ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

If you're not a member of All Sci-Fi, registration is easy. Just use the registration password, which is —

gort



Attention members! If you've forgotten your password, just email me at Brucecook1@yahoo.com.
____________________________________________________________________

Final Countdown is the most disappointing time travel movie ever.

Somewhere in Time is the most romantic time travel movie ever.

Battle Beyond the Stars isn’t a time travel movie, nor is it disappointing or romantic. It just fun.

____________________________________________________________________

The Final Countdown (1980)

____________
__________

stars KIRK DOUGLAS * MARTIN SHEEN * KATHERINE ROSS * JAMES FARENTINO * RON O'NEAL * CHARLES DURNING


____________

A time travel tale that tackles a big concept with big guns . . . but doesn't do all that much with it creatively.

This involves an aircraft carrier in the then-current times of the eighties going back in time to the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 via a blue, swirling time portal which mysteriously appears.

Douglas plays the carrier's captain. Sheen is a civilian observer. Farentino is the CAG who also happens to be an amateur historian, while Ross and Durning play a couple of people from 1941. Durning is a supposedly-famous senator who disappeared in 1941. Had he not disappeared, he probably would have become President eventually, like in the 1950's.


________________

There are a couple of these possible time paradoxes mentioned during the film, but nothing too mind-bending. Sheen is the one who usually voices these possibles, while Douglas listens — looking amused for some reason. His actions do not make much sense.

He determines, for example, that he cannot command his pilots to destroy a couple of Japanese fliers — he does not want to change history — but he does instruct them to save a couple of people (Ross & Durning) from the ocean, thereby presumably changing history.

Granted, this is an exercise he was not trained for, so I suppose he's making it up as he goes along. In the end, he decides to vanquish the Japanese fleet — so much for being careful.

But . . . well, watch the film.

This is watchable and workmanlike, with some dull spots. The filmmakers were able to make use of the Nimitz carrier, with the Navy's cooperation, but there's a downside to this. Unless you're really enamored of repetitive shots of jets taking off and landing, you might find the time travel aspect lacking, while the routine of such an aircraft carrier is stressed.

The ending is anti-climactic, with a final little twist for a nearly-interesting epilogue. Kirk Douglas's son Peter Douglas produced this. The special DVD release of a few years ago has audio commentary by the cinematographer, but it's haltingly presented and he takes a long time to get to some simple points.

BoG's Score: 6 out of 10


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
____________________________________________________________________

Subject: Somewhere in Time (1980)

____________
_________

___________ Somewhere in Time Official Trailer


__________

This was Christopher Reeve's first starring role after the first Superman picture (1978).

This film would probably be labeled as fantasy by many, but the sci-fi elements of time travel are definitely here, though Reeve's character, Richard, basically 'wills' himself backwards through time, rather than employing some kind of machinery (as was done in The Time Machine, Time After Time, and the Back to the Future films).

The focus of Somewhere in Time is a love story and traveling much further than a continent to make that romantic connection.

___________

The story begins in the early 1970's. At that point, Richard has just begun a career as a young playwright and is approached by an elderly lady who places an old watch in his hands, saying "Come back to me."

Richard has no clue what this is about and soon forgets about the incident. Eight years later, Richard, feeling unfulfilled, he drives to the Grand Hotel to relax his mind.

There, he becomes entranced with a photographic portrait of actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), whose heyday was in 1912. Quickly researching her life, he comes across the last known photo of Elise and is stunned to find that she is the elderly woman who gave him the watch! Soon after, he finds evidence that he visited the Grand Hotel in 1912, as impossible as that seems.

Well, even if you haven't seen the film before, you can kind of guess where things go from there.



Reeve was oddly suited to this role. As an actor, he was kind of a throwback to the stars of the 1930's & 1940's — tall, kind of old-fashioned — and he never fit in very well in contemporary roles.

For the role of Elise, the filmmakers needed a certain serene kind of beauty and Seymour certainly fit the bill. Even her photo in this film, the one that mesmerizes Richard, has a beguiling quality to it, almost like a more recent version of the Mona Lisa.

After all this time, this may very well turn out to be Seymour's signature role. Christopher Plummer has the only other substantial role in the film, as Elise's manager and watchdog. He provides the only element of possible menace and threat, but it's all rather benign.

___________

I believe that, especially nowadays, with all the quick cutting and frantic pace that informs many films, this film is too leisurely for many people — especially young people — and others will not really understand it. This was even true back in 1980; many critics were not fond of it and it did not do good box office.

When I first viewed it (I was about 20 years old), I myself found it a bit on the dull side and a little sappy, even as I admired the fantasy elements.

That changed later.

There's one scene, as the last third begins, when we realize that when that portrait of Elise was taken, she was looking at Richard. It's a haunting, beautiful moment that transcends the usual limitations of film art.

Click on the images below to visit the official website:

___

This is one of those films which has developed a sizable cult following — I won't say of mostly older people, but perhaps old souls, those who appreciate a well-told romance, one which proceeds in an unfussy manner, without some contrived subplots to supposedly energize the story. It's all about making a connection — an impossible connection, it seems — but, hey, that's what the better movies are about, eh?

BoG's Score: 7.5 out of 10



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
____________________________________________________________________

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

____________
______________ Battle Beyond the Stars trailer


__________

___________

Seven Samurai begat The Magnificent Seven begat Battle Beyond the Stars.

Of course, this low budget ($2 million) sci-fi action pic was a cash-in on Star Wars (1977). I even noticed similarities to Star Trek the Motion Picture (1979), especially some of the music, which resembles the ominous tones in the Star Trek film (whenever there were outer space scenes with V'Ger, the giant ship in that film).

This was early work from composer James Horner. Gale Anne Hurd stated the Star Trek connection up front in her audio commentary on the DVD for Battle Beyond the Stars.



I was surprised that I liked this more now than how I remembered it from when I saw this in the theater back in 1980. I recalled it as a bit on the slow side and too derivative of the larger-budgeted sci-fi films.

For some reason, I enjoy it more now — I think all the folks involved did as well as they could for such a small film. A few creative people who became very well known later lent their talents to this, early in their careers. Besides Hurd, James Cameron did some model work here and was art director. John Sayles wrote the script.

By the way, Marta Kristen has a small role as a love interest for Peppard's character. She played the eldest daughter on the Lost in Space TV series.

____________
____________

ABOVE: Richard Thomas with director Jimmy Murakami

Richard Thomas, as young man-on-a-mission Shad, is actually pretty good, contributing a realistic performance for such an escapist and somewhat cheesy sci-fi picture.

George Peppard is drawling & laid-back as Cowboy. He makes drinks for himself using a special belt he wears and smokes too much (Peppard died of lung cancer in '94).

Robert Vaughn, as the most seasoned merc, only appears a bit past the 40-minute mark and falls in battle well before the climax. I'm guessing he was contracted for a very limited number of film days. He essentially plays the same character as in The Magnificent Seven, just 20 years older.



John Saxon hams it up as the main villain (sort of the Eli Wallach role in The Magnificent Seven). Sybil Danning is a sight to behold as the warrior Valkyrie. Morgan Woodward, who guested in a couple of Star Trek episodes (including The Omega Glory) is hidden beneath reptilian make-up. Strangely, he's much more cheerful than usual as the reptile-man. Earl Boen plays the clone, Nestor; he appeared in the first 3 Terminator films as the annoying psychiatrist.



The one who may have contributed the best performance, however, may have been Lynn Carlin, who provided the voice of Nell, the computerized ship used by Shad. She is never shy about voicing her opinion or trying to mentor the young man. Guess which character's demise made me the most sad?

Some of the ships in this film are well-detailed and much of the set design is also impressive for such a small film. The plot is simple but there are various little ideas popping up here and there to make this at least moderately interesting.

The battles in the final act actually generate some excitement. We all know, since this follows the pattern of The Magnificent Seven, there may not be too many survivors among the good guys.




Battle Beyond the Trivia: actor Peppard was considered for Steve McQueen's role in the 1960 The Magnificent Seven; Star Trek TOS actor alert: Morgan Woodward (the reptile-man) appeared in Dagger of the Mind and as bad Capt. Tracey in The Omega Glory.

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)