Alien Lockdown
by Tim Cox
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DVD details
Actor: James Marshall, John Savage, Martin Kove, Michelle GohDirector: Tim Cox
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-01
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: First Look Pictures
DVD Reviews of Alien Lockdown
DVD Review: Not what i expected.
Summary: 4 Stars
When you think B-Movie you think small plot, small sets and bad actors. Sure this film had some of those, but the size of the film really suprised me. Its clear that this film had its own production designer instead of using old props. The Weapons, Gear and Creature suit were all expertly made.
When an Outpost high in the icy mountens goes radio silent. A team of SWAT like soldiers is sent in to "Clean Up". The outposts project was to use alien DNA to create a super soldier. For this reason the team must go in and destroy all evidence of the project and attain certain packages. When they get there they find the project had worked and to make things worse the creature has escaped and killed most of the outposts personel. Now they have to deal with an indestructible alien like nothing they have ever seen before.
The Film is about and Hour and a Half long. But it is a good Hour and a Half. The action is explosive and the creature looks like a cross between a Predator and a Dog. The acting is medicore but never gets really bad or unbelievable. Its one you should really rent and if you like it like i did, buy it.
DVD Review: Pass the popcorn
Summary: 3 Stars
I've seen a lot worse than this, despite what everybody else says, it's an okay popcorn movie. It has a ton of mistakes but still viewable. For those of you who like that kind of movie, it starts kinda slow, but as soon as they enter the underground complex the shooting starts.
I give it a solid three stars regardless of the mistakes, worth a rent or buy it used (I did) and I'm not sorry.
BYE!
DVD Review: Cheap, crappy Alien rip-off
Summary: 1 Stars
This film poses an important question: Considering that anyone who got a B in high school creative writing class could have come up with a far better story than this, why is it that only people who got a D- or worse decide to take this up as a career? I mean, it took FIVE people to write a really crappy rip-off of Alien? The mere fact that the monster is a blatant rip off of the Predator and Alien franchises immediately informs you that this movie can't possibly be taken seriously. The characters are the most insipid, dull and unlikable bunch that feeble minds could assemble. Every time one of them gets killed, the audience is vaguely pleased that the overall amount of mindless prattle will necessarily be reduced somewhat, due to their being one less mouth to speak it. I won't even get into the action sequences, where people can fall 100 feet onto a steel floor and only be temporarily bruised.
Just skip this stupid thing and pick any other low budget monster movie instead. Chances are you couldn't do worse.
DVD Review: "Gentleman, what you're about to see will forever revolutionize science and warfare."
Summary: 2 Stars
When I first heard about the creation of the Sci Fi Channel, launched in 1992, I had high hopes of a network catering to science fiction aficionados showing, and perhaps even producing, some of the best material within the genre...perhaps I expected too much. They do, on occasion, show some classic stuff, but their original programming, in terms of films, has left something to be desired as exemplified by the film Alien Lockdown (2004), which is essentially just a mishmash of material taken from other, more popular science fiction/action films released some twenty years ago, namely James Cameron's popular 1986 feature Aliens and John McTiernan's Predator (1987). Directed by Tim Cox (Larva, Mammoth), the film features Michelle Goh (Out for a Kill) and James Marshall, who had a decent turn in the blockbuster A Few Good Men (1992) in the role as Pfc. Louden Downey, one of the two soldiers on trial for murder (the white guy). Also appearing is T.M. Van Ostrand, who is also one of the five, count `em, five, writers on this film, Atanas Srebrev (Shark Attack 3: Megalodon), Martin Kove (The Karate Kid, Rambo: First Blood Part II), and John Savage (The Deer Hunter, The Onion Field), who's certainly seen better days (and better roles).
The movie begins by relating events occurring a long, long, long time ago, specifically the discovery of some enchanted space crystal found after a meteor crashed to Earth. Through the passing of time the crystal was lost, but then was found, eventually ending up in the hands of someone named Dr. Woodman (Savage), a scientist working in a top secret research facility located in an isolated mountain range. Woodman uses the crystal (how I have no idea), along the genetic material of all the predatory life forms on Earth he can lay hands on to create the ultimate bio-weapon, a fierce, nigh indestructible creature he names Legion. Well, as you can guess, the creature escapes and kills nearly everyone in the massive facility, prompting some military bigwig named Anslow (Kove) to initiate a `clean up' mission by sending in a not so elite strike team, headed by an assassin type named Talon (Goh). On arriving, the team begins surveying the layout of the complex, along with losing a few members to the deadly creature now roaming about, and eventually hooks up with Woodman and a computer specialist named Charlie (Marshall). From here I'm not entire sure the plot other than survival, as the story was completely muddled to the point of incomprehension, but random events include Woodman working against the team to protect his creation, at least one of the members of the team isn't what he/she seems to be, the introduction of a tactical nuclear device, and those yet to be killed spending a lot of time running around for no other reason than to give us something to watch...oh yeah, seems the creature is the first of many, as one room contains a ton of little crab-like creatures requiring food to become full on nasties.
I tried to hang with the plot as long as I could, but it was difficult as not only was the story confusing, but entirely boring to boot. I find it appalling that it took five guys to write this film, given how muddled it was, especially since so much of it was obviously lifted from James Cameron's film Aliens (1986). The only thing missing was the `acid for blood' bit with regards to the creature, whose facial structure (the sideways extending mandibles) is exactly the same as that of the creature from the film Predator (1987). There were just so many pointless aspects floating around...after the strike team enters the facility a mission countdown timer appears frequently on the screen, as if there's some sense of urgency, but there isn't. The only thing it seemed to indicate was when their ride was supposed to return (the only way to get to the facility was by helicopter). So what if they don't make it out in time? The chopper pilot either waits or comes back later...and then about halfway in we stop seeing the countdown timer appear, at least until the end, but again, what it signified was never really apparent (at the end it still had a considerable amount of time left, so whomever was going by that clock obviously wasn't paying attention to it). There was a whole lot of running around with no clear objective in mind, and even when there was an objective, it didn't make any sense. And talk about boring...at one point the main group spends about ten minutes hiding out in a chintzy meat locker. I loved the bit when one of their comrades, part of the ill-fated team designated to tour the facility and plant tracking devices, arrives at the door to the meat locker, well before the pursuing creature does, and those inside the meat locker decide not to let him in because they believe `he's already gone', despite the fact there was plenty of time from when the guy arrived to when the creature, which eventually killed him, showed up. Okay, so the creature, the ultimate predator, is invulnerable, at least to any of the projectile weaponry the team brought...either that or they were just really bad shots, but it can be killed with a knife stuck into a soft spot by its neck. Whatever...as far as the characters, most of them were barely even there, and the few that were weren't worth a whole lot. Talon was about the worst leader I've ever seen, exhibiting little or no control over her team, and prone to extremely poor decisions, ones that tended to get others killed (I'm surprised one of her own men didn't shoot her in the back). Near the end she doffs her combat fatigues revealing a slick bodysuit underneath, and then proceeds to go into faux ninja mode battling the beast mano a mano...thanks for holding back long enough for most of your team to get wiped out before getting really serious. And then there's Charlie, the computer guy...his only purpose seems to dump steaming piles of expository dialog at the appropriate time, along with spewing forth the following meaningless catch phrase from time to time..."There's always a four and a half percent margin of error, plus or minus". Finally there's Woodman, the nutty, blathering, psuedo philosophical scientist. First of all I never for one minute believed the character capable of creating a grilled cheese sandwich, much less a sophisticated hybrid life form with genetic materials culled from every species on the planet, aided by alien technology (the crystal). The creature itself looked pretty decent, especially the sequences where it ran on all fours, and the direction wasn't half bad. One thing that really annoyed me, beside the absence of a plot, was the interiors of the facility itself. It's the most poorly lit research facility I've ever seen, and what light there is bathes everything in a continual green glow (I used to like the color green, but I've since been put off it by this stoopid movie). Also, there's no consistency between the levels, or even the rooms. Some levels were completely made of metal, while others were all stone...what the hell? How many different contractors built this place? All in all this is a confusing, `been there, done that to death' feature, without even the slightest trace of originality, and probably not worth your time.
The picture quality, presented in fullscreen (1.78:1), looks decent, even if the actual film, in terms of that constant, greenish tint, didn't...as far as the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, it does come through well, but I think there may have been issues with the way the audio was originally recorded as often the dialog is difficult to discern, especially near the beginning when the strike team first arrives, and they're all wearing masks. There's aren't any special features, but there are previews including one for this film, along with ones for Ring of Darkness (2004), September Tapes (2004), The Last Sign (2005), and Deep Evil (2004).
Cookieman108
DVD Review: You Silly Mad Military Scientists!
Summary: 2 Stars
Oh, you silly Mad Military Scientists... when will you ever learn? How many experiments have to go awry? Why do you continue to use genetic manipulation and MavGyver technology to build creatures that are meant to be the new "Ultimate Weapon" ?
Going by movies like this one, you'd think that somehow a rampant lizard-ape- thing would be more effective than a nuclear bomb. But these silly Mad Military Scientists can't ever seem to even keep their eye on these creatures long enough to unleash them on the enemy. Their creations invariably escape and start running around, and the Silly Mad Military Scientists watch with a mixture of horror and admiration as their reptilian problem child rips through battalions of screaming army folks.
The latest entry in the Saga of the Silly Mad Military Scientists:
ALIEN LOCKDOWN!
So, the Mad Scientist in this one is played by John Savage, who meanders through the movie with a confused look on his face, as if he's wondering where Jessica Alba went to and why his agent agreed to let him do this NuImage movie. He's building some kind of alligator-alien-guy and... get ready for the spoiler.... it escapes!
Enter the screaming soldiers! Yay!
These guys rush into the fray as if they've never seen a movie about a genetic experiment gone bad! With so much gusto! They do a lot of military-style chatter that was probably meant to make the movie feel "gritty" or "real". There are also a couple of heartwarming moments where the soldiers take time out from the battle to tell each other about their more human side. It's supposed to make you care more about them, I think. I was reminded of Phoebe Cates in Gremlins when she starts talking about how her dad got stuck in the chimney on Christmas Eve and died. Honestly, I don't understand why people in these movies decide to start divulging their deepest, darkest secrets at the worst possible moment. Anyway, so these screaming soldiers take time from being killed to discuss their issues with each other.
John Savage continues to admire his creation, and he seems to be trying to channel the Brad Dourif character from Alien: Resurrection. In fact, this movie is a weird kind of potpourri of all the Alien movies rolled into one. Eventually, all the little screaming soldiers get picked off, leaving a lone female. Hmmm. I wonder where the writers got that one?
And speaking of writers, I saw that it took the brain power of three people just to come up with the story! And then there were another two who wrote the script! It's hard to believe that it took five people to come up with this derivative pile of monkey poop. It is nothing more than the most recent entry into a very tired sub-genre of the Horror/Science Fiction pantheon. Which leaves me asking the question I started with, you silly Mad Military Scientists, when will you ever learn? Unfortunately, I think the answer is, "Not as long as people like you continue to watch movies about us." Maybe it's time we retired the scientists... what do you all think?
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