Species
2/4
Starring: Michael Madsen, Ben Kingsley, Natasha Henstridge, Marg Helgenberger, Forest Whittaker, Alfred Molina, Michelle Williams
Rated R for Sci-Fi Violence, Strong Sexuality and Some Language
The term "cheesy" has been used to describe films that are so bad that they're good. Tobe Hooper's ridiculous "horror" movie "The Mangler" fits into this category. Some movies, like Paul Verhoeven's "Starship Troopers," have used this to their advantage. Others have worked as both cheesefests and legitimate entertainment. "Anaconda" is one of these. Look at the star rating. Guess which category "Species" belongs in.
Six years ago, SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) received a message from another world that allowed them to merge alien DNA with our own. But the scientists behind the project got nervous, and it was decided to kill the creature. But it, a young girl (Williams), escaped, and the lead scientist, Xavier Fitch (Kingsley) has recruited a number of people to find it and kill it. Time is not on humanity's side, however, since the human/alien hybrid grows at an alarming rate, and is now a sexy young woman played by model Natasha Henstridge. And she intends to mate as soon as possible.
This could have been an excellent sci-fi chase movie, but there's a problem: the script by producer/screenwriter Dennis Feldman has to be one of the worst scripts ever made into a major motion picture (that was by all intents and purposes to be taken seriously). If there was an example of what not to do when writing a screenplay, this is it. The plot is absurd, which is to be expected. But what is unforgivable is that the characters are incredibly stupid. One would think that for a task like this, the government would enlist the best in their fields. But these guys are so dumb that I couldn't help rooting for Sil. If this is the best that humanity has to offer, we deserve what we get.
The acting is horrible, but no one is giving anything to work with. Surprisingly, the worst acting is given by Sir Ben Kingsley. The man is a gifted actor: "Sexy Beast," "House of Sand & Fog," "Schindler's List." But he's also a practical man; if they pay him, he'll show up. In addition to those powerhouses, he also appeared in Uwe Boll's "BloodRayne," the big-time flop "A Sound of Thunder," and the much hated "Thunderbirds." Kingsley is in "take the money and run" mode, and it's painfully obvious. No one else is much better, and all are capable of giving great performances. To be fair, the script lets them all down. Hell, it would let Lorenzo Lamas down, and he was in "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus," the movie that was so bad it wasn't a "so bad it's good" movie.
Roger Donaldson's work is also lackluster. In fact, calling it "plastic" would be too kind. This is a direct-to-dvd movie that got a theatrical release (and for some reason, was successful enough to get a theatrically release sequel (that bombed) and two direct-to-dvd sequels. Part of this is due to the fact that this was made almost twenty years ago, and to the fact that the script is so bad. Donaldson is a good director. He made "Dante's Peak," which is a fun disaster movie, and "The Bank Job," which is an underrated masterpiece.
The special effects are also lackluster. The CGI is hilariously bad, everything looks like it was made of plywood, and the creature design by H.R. Geiger (who designed the Alien in the "Alien" franchise) is lame.
And yet, "Species" has its charms. It is silly, it is dumb, but it's kinda fun too. There's plenty of gore, action and Natasha Henstridge is certainly gorgeous. This is one of those movies that is a must-see on a "Bad Movie Night." If you got some quick-witted friends and plenty of beer, you'll have fun. Otherwise, you'll just have a few chuckles at its expense.
Starring: Michael Madsen, Ben Kingsley, Natasha Henstridge, Marg Helgenberger, Forest Whittaker, Alfred Molina, Michelle Williams
Rated R for Sci-Fi Violence, Strong Sexuality and Some Language
The term "cheesy" has been used to describe films that are so bad that they're good. Tobe Hooper's ridiculous "horror" movie "The Mangler" fits into this category. Some movies, like Paul Verhoeven's "Starship Troopers," have used this to their advantage. Others have worked as both cheesefests and legitimate entertainment. "Anaconda" is one of these. Look at the star rating. Guess which category "Species" belongs in.
Six years ago, SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) received a message from another world that allowed them to merge alien DNA with our own. But the scientists behind the project got nervous, and it was decided to kill the creature. But it, a young girl (Williams), escaped, and the lead scientist, Xavier Fitch (Kingsley) has recruited a number of people to find it and kill it. Time is not on humanity's side, however, since the human/alien hybrid grows at an alarming rate, and is now a sexy young woman played by model Natasha Henstridge. And she intends to mate as soon as possible.
This could have been an excellent sci-fi chase movie, but there's a problem: the script by producer/screenwriter Dennis Feldman has to be one of the worst scripts ever made into a major motion picture (that was by all intents and purposes to be taken seriously). If there was an example of what not to do when writing a screenplay, this is it. The plot is absurd, which is to be expected. But what is unforgivable is that the characters are incredibly stupid. One would think that for a task like this, the government would enlist the best in their fields. But these guys are so dumb that I couldn't help rooting for Sil. If this is the best that humanity has to offer, we deserve what we get.
The acting is horrible, but no one is giving anything to work with. Surprisingly, the worst acting is given by Sir Ben Kingsley. The man is a gifted actor: "Sexy Beast," "House of Sand & Fog," "Schindler's List." But he's also a practical man; if they pay him, he'll show up. In addition to those powerhouses, he also appeared in Uwe Boll's "BloodRayne," the big-time flop "A Sound of Thunder," and the much hated "Thunderbirds." Kingsley is in "take the money and run" mode, and it's painfully obvious. No one else is much better, and all are capable of giving great performances. To be fair, the script lets them all down. Hell, it would let Lorenzo Lamas down, and he was in "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus," the movie that was so bad it wasn't a "so bad it's good" movie.
Roger Donaldson's work is also lackluster. In fact, calling it "plastic" would be too kind. This is a direct-to-dvd movie that got a theatrical release (and for some reason, was successful enough to get a theatrically release sequel (that bombed) and two direct-to-dvd sequels. Part of this is due to the fact that this was made almost twenty years ago, and to the fact that the script is so bad. Donaldson is a good director. He made "Dante's Peak," which is a fun disaster movie, and "The Bank Job," which is an underrated masterpiece.
The special effects are also lackluster. The CGI is hilariously bad, everything looks like it was made of plywood, and the creature design by H.R. Geiger (who designed the Alien in the "Alien" franchise) is lame.
And yet, "Species" has its charms. It is silly, it is dumb, but it's kinda fun too. There's plenty of gore, action and Natasha Henstridge is certainly gorgeous. This is one of those movies that is a must-see on a "Bad Movie Night." If you got some quick-witted friends and plenty of beer, you'll have fun. Otherwise, you'll just have a few chuckles at its expense.
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