Not a Terminator "rip off," but a story that borrows slightly from James Cameron's human vs. machine battle imagery. The film also evokes THX 1138 for some of its prison guard aesthetic and models its CGI drilling-machines-gone-bad directly on the Matrix Sentinels.
Joseph Lawrence's DeeCee android character is a true highlight, and much of the film's first quarter suggests a well-imagined and entertaining story complete with social commentary on the hubris of humanity, android labor politics, the darker side of technology, and environmental irresponsibility.
The final third of the film, however, becomes hijacked by some George Lucas logic of rushing to tell the rest of the story without regard for thematic consistency or much concern for the story and characters themselves.
Despite the "phantom menace" of the end, I appreciate the filmmakers and actors for the inventive, entertaining narrative. That said, the studio responsible for the severely limited budget should be reprimanded and folks at SciFi Channel should be ashamed of themselves for these kinds of oversights.
It's hard to imagine that Gene Roddenberry and Isaac Asimov were once on the cable channel's advisory board.
Joseph Lawrence's DeeCee android character is a true highlight, and much of the film's first quarter suggests a well-imagined and entertaining story complete with social commentary on the hubris of humanity, android labor politics, the darker side of technology, and environmental irresponsibility.
The final third of the film, however, becomes hijacked by some George Lucas logic of rushing to tell the rest of the story without regard for thematic consistency or much concern for the story and characters themselves.
Despite the "phantom menace" of the end, I appreciate the filmmakers and actors for the inventive, entertaining narrative. That said, the studio responsible for the severely limited budget should be reprimanded and folks at SciFi Channel should be ashamed of themselves for these kinds of oversights.
It's hard to imagine that Gene Roddenberry and Isaac Asimov were once on the cable channel's advisory board.