Destination inconnue

I've seen a lot of TV movies in my time as a student, the majority the normal waste of time that US television throws out. This one, however, was well crafted and plotted and had a very nice twist at the end. Having only seen Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver and Stargate I was surprised with his excellent performance rather than the rather gamut of expressions from A-B that he normally gives. It was a pleasant surprise to see Daphne Zuniga after quite a long time dating back to The Fly II. Also nice to see Robert Guillaumme in a leading role again. I can't say that I ever take Jane Leeves seriously after her Benny Hill days but she just about managed to cope well in her role. All in all a highly recommended film.

I loved it. It was really well made, and it was great suspense throughout. The actors did a great job, and I highly recommend it.

Pandora's Clock is among the best thrillers you will ever read and this is one of the best thrillers you will ever see. A highly faithful adaptation of John J. Nance's novel ,which had a frightfully real scenario in the novel,is made even more so here.

Despite being made for TV, this is first rate entertainment. The cast is great and slips into characters from the novel so well that you would think they were reading the novel. Richard Dean Anderson steps way outside the shadow of Macgyver and gives the best performance of his career to date. Jane Leeves is great her role as an ambassador's assistant in a role that proves she can be a fine dramatic actor. Daphne Zuniga is great as Dr. Sanders and despite the character being a man in the book, it works incredibly well. Robert Loggia, Edward Herrmann, Robert Guillaume, and the rest of the supporting cast are top notch and fit their novel counterparts tot he letter.

There are changes to the story of course (including and a slight change in the ending) but those changes are for the better when compared with the novel. The plot is realistic and very see to believe in the way its presented making this the best airplane set movie since the original Airport movie. The production values are high and though the special effects might look as good as they did a decade or so ago, they work fine. Sets are great, especially CIA HQ and the Oval Office showing that the filmmakers spent a lot of time to make this work.

It doesn't matter if you see this first and read then read the novel or vice versa. Just do both and you won't regret losing four hours to this film and however long it takes to read the novel. This will leave you breathless.

On a recent trip to Hong Kong,i was able to purchase a DVD copy of this good film. The DVD region code was for all regions. So i have no problem playing this DVD in Canada. This film has an excellent cast and plenty of action to keep the viewer glued to the television set. Filmed in Germany,it starts out with a laboratory experimenting with illegal virus from Russia. One of the laboratory employee's gets infected,leaves the laboratory,attempts to steal a car,causing the driver,after a fight,to get infected. He boards the plane,possibly infecting other passengers. Britain,Canada,all other European countries refuse to let the plane land in their countries. Now the C.I.A. gets involved,a cover-up is in the plans,it is suggested the plane be blown up,killing everyone on it. A doctor,working with the C.I.A. discovers the plot,which keeps this film going till the end. I am quite surprise this film in not available on DVD here in Canada or the U.S.A. People who have the internet could probably purchase the DVD from one of the Hong Kong DVD online shops.On 12/feb/2008,this DVD was supposed to be released on DVD in Canada and the U.S.A. Well,it never happened,no explanation was given,all web sites I tried to order it from,stated,out of release,on order. Two of the web-sites I ordered it from,cancel the order,as for Amazon,I canceled the order.

I really enjoyed watching this. It gripped me throughout and was quite believable. Good plot, interesting characters, and great pace.

My only quibble would be that there was a bit of over-the-top in a couple of scenes. Also, there was much material that could have been expanded on. While the close of the movie does provoke much thought, there was much that could have been added (though it would have required another hour or two) in political matters, but that's simply my preference.

All in all, a great movie. I only wish my VCR had been running.