Black Hole, le Trou Noir

Why, oh why, does SciFi continue to create these horrible wastes of time and money? I watched this solely for it being set in St. Louis. There's really nothing good to say about this movie.

There is just so much wrong here that it's hard to even know where to start. The dialog is horrible and the plot is even worse. Particularly bad is when a character tells you something and then the camera shows you something completely different (e.g. "the black hole is growing" and then shown the same size throughout the entire movie). There are too many examples to list, and I'd hate to "spoil" this movie for anyone who still wishes to abuse themselves by watching it.

If I had to say something nice, it would be that some of the effects aren't half bad. Not good across-the-board, but not bad. Since you can see those in the ads for the movie, there's no reason to subject yourself to the complete film.

Please, SciFi, save your money and create 24 episodes of Stargate instead of 20. At least then you'd have four hours of programming people would enjoy instead of this two hours of nonsense.

I knew from the trailers Sci-Fi channel was showing that this one would be totally insane. I watched anyway, figuring it would be at least good for some kitschy comedy, and a chance to see my home town of St. Louis get ripped. It did not disappoint (at being insane, that is).

A black hole is created artificially in a lab, but the black hole itself is not the only menace, as a strange electrical energy entity (that zaps people into oblivion) hitchhikes with it. This creature was actually kind of a creative plot device, since the movie really didn't seem to know what to do with the black hole other than devour stuff. Since there is a famous landmark in St. Louis, it's pretty obvious where the black hole goes for lunch (always moving along the ground in a 2-dimensional manner, by the way). As for the creature, it was utilized in some intriguing ways; but the explanation of its nature and intent was insufficiently developed, and could have been explored more.

Most everyone is at least somewhat familiar with basic scientific theory regarding black holes, and therefore will see a myriad of scientific absurdities, but if you view this silly nonsense without taking it seriously, it can be fun to watch. Toss disbelief into the black hole; or just play a game of "find the goofy science" as you watch.

The actors, given the weird script, really do approach the thing with urgency. When the scientist hero describes his quantum physics theories, you almost want to believe the offbeat premise of this movie. But then another bizarre thing happens and you're laughing hysterically again. There are the usual ploys and clichés: divorced dads, military that wants to use nukes, rogue scientists, TV news reporters doing play-by-play of destruction, etc.

Watch for loony amusement only. Science has been imploded in this "Black Hole."

In St. Louis, the scientists Dr. William Hauser (Kevin Beyer), Shannon Muir (Kristy Swanson) and Kent (Dan Buran) accidentally create a black hole during an experiment. While investigating the phenomenon, Dr. Hauser and Kent die and the army comes to their laboratory under the command of General Ryker (David Selby). Shannon tries to call the prominent Dr. Eric Bryce (Judd Nelson), but the scientist does not answer the phone since he misses his daughter Kayley (Julia Sinks) after the divorce to his ex-wife Elizabeth (Jennifer Quackenbush). When he is contacted, he comes to the laboratory and soon he finds that the experiment has also unleashed a creature that feeds of energy. The Powers That Be wants a nuclear attack against the creature, but Eric warns that the action will increase the black hole. He also believes that the creature may be destroyed and the black hole closed if they are attracted to each other. However, only General Ryker supports his theory while General Tate (Peter Mayer) wants to bomb the location.

"The Black Hole" is a stupid and corny thriller. The one-dimension characters are not developed and Eric in the beginning is an alcoholic scientist that misses his family and in the corny end is a hero in love with Shannon, who seems to be the pivot of his divorce. The military personnel cannot be that imbecile, using the usual weapons against the energy creature to be vaporized on the next scene. The idea of bombing the black hole and the creature is taken by people without any knowledge is totally unintelligent. And the character that performs the President is disrespectful so ridiculous he is. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Buraco Negro" ("Black Hole")

I can't believe that I watched the whole movie.

The title was perfect! I was expecting a lot, but all I got is a lame scenario with a weak plot, lame actors, and the creature! "The entity"… That was awful.

There's no doubt, it's not the movie that I'll watch over and over. Besides, it was pretty educational. I can now recognize poor stories in the fly… and these are some tips : 1) If actors seem to read their script to act, just stop watching ; 2) If you got a lot of definitions, to explain obvious stuff, also literally read, just cut the damn movie off; 3) If you see a creature supposed to come from nowhere, following a logical path, I'll say it again : just-cut-it-off.

The theme was interesting. May be if they've concentrate on characters and creature development instead of trying to look scientific, making some theory heard and said takes form… This movie shouldn't even exist.

Whatever, it reveals what American people are expecting from their government facing the unknown : nuclear bombing, a little good talk to morn the loss, and right after explain that it was a painful but a necessary decision…

Can't we put negative score to punish the weakest stuff?

"Following a scientific mishap, mankind is faced with total annihilation as a threatening black hole appears over St. Louis. Now, time is running out to obliterate the black hole and the electricity-feeding alien it has unleashed," according to the DVD sleeve description. This film has nothing to do with either the original "Black Hole" movie or a real astronomical black hole, which could not make an appearance like the one depicted in this film. It plays more like an episode of "The Outer Limits".

"The Black Hole" stars hairy Judd Nelson (as Eric Bryce) and pretty Kristy Swanson (as Shannon Muir). It was a "Science Fiction Channel" original, featuring David Selby (as General Ryker) in a substantial supporting role. Ironically, the network stopped airing repeats of Mr. Selby's "Dark Shadows" in order to present more first-run entertainment (like multiple airings of this movie). Although Selby is always a dependable player, this program made you want to see "Dark Shadows" return.

*** The Black Hole (6/10/06) Tibor Takacs ~ Judd Nelson, Kristy Swanson, David Selby, Christa Campbell