Sumuru

Sumuru was great fun. It was shot in South Africa and the cinematography makes great use of the exotic location. It feels very alien and strange and makes use of some sort of filter outdoors to make the atmosphere seem unearthly.

I was rather worried given the subject matter of a woman-ruled planet, generally such films manage to be very insulting to women but somehow Sumuru managed to avoid that cliche. The woman were portrayed as humans who had reacted as "humans" would to their situation, not as "women" who only reacted that way because they were female and thus were somehow lesser than men.

Sumuru is a low budget film that doesn't try to pretend it is anything else. They don't attract attention to that fact by attempting a lot of fancy special effects they couldn't afford to do right. There is just a tiny bit of cheesy but fun CGI, otherwise everything looks "lived in" and like it could actually exist. Sumuru also does not make the mistake of sinking into self-mockery but instead has humor, sincerity and commitment in the performances of it's actors.

This is especially true of Michael Shanks, who proves himself a more than capable leading man and raised the performances of everyone around him. They all just seemed to act better in scenes with him. I was very pleasantly suprised. His performance showed a deft touch that was both light and sincere. As the lead, a lot rested on his shoulders and he set just the right tone. Great comic timing but esp. effective and convincing in the quieter, more emotional scenes. His Adam Wade was sympathetic, handsome despite the odd facial hair and masculine but without any of the silly macho posturing typical of such roles. Here's to hoping he gets more opportunities to display his versatility in higher class films that will earn him more notice in the industry.

Alexandra Kamp as Sumuru, though clothed in costumes that could not have been comfortable in such terrain, came across as very regal but also approachable. Her Sumuru was curious and intelligent with the courage of her convictions but was not so stuck her ways she refused to see past them if they would harm her people. She's not the actor her leading man is but she portrayed her character's story arc quite effectively. Sumuru is very likeable Queen.

Another good performance was Terence Bridgett as Jake, Adam's friend and partner in this venture. I'd be love to see prequel about his and Adam's past adventures. He also had some rather odd hairstyling but he was funny and a good foil for Adam. He and the young boy Will developed a nice rapport as did Will and his older sister Dove. The actress who played Dove was pretty and also has a very good fight scene near the beginning of the film.

The villainess Taxan played by Simona Levin is played over the top but it very much fits the role. She chews the scenery entertainingly and seems to "hiss" her lines out in a manner fitting for her role.

If someone is looking for lighthearted but earnest b-movie entertainment--this is a good film in that vein.

What a production, what a waste of screen-time and money. Here is what some european so called producer think, of a scifi movie. Take former model, Alexandra Kamp, pair a with an US c-class actor and get one of film business most notorious producer Harry A. Towers. Towers then finds some obscure munich based prod. house, Tandem communication, Rola Bauer, and then mix it all up with no script whatsoever and you'll get "Sumuru" - a priceless gem among the worst movies ever done! Get a live people, and do something else, whatever you do, no movies please!! To top everything, producers went to South Africa for filming, what you see on screen is one giant sand hole, where the "action" takes place, between extremely bad actors and extremely bad fx that any film student would do better.

As far as B-movies go, this is in the middle. I wasn't getting warm fuzzies during the opening crash/landing scene, graphics and simulated tension were horrible. It picked up in the middle and turned weak again at the end. I love how 900 year old spaceships just power on and fly with no issues. The overacting of Simona Williams (Taxan) was a little overkill, while Alexandra's character seemed a little more realistic. For a planet full of beautiful women, I little more skin might have helped moved this B-Grade up a little.

I enjoyed this movie. It was a little bit "Barbarella for Girls" (not complaining!!) but entertaining and given that the script was very tongue in cheek, well acted. The special effects were a little bit strained, on a smaller budget its better to not try so hard, the results can be better and they do look like they tried too hard in places. I wasn't sure about the female lead, but I suspect it was a difficult one to play, the bad "guy" was well done...its easier to play a baddie in sci-fi because you can ham it up, and this one does. In fact there are times when there is a lot of "hamming" from all directions, which makes the film amusing..I think this is the intention. The film doesn't take itself too seriously as a result which is what makes it so entertaining. Plus there were actually some plot twists and turns which is nice is a sci-fi movie. I managed to obtain this film from Germany...my main complaint is why is this not on general release?

This movie is admittedly not the highest-budget, but what I like is that the producers know that, and refuse to take themselves too seriously. Maybe it would be better to say that the producers spent their money wisely, rather than throwing it into expensive, unnecessary effects.

Filmed in South Africa by a German company, the locations are terrific, the actors are from all over the world (Michael Shanks has a fun departure from "type" as an action hero, and pulls it off well), and unlike some "blockbusters" I've seen, this one actually has a plot. Admittedly, it's not something to examine too closely (or maybe you would -- it's fun to try and come with answers to "why are you wearing metal clothes in the desert?" among others!), but the one-liners are fun, the men are dashing, the women are regal, the actors all seem to have good chemistry on-screen, and it's got a big giant snake.

What more could you ask for when you're looking for light, fun sci-fi?