Supernova Review
by "Berge Garabedian" (drsuess AT microtec DOT net)January 16th, 2000
SUPERNOVA
RATING: 5.5/10 --> Not good enough to recommend
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Hmmmm, major directorial issues, no preview rendez-vous for the critics, and a huge thumbs down from JoBlo contributor PackBacker, pronouncing it as an early candidate for "worst of 2000"...youch! So is it any good? Well, we will never know what original director Walter Hill's intention was, since he asked his name to be altered to Thomas Lee for the final print. Apparently, the film was taken from his hands, and mangled by many, including legendary director Francis Ford Coppola and the studio.
PLOT:
An ambulance ship set in space is called in for an emergency request from way out in the middle of nowhere. They bring aboard a mysterious man who also happens to be carrying some extra-dimensional cargo with him. Is the man an alien? Is the cargo dangerous? Does the movie suck? Find out below.
CRITIQUE:
Unoriginal mesh of previously seen and better science-fiction movies such as ALIEN, THE THING and even crap like VIRUS and EVENT HORIZON, this film did at least manage to keep me interested throughout its entire run. Yes, that's right, I was never bored and I suppose that's a good thing, right? Add that to a couple of trippy sequences, laughable sci-fi dialogue and a quick cohesive package of less than an hour and a half, and God help me, but I didn't think this film was as horrible as I originally anticipated. Don't get me wrong, this is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. The characters are stock and one-dimensional, the flickering lights, beeping switches, smoke and hand-held camera are patent sci-fi schlock and rarely take your mind off the fact that the movie doesn't have one shred of originality to piss on, but I guess I wasn't expecting much from this film to begin with. Slap a couple of beers in your system, and by golly, you may even enjoy the darn thing!
So I guess the trick is to go into this thing with nil expectations, in which case you might actually appreciate the hour and a half of relaxation that your mind will experience. And it's definitely video-bait, with very few special effects and even less superior effects to warrant a trip outside the home. The cast is wasted on jargon dialogue and two-bit romances barely crispy enough to light a candle, but I suppose that if you're just looking to have fun with some buddies, or enjoy a film which doesn't pretend to be anything more than a staple sci-fi flick with no message, than this baby might be worth saving a seat just for you. So let's recap: never boring, pretty repetitive, so-so effects, ho-hum characters, zero originality, quick runtime tacked on to an anti-climactic ending. Sound interesting to you? If so, go ahead and supernova your ass over to this movie, caught in the annual spot reserved for early year sci-fi rehashes. If not, skip it, erase the title from your mind, and pretend you never read any of this. It won't be hard. I saw the movie a few hours ago, and I barely remember a thing.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Director Thomas Lee, better known to some as writer/director Walter Hill, also helped pen the first ALIEN movie (uncredited), come up with the story for the second flick, ALIENS, write part of the third one, ALIEN 3, and had a hand in producing all four ALIEN films.
James Spader is the son of two teachers. Ironically, James bailed from his own education by grade 11, and bused tables, shoveled manure and taught yoga before landing his first roles in film.
Actress Angela Bassett became what she has become after being pushed by a high school teacher to apply for Yale. After she got a scholarship, she ended up staying there for 7 years including 3 post-graduate years studying drama.
Lou Diamond Phillips' birth name is Lou Upchurch. He was once married to Julie Cypher, a woman who is now a lesbian and "partnered" with singer Melissa Etheridge. In January 2000, the couple came out in Rolling Stone magazine and admitted that the father of their children is none other than singer and ex-drug addict David Crosby.
Peter Facinelli was the Tom Cruise look-a-like in the 1998 teen flick CAN'T HARDLY WAIT (7/10). He is also married to Jennie Garth, the woman who is, and will always be remembered for her role as Kelly Taylor on "Beverly Hills 90210". Has she done ANYTHING else?!?
Hmmm, the man who came up with the story for this film is named William Malone. Most recently, he directed another film which was essentially "given up on" by the studios in 1998, called HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (7.5/10).
Review Date: January 15, 2000
Director: Thomas Lee (aka Walter Hill)
Writer: David Campbell Wilson
Producers: Daniel Chuba, Jamie Dixon and Ash Shah
Actors: Angela Bassett as Kaela Evers
James Spader as Nick Valzant
Peter Facinelli as Troy Larson
Lou Diamond Phillips as Yerzy Penalosa
Genre: Science-Fiction
Year of Release: 2000
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(c) 2000 Berge Garabedian
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
