Rating: 2.5/5
Hooptober 2.0 | 30/31 | Monster 5/5
The year 2078. A mining colony on planet Sirius 6B. For the past 50 years, the New Economic Block (N.E.B.) has monopolized mining across solar systems, where a discovery on Sirius 6B of the energy-rich but hazardous element berynium led to devastating radiation and pollution. Despite The Alliance’s demands to halt mining, the N.E.B. declared war, resulting in severe civilian casualties and environmental destruction on Sirius 6B. Survivors now confront an unprecedented new threat.
Alliance soldiers gamble cigarettes over a game. One miner sees movement on a CCTV monitor. He checks the long-range binoculars to confirm an N.E.B. soldier. The soldier frantically marches across the waste-ridden desert. Everyone arms themselves but pauses when they realize the soldier is alone.
Suddenly, piercing screams burrow through the sand to attack the lone N.E.B. soldier. He takes them out, but more keep coming. The scream overwhelms him as their numbers increase. He holds a message in his hand, but the screams dismember him before burrowing into his skull and killing him. These are the Autonomous Mobile Swords, nicknamed Screamers, that the Alliance developed to fight the N.E.B. Still, the carnage sickens the Alliance soldiers and they smoke their winnings to calm the nausea.
Lieutenant Commander Chuck Elbarak dons his “tabs” that make him invisible to the Screamers so he can retrieve what the N.E.B. soldier held. He brings it to Commander Joseph A. Hendricksson, as the message priority is the highest possible. The message? The N.E.B. wishes to discuss a truce and offer safe passage to all those needed to facilitate the conversation.
While all this happens, a commercial freighter requests landing. They deny it without proper cause. Later that night, the ship crashes on the planet, killing all but one, Private “Ace” Jefferson. The ship also carries a nuclear reactor. Whatever’s going on, Ace knows something. So, Hendricksson and Ace cross Sirius 6B to start that peace treaty. On the way, they discover the world they’ve hidden from isn’t what it used to be.
Ace acts as our stranger in a strange world so that the characters can do the world-building on his behalf.
Peter Weller is essential to the film’s chemistry. His cavalier charm kept me invested. Jennifer Rubin is good, but they shit the bed on her story. Everyone else sucks pretty hard. The dude with teardrop tattoos makes me want to eat lead paint.
Despite Dan O’Bannon’s screenwriting credit, this isn’t his script. This film went through development hell, with O’Bannon optioning the script in 1983. When the movie finally came out in 1995, O’Bannon wasn’t aware. While they kept his characters and general plot, the dialogue was not his
The original Philip K. Dick story took place during the Cold War, so the film bends over backward to develop a new cold war scenario involving nukes and oil. It isn’t an allegory or theme, it’s just retooled history.
I like (most of) the story! You can see the seams of all the sci-fi cliches they bunched together, but it’s a compelling enough idea. I like the idea of folks hiding out in war so long that the world moves on around them and they have to dig themselves out and fill in the blanks. The movie messes it up with the third act, where it chases twists over reveals. It got so hacky that I had to lower my score.
The effects are corny and cheap. I’m a big fan of claymation robots, so I never minded them too much. But man, they ran out of kid actors for the Type 3s and it looks awful. But the close-ups are gross and neat. Also, I’m so basic — give me a good explosion or two, and I’ll hang around.
The psychedelic porno glasses are so funny. They’re the most Philip K. Dick thing about this movie.