Alien Hunter

Just woke up on a Saturday morning and this movie was just beginning on SciFi... I'd seen the name before, but honestly did not expect much, specifically because of the name, it's terrible and does not describe this movie at all. So not expecting much, I was more than pleasantly surprised! I had no idea James Spader was in it and he played the role well, mainly because he didn't need to act much. The plot was similar to a number of other films as folks have mentioned, but sufficiently different enough to keep you guessing. For a made for TV movie, I thought it was well done and would recommend it to anybody who is looking for some decent scifi. While it would have been much better broadcast in HD (the channel was, the movie wasn't), it was good entertainment with which to start the weekend. Now if they'd just change that frackin' name...

An unoriginal, overly predictable and only mildly entertaining low budget rehash of a sci-fi formula that we've all seen a hundred times before - a group of scientists in isolation confronting some unknown alien something, and in of all places (surprise, surprise) Antarctica!

The film features James Spader and an almost nameless supporting cast (with the exception of Carl Lewis, who's actually not that bad for a non-actor) - who deliver ho-hum performances that do little to invigorate the script's unimaginative dialogue. To make things worse the film's pace is slow, there's almost no subplot, and the few action sequences are stereotypical and not that exciting. Its little wonder that this thing went straight to DVD. What is a wonder is why Spader - an excellent actor at times, who won the Cannes Best Actor award for `Sex, Lies and Videotape', and did a splendid job in the innovative sci-fi flick `Stargate' - chose to sign onto this lackluster project. Or maybe not, if you look at his career, for it seems he has invested his talents in more misses than hits.

The most remarkable thing about `Alien Hunter' is how they managed to cram in so many elements from so many great sci-fi films, and still have the thing turn out so listless and contrived. There are huge borrowed bits from `The Thing' (both Howard Hawks' original and John Carpenter's excellent 1982 remake), `Contact' and `Outbreak'; a few hints of `Alien', CE3K', `The Andromeda Strain', `Kubrick's `2001' (i.e. the `alien black box') and `Mission To Mars' (i.e. the mystery message); and even a little dash of `Sneakers' and `A Remarkable Mind' (although not sci-fi films, they share a `cryptology' connection). Hell, there's even cornfields and Antarctica, just like the recent `X Files Movie'. And the luminous translucent spaceship at the end looks exactly like something that was plucked from an outtake from `The Abyss'.

Its all been done before and done a whole lot better, although I will admit there were a few mild surprises towards the end. I could say a little bit more about the plot, but there's absolutely no need. You already know over half this movie without ever seeing it. (5 out of 10)

James Spader plays a floppy haired "communications expert" who used to work for SETI. When a strange object is found in the Arctic he's sent out to a research station to investigate. Our floppy haired hero discovers that none other than his ex is there and she's hooked up with someone else with floppy hair. Luckily he's irresistible to women judging by the way they start flirting with him "I'm going for a shower, want to join me?" and "I work naked" being two of the most memorable lines. Male writer by any chance? Male writer with not a huge amount of experience writing for or having intercourse with women? I think so. It's kind of hard to buy into this guy as being a chick magnet especially when he titters like a nervous young girl being teased by her friends over someone she has a crush on.

He decodes a signal being broadcast from the thing and discovers it is a warning not to open the object up.

Unfortunately they've pretty much jimmied it open by this point and find an alien inside and the bad news is it doesn't have floppy hair, though it does seem drawn to Spaders so it's not all bad. They quickly switch the lights off so they can stumble around in the dark for a bit.

Alien Hunter isn't that bad, it obviously rips its best bits out of other movies and has only a couple of genuinely interesting ideas neither of which come to much. I totally agree with this movies current rating, a 5 seems fair as it has nothing new to show you but it's not terrible either.

And there's two guys with floppy hair at odds with each other and a nice spaceship, if that's your idea of a good movie you're going to love it - everyone else is going to quickly forget this one. What I can't understand though is why anyone would make this movie, it has no ambition and so many scenes seem to be time fillers. I wouldn't be surprised if parts of the script were simply titled "pointless dark stumbling scene 49" and none of the characters seem to show any emotions at all. And more to the point why are they growing GM crops in the Arctic in their underwear? Why does the scientist who is about to win a Nobel prize seem to know nothing whatsoever about science, including science related to plants when he's supposed to be the expert? We will never know..but you really won't care either.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Alien Hunter". I didn't ponder whether it was drawing upon other films, or harshly criticize the actors. I simply enjoyed the plot and people and the entertainment it provided. I thought the cast all did a fine job. It's pretty good science fiction! I do wish the producers had found a more meaningful name for it.

The premise of the film had an element of originality that made it gripping and entertaining. The finale was a complete surprise to me. I had envisioned quite another resolution.

The director sets an overall somber, brooding tone with the consistently drab surroundings of the Antarctic lab. The plot develops well, and holds interest. There were very few slow spots, and those could have been my own perception. I liked the characters, and flowed right along with them. I would recommend this film to any science fiction fan. The beautiful girl in the white bikini, wading into a cornfield in an Antarctic lab, was irresistible. Just the right touch.

The film is thoughtful and poignant, with elements of intellectual science fiction that made viewing it fascinating for me. Its the kind of film that one can just lean back with, and imagine being right there with the cast, living it all with them.

I thought it was great. Yes, ripped off many films, but a good screenplay nonetheless (kept the film moving) and more importantly, a surprising ending. Not oscar material, but I'd give it thumbs up. The base was totally unrealistic however. "The Thing" base was more like what it would be. And the title "Alien Hunter"... totally for marketing. It should have been -- in fun sci-fi form -- "It came from Space" or something. Cause it wasn't about hunting an alien. The geneticist guy was too 1-dimensional. They should have slowly developped his attitude instead of making him an idiot from the start.