son_of_cheese_messiah

This is a terrible film made worse by the fact that its underlying premise- illegal cloning- was actually strong. With a bit more effort this could have been in much the same league as Total Recall; indeed there is much about TSD which, intentionally I think, sets about to remind the viewer about that classic, but this is very much a pale imitation.

The problem is that the main premise in presented in a confusing and incoherent way. There seems to be an element of consciousness transference about the cloning process. Although this is not usual with any known cloning process, it could be made to work if it were consistently applied. But it isn't. Some characters seem to be the same person reborn in a fresh body even though they clearly died (and make light of their deaths in not very convincing comedy) while others, such as Schwarzenegger and the baddie can exist in two bodies at the same time. How does this work exactly? This is indicative of the general sloppiness of modern Hollywood.

The double dose of Arnie could have been fun but his acting is not up to the task and it comes across as particularly flat and wooden. The action scenes are ok but hardly great.

All in all, a waste of good potential

This film could and really should have a masterpiece. There is a strong sense of period enhanced by what appears to be authentic 19th century barrack room slang and music from the period. It could be argued that the film is rather slow, but to my mind a lingering on the enormous wealth of detail, adds rather than detracts from the film's appeal. There are also many strong performances, in particular, Trevor Howard is imposing as the stubborn commanding officer.

Yet I find this film unsatisfying and somewhat boring to watch. The fault, I feel, is that the film's message is hammered home over and over again. A case in point: Howard instructs an inferior officer to spy on David Hemmings. The officer is reluctant and when pressed says he would have to inform Hemmings that he was instructed to spy. He then relates a touching tale of how he has worked his way up and been sober for many years. Howard is completely contemptuous and tells him his career is now in ruins. This scene is highly memorable and moving and had it been left at that, it would have been been effective. We understand the injustice and brutality of ruling elite.

However, we immediately see this officer becoming drunk followed by him being horse whipped, something that belabours the message. In another scene an officer is seen trying to subdue a horse through aggression. Hemmings shows up and subdues the horse "through kindness" as he says. Howard immediately flares up when he sees this. And in another, an anti-war protest is violently broken up. Yes we get the message: War is bad, and the military machine is ugly and inhuman. But it need not be repeated over and over again.