Sumuru

While the SFX left a lot to be desired, I had a blast watching this movie. It was FUN. The acting by some of the women was sub-par, although each of the two female leads did much better in the their scenes when paired with Michael Shanks. I like the man who played, Jake, he was very human. Shanks did an excellent job, as always, and played his character with a light, amusing hand. The man can do comedy, too!

I rate a movie or show on how much I enjoyed watching it, and I give this one a 7. It was simply fun to watch, and nothing left me cringing. Okay, the 'hardly there' outfit the Snake Goddess was wearing was pretty cringe-worthy.

While the 2003 movie "Sumuru" is by no means an outstanding movie, it actually is a watchable movie, if nothing else.

Granted, the storyline presented by writers Harry Alan Towers, Peter Jobin, Torsten Dewi and Sax Rohmer have elements of classic fantasy, laced with some light sci-fi elements. And of course it is topped off by a heap of scantily clad women and set in an Amazonian-like environment (Amazon as in the female warrior society, not the South American region, nor the online giant vendor). And while it does actually sound like it is a good combination for some geeky entertainment, the movie was actually not overly impressive.

The storyline was rather mundane and actually boring, and I managed to endure an hour of the ordeal, then I was tender to the core, good and ready to find something else to watch. And I did; I turned off the movie at that point, because I just didn't have the will or interest to watch any more of this.

Now, what did work in favor of "Sumuru" was the production value, for the most parts. I will say that the movie definitely had a good production and editing to it, and it felt like a wholehearted movie, where it could just as easily has come off as being a project made by young adults for young adults. I liked the costumes and the props, and the setting of the movie was actually good too.

The acting in the movie was adequate. With the movie's premise in mind, you know you are not in for a grand Shakespearian performance here, nor will you witness any amazing performances worthy of top notch awards.

While I searched this movie on IMDb, I saw that there were other - older - titles also bearing the name Sumuru in the title. I haven't seen those movie, so I have no idea what the connection is, or how the continuation of those movies is with this 2003 movie.

All in all, "Sumuru" was not a movie that provided the needed entertainment value, and it just succumbed to becoming too much of a low budget B-movie. My rating of the 2003 movie "Sumuru" settles on a mere four out of ten stars. I had initially settled on three stars, but the movie's overall production managed to lift up the movie a notch.

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.

Gorgeous women dressed as Roman Gladiators traipsing around a desert. Who footed the bill for this ?

Getting a Root Canal or a Colonoscopy without sedation is less painful than watching this epic fail.

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.