Mysterious Island

I saw Mysterious Island as I love the story and have a soft spot for the 1961 film. I was dubious as it was SyFy, whose standard of movies generally are nothing to write home about, however even for SyFy Mysterious Island is an abomination. Other commentators have said that it is very loosely based on the book, and they are right. I wasn't expecting much different on that angle, because from their adaptations of Earthsea and Journey to the Center of the Earth I knew that the only resemblance to the original story was going to be either the title or the characters' names. The problem is that Mysterious Island doesn't just fall down as an adaptation, it falls down on its own merits as well. The story here is very dully paced, and due to lack of any real tension or thrills it is very uninteresting as well. The characters are not as interesting either, a lot of them are clichéd and not much is done to develop them. Even Nemo's back-story is rushed and convoluted, almost as if done in reference. The dialogue is often corny with SyFy, but not in a while have I heard dialogue that was so unbearably so that you have a hard time taking anything seriously. The acting is poor, with a stiff uncharismatic Lochlyn Munro, a pretty but vapid Gina Holden and an all too brief Pruitt Taylor Vince. The production values I have no better news I'm afraid. Not much is done to make them authentic with the furs sometimes looking as though they were actually made of straw, also further undermined by the sights of modern technology like air vents when the mansion was built on an island supposedly without electricity. The special effects are laughable, with the octopus belonging more at home in a cheap video game and the shaggy creatures were as scary as someone dressing up for a Halloween party. All in all, terrible. 1/10 Bethany Cox

This film has it all...bad writing, bad direction, bad acting, some of the worst CGI ever and an ending that basically was the director yelling, "CUT, we're out of time".

I don't care if this was made for TV or not. I think it is a crime to take a great story and butcher it the way this director did. I am a big fan of the 1961 version, and only stumbled upon this movie because they sent the wrong movie, I had ordered the version with Patrick Steward as Nemo, but instead I got this version. The Movie is obviously made for TV, the acting in so bad, I thought I was watching a Mexican soap opera. As the movie started, it seamed to follow the original story line, But after the balloon took to the air, the plot took a 180 degree turn for the worst.Some of the acting was OK, but The girl with the bad leg, looked like she studied Monty Pythons silly walks, to prepare for her part. The creatures were laughable, the almost looked like they used the costumes from Time machine, (the warlocks). It wasn't till Nemo showed his face that I realized this isn't the movie I ordered, and as I could no longer watch, and my girlfriend already left the room, I just stopped it, never finishing. If you like the 1961 version as I do, the don't see this movie, just watch the original.

March 1865. A group of Union soldiers escape from Confederate hands in a balloon, accompanied by their former Confederate captor. The balloon crashes on a sinister island, complete with strange malevolent creatures, pirates...and people from the year 2012.

Ostensibly based on Jules Verne's classic novel but, if it is, it must be very loosely based, as there is no way Jules Verne wrote even 5% of this crap. (Unfortunately, I haven't read Verne's novel, so can't comment with any authority on how closely this movie does follow the book). Bad in every way: plot, dialogue, acting. Even the historical references are inaccurate!

Monumentally cringeworthy. Avoid like the plague.

As I watched this amazingly stupid movie, and may I add, shame on me for watching it through the end, I noticed, when they where inside the house...there were candles every where...however if you look closely you'll notice light switches in every room, thermostat in one room. This movie was simply put "AWFUL"