Supernova Review
by Jamey Hughton (bhughton AT sk DOT sympatico DOT ca)January 27th, 2000
SUPERNOVA
1/2 (out of four stars)
A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-James Spader, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster,
Peter Facinelli, Lou Diamond Phillips, Robin Tunney and Wilson Cruz Director-Thomas Lee
Canadian Rating-14A
MGM Pictures - 01/00
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No one seems to want their name displayed on the new sci-fi thriller “Supernova”. Action director Walter Hill (“48 Hours”) demanded his name be replaced by the pseudonym Thomas Lee (a new version of the infamous Alan Smithee). His request was granted. It is also rumored that the legendary Francis Ford Coppola stepped in after Hill retreated to finish editing the film for release. Not surprisingly, his name is also nowhere to be found. A poisonous black cloud of negative buzz surrounded this notoriously troubled production from the start. But is it really as terrible as you’ve been told?
Hell yes. “Supernova” is a lifelessly dull, derivative mess of a film. The action sequences contain no excitement whatsoever. The scenes intended to build a suspenseful atmosphere don’t even begin to raise the heart-rate. The movie is like a drugged-up race horse that doesn’t even make it out of the gate - the drugs being the endless post-production tampering that occurred to make the film most presentable. I imagine stars like James Spader and Angela Bassett, who have something of a Hollywood image and are trying to maintain it, are really sweating it because “Supernova” was actually released. You see, January is the “aww-heck-let’s release-it-now” month. Movies are dumped here with the mild hope of a warm box office reception because the competition would be too ferocious elsewhere. In essence, “Supernova” is the definitive January release. In the heart of winter comes a movie that will really send a chill up your spine (and not in a positive sense).
“Supernova” follows Emergency Medical Rescue Vessel “Nightingale”, and all of the crew who dwell within. Captain Marley (Robert Forster) enjoys researching the history of cartoons (and that is the extent of his character). Dr. Kaela Evers (Bassett) is the chief medical officer, who says “S.T.A.T.!!” a lot. The remainder of the crew includes engineer Benj Sotomejor (Wilson Cruz) and two horny technicians (Lou Diamond Phillips and Robin Tunney), who enjoy fooling around in zero gravity. Sex seems to be the most amusing way to pass the time on the “Nightingale”, because it occupies a distressing majority of William Malone’s predictable rip-off of a screenplay. Or perhaps calling the film a “rip-off” would be conceding too much credit. The film mixes elements of “Alien”, “Sphere” and “Event Horizon” - but nary a clever twist is made.
Anyhoo, the ship intercepts a distress signal sent from a nearby moon where a mining expedition is in progress. Unfortunately, Captain Marley’s brain implodes during a botched dimension jump, and recovering drug-addict Nick Vanzant (Spader) takes command. To make a long story short, they pick up a space scavenger (Peter Facinelli) who is transporting a glowing orb of Jell-O mold, and everyone is violently killed off until only Nick and Kaela remain. Any details of the plot are rendered incomprehensible, and the movie slips into an intergalactic coma from here on in. The climactic effect is true boredom once you realize how little “Supernova” has to offer. All there is for entertainment value is a few periodic flashes of colorful special effects.... some of which are eye catching, but most are straight-to-video quality. In short, the whole experience is depressing.
It’s hard to say if there was ever the slightest hint of promise behind the production of “Supernova”. If there ever was, that promise was obviously suffocated in a plastic wrap of post-production tampering. Several scenes from the trailer have disappeared without a trace, and virtually every loose-end is left unattended. Tack on an anticlimactic finale, and you have a science-fiction film with no thrills, no laughs and (in return) no foreseeable audience. You might be curious to see how perpetually bad “Supernova” is. Don’t be. I will sum up the 85-minute experience (which, by the way, felt twice as long) in a nutshell: crew on ship talk and have sex. Distress signal is received and answered. Mysterious survivor comes aboard, and kills everyone. Mysterious survivor is killed. There. The end... unless, of course, you march out to the lobby and demand your money back.
(C) 2000, Jamey Hughton
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