Monday, February 20, 2017

Ferocious Planet (2011)



Number Rolled: 51
Movie Name/Year: Ferocious Planet (2011)
Tagline: The next dimension of terror.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Sci-Fi
Length: 88 minutes
Rating: NR
Production Companies: Parallel Film Productions, RHI Entertainment, Syfy
Producer: Mary Callery, Mark Grenside, Robert Halmi Jr., Alan Moloney, Adrian Sturges
Director: Billy O’Brien
Writer: Douglas G. Davis
Actors: Joe Flanigan, John Rhys-Davies, Catherine Walker, Dagmar Doring, Robert Soohan, Michael Yare, Chris Newman, Shashi Rami, Kevin Flood, Sam O’Mahony
Stunt Coordinator: Donal O’Farrell

Languages
Speech Available: English
Subtitles Available: English

Blurb from Netflix: A groundbreaking device designed to glimpse alternate universes malfunctions and transports a group of observers into a nightmarish new dimension.


Selina’s Point of View:
I was very much not impressed by Ferocious Planet. I love a good Sci-Fi, I love a good creature feature… but this one was just so lame. It was chock full of references, which I’m normally amused by, but the good references didn’t fit the scenes they were in and the rest of them were references to notoriously sub-par movies. I don’t even know where to file that in my brain.

Why would you reference a notoriously bad movie – one with no cult following – in your film? That’s not a rhetorical question, I legitimately want to know.

The first ‘alien’ we see on screen is actually relatively decent graphic-wise, but the rest make sharknados look real.


I wasn’t really fond of the obvious cuts made for commercial breaks, either. If I had ever gotten into the story to begin with, that totally would have taken me out of it. I imagine it was made for TV, but a lot of made for TV movies smooth out the cuts when they bring it to DVD or throw it up for digital playback/download somewhere.

Ferocious Planet was just a bad movie with shallow characters, loose ends that never tie up, a weak plot, a very bad attempt at science use, and not very good acting. In fact, I’m finding it difficult to find any redeeming qualities in this film. The shallow characters weren’t even likeable enough for me to care if they lived or died.

I just really expect more from people like Joe Flanigan (Stargate: Atlantis, 6 Bullets, A Reason to Believe) and John Rhys-Davies (The Shannara Chronicles, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring). They were not utilized well in this film at all.


Cat’s Point of View:
Off we go, once more into the land of Syfy Channel TV movies.

I feel I must confess that I had to watch this movie twice. The first time, I fell asleep not too far in. To be fair, I don’t think it was entirely the movie. It’s Mardi Gras here in Louisiana, and while I’m in the Northwestern part of the state, we still have a few big parade days. We had a massive get together yesterday complete with crawfish boil and I’m simply tuckered out.

With the napping out of my system, I tried to give the movie another shot. I was more successful the second time around. The thing is… while the movie wasn’t entirely what put me to sleep the first time, it wasn’t exactly the most engaging thing I’d ever seen, either.


I wanted to like it, really. Sci-fi is my wheelhouse even more than my semi-obsession with horror movies and my love of fantasy. The concept of parallel dimensions is fascinating. I’m even on board with the idea that it’s a plausible thing that could exist. Why not?

This movie just didn’t exactly execute its concept as well as it could have.

I did appreciate that John Rhys-Davies (Prisoners of the Sun, Beyond the Mask, Raiders of the Lost Ark) was a part of this film. It seemed like it might be a subtle nod to nostalgia for his old show Sliders (1995-2000). I watched a bit of that show back in the day, so I was amused at the reference.

Some elements of the plot just felt a bit disjointed. I was, however, thankful that the movie kept a decent pace. I wasn’t a fan of the ending. Actually, I should amend that statement. I wasn’t a fan of the entire ending. There was a satisfying moment before the final scene that answered a hunch I’d had earlier on.


I was pleased to find that this movie was filmed in Ireland and pulled quite a few of its cast from “local” actors. Catherine Walker (Leap Year, Patrick's Day, A Dark Song) and Dagmar Döring (The Front Line, 13 Steps Down, Fair City), who were the female leads, are both Irish. Michael Yare (Ghostwood, Leopard, Morgan) hails from Dublin as well. He played one of the main military personnel.

The one cast member you would think would belong with the Irish crowd is actually a resident of California. Joe Flanigan (Good Day For It, The Other Sister, The Bandit Hound) played the male lead, Colonel Synn. I can give him honorable mention Irish points, though. It’s bound to be in his family background, right?

I digress.


I thought the monsters in this movie were actually handled pretty well. The creatures were interesting and well thought out. I was impressed, actually. Their rendering was even pretty smooth. Though, some scenes did feel like they were borrowed slightly from a certain wildly popular dinosaur movie franchise.

All in all, if I caught this on TV I might let it keep playing. It wouldn’t be much more than background noise, though. I doubt I’d seek it out to watch on purpose again.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 8%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score1/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 1.5/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score2/5

The Random Rating: Soft R, Hard PG-13

Movie Trailer:

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