCR so I could fast forward through nearly 90% of it.

I went out to the video store to rent a movie - any movie - featuring Amanda Tapping (I'm sort of a fan from the Stargate series). I found this one. It's not a bad movie, especially if you enjoy Ms. Tapping's work. My roomate commented that "they needed a bigger budget" and I agree - some of the effects were a little cheap. Considering, however, that the actors are not HUGE stars and that it seems to be a lower budget film, it was very interesting. The premise about a black hole was fascinating to me (though my roomate, the astrophysics major, seems to think it sounds a little unsound - she hasn't watched it, though) and it was fun to watch Ms. Tapping in another role. Granted, it seemed like a reincarnation of Sam Carter from Stargate - still beautiful and brainy but without the guns and aliens - but all in all it was interesting to see and worth the money I paid to rent the DVD. The Void reminded me of an extended episode of Andromeda/Stargate placed in an alternate universe without the aliens. Or the stargate. Or a lot of guns. But the same "feel" to the show. Sounds odd, I know. I won't list The Void as one of my top five movies but I will say that it was very entertaining and a great study break.

This film addresses a real concern of sorts, questions which were brought up about the Heavy Relatavistic Ion Collider which used a particle accellerator to smash gold atoms together in order to study exotic quarks. It was theorized that only a one in a billion trillion squillion chance of creating a particle-sized singularity (infinite volume in zero mass) that creates black holes, gravitational wells and event horizons. So much for media scares. Why actually watched 10 minutes of the film was because I like Amanda Tapping. I then watched another ten minutes because all of a sudden she was apparently geting tastefully nude. After another ten minutes I turned off again. I think it may have been a body double, but who cares. Amanda Tapping is gorgeous, no matter whose breasts were on the screen. The film? Ah. Well, if it was made with a big budget and heavyweight hollywood actors, say, Harrison Ford and Susan Sarandon, it would be considered worthy, though provoking material. A shame a proper, real science story has been let down by poor budgeting, and the fact that Amanda Tapping is marvellous, but not well known enough for film work. On the other hand, nice breasts.

There's no black hole sucking down a city street as depicted on the video box cover, so let's dismiss that from the start. There's something sort of like that in the floor of a laboratory.

As it starts, a particle accelerator lab is doing an experiment that its chief does not approve of, but which the physicist played by Malcolm McDowell has somehow pulled rank and gotten through - though he is 5,000 miles away. Lucky for him he wasn't there, too, since everybody dies.

Years later, he's up to the same thing, expecting it to work this time (he's actually on site). The daughter of the chief who died in the previous experiment hopes to find proof of what happened, and learns it's about to happen again, only worse.

It's not a bad movie, though overlong. I thought on its apparent budget it did make good use of special effects. Not worth seeking out, though, unless you're a particular fan of any of the lead actors.