In a distant galaxy, after a long and costly war, a truce is being implemented between humans and a race of machines known as "Cylons". As a goodwill gesture the leaders of humanity order the entire fleet to assemble at a predetermined location to show their appreciation. It's at this time that the Cylons double-cross the humans and launch a two-pronged surprise assault: the first against the exposed fleet and the second upon the defenseless home planets. Both are extremely successful except that one battlestar remains operational-the Battlestar Galactica-and it's this battlestar that manages to return to the devastated home planets long enough to organize an evacuation utilizing assorted space vessels prior to a devastating second strike by the Cylons. Having barely made their escape, the question then becomes whether this make-shift flotilla can evade hostile Cylon task forces long enough to reach their destination-Earth. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this pilot program for a television series was quite good for its time. Unfortunately, it hasn't aged well and there are a couple of flaws in it which are quite noticeable. For example, in a subsequent surprise attack later in the movie the same radar graphic is used which depicts two "Vipers" being chased by Cylon fighters exactly like the scenario involving "Captain Apollo" (Richard Hatch) and his younger brother "Lieutenant Zac" (Rick Springfield). Likewise, the series also contains a few scenes which are reused as well. Even so this was a good pilot for a good television series and despite the fact that it is quite dated I still find it enjoyable even today. Accordingly, I rate it as slightly above average.
Review of Battlestar Galactica
