Black Hole, le Trou Noir

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."

I am not going to waste too many words on this simply horrific movie.

The only thing that matches the poor acting the inconsistency in the time line and story telling.

The Arch which is supposedly torn down by the black hole... can be seen standing in the background near the ending.

Additionally.. if they shut down the power... the city lights would've been out. While even at the very end all the lights are still on. Which makes me think... if you know the creature absorbs energy... turn it off straight away! The only thing going for this movie is the alien if self, which doesn't look too bad.

Avoid at all costs if you can.

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 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?

As a resident of the city in which the movie took place, I enjoyed it mostly for the amazingly silly geographic liberties the filmmakers took with St. Louis. I knew it was going to be entertaining from the moment the Planetarium/Science Center - one of the most well-known buildings in the city - was labeled as the stand-in for the nuclear physics institute where the whole mess started.

From there, it was a silly and stupid ride through bad science and locations that left most of my family going, "But isn't that building in the area they just said was destroyed?" My favorite moment was after the Arch and Downtown St. Louis were destroyed and then we saw Judd Nelson racing down a road...in downtown St. Louis...toward a darkened but obviously still visible and untouched Arch.

The actors performed their roles with earnestness and deserve credit for doing what they could with the silliness of the plot.