My Review (Spoilers for those who haven\'t seen it)
I liked it! I thought it was a pretty good movie. Sure, I had a few criticisms, but no movie/pilot can be perfect. And nothing could have lived up to the hype. Likes: 1) Capt. Martel, Sarah, and Dulann. All three were interesting characters. I think they picked the right guy to play the captain (he actually has a personality- a smartass who wants to do the right thing). Sarah didn't get much material, but I can tell there might be something between her and Martel already. (But is it okay if we have at least one other female who doesn't "kick ass" for a change?) Dulann reminds me of Lennier only with a sense of humor. It's nice to know there are some Minbari with a sense of humor. 2)Special effects were great! Especially, the new look of the jumpgate event horizon. Ships looked realistic for the most part. Explosions were good. 3) The costumes are unusual for a sci-fi show, but they work. They've got a casual almost "Miami Vice in space" look to them. The vests are an improvement over the robes that Marcus Cole wore in B5 (who could fight in a robe?). 4) The humor in the movie was a nice touch and wasn't overdone. Characters with humor are given a 3 dimensional feel. 5)The way Martel outsmarted the evil aliens twice with the rigged escape pod bombs. Very cool and funny, too! 6) The way the captain and crew aren't afraid to kill the bad guys when they deserve it. Very refreshing change from the usual liberal "be nice to the bad guys" crap that we are always fed on TV! Way to go! 7)G'Kar. Despite being a bit hammy in some scenes, it was good to see G'kar again. But I wouldn't want him on the series on a regular basis. It would take away from the regular crew. Maybe occasional guest cameos.
Criticisms: 1)Broken down ship. I'd prefer a sleek, metallic gray ship that works, any day. But I suppose the ship's problems can be amusing. 2) The alien villains. They (the ships) look and sound too much like The Shadows. We don't need copies. And "The Hand" as a name just doesn't sound cool enough. It sounds like an Italian Mafia gang. Are these aliens the same as the ones in the "Thirdspace" movie? The way G'Kar described them, they sound similar. 3)The overall design of the ship (outside and inside). It just doesn't look that good. Too dark. Too small and cramped too. 4)The other members of the cast/crew (other than the main three listed above) are two-dimensional and not that appealing, but the same can be said of almost any sci-fi show. They may develop later if it goes to series. 5) Some of the dialogue. Sarah says, "It's not fair!" when she sees the alien ship at the jumpgate. That just didn't work for me. Also, when she was yelling and firing at the aliens; that scene went on too long and it wound up seeming silly instead of intense. 6) The "gunner pod" that Sarah hovers in and shoots from is just too weird. I would rather see her pushing buttons and the ships' guns firing. It makes it look like she has special super powers. It's innovative, but just too strange. 7) Dulann's name. It's too close to "Delenn". What's up with that? JMS also gave another character a name too close to another with "Galen" and "Valen". And now there was a Valen ship, not to be confused with the actual person Valen. Is it that hard to come up with new names? 8)Another opening credits sequence with voice-overs. I hated the opening to Crusade with those annoying spoken word messages and I don't like it on this one either. Get rid of the voice-overs and just let us hear the theme (it sounded like it might be pretty good). 9) The Rangers motto was spoken WAY too much. What, 5 or 6 times at least, "We live for the one, we die for the one." Okay, we get it already. Let's not overdo it. 10) The ghosts on the ship. That may be an innovative idea, but it doesn't work for me. It is too distracting from the main plot and just doesn't feel right. Let's lose the ghosts.
Despite my criticisms, I liked it and hope it goes to series. It was certainly better than the pilots for B5 and Crusade, "The Gathering" and "A Call To Arms", respectively. And with a series, I can see it being improved over time just like B5 was. If it does go to series, I think a name change would be in order. It's too wordy the way it is now. How about simply: "Rangers"? That would work for me.
-Mike
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I liked it! I thought it was a pretty good movie. Sure, I had a few criticisms, but no movie/pilot can be perfect. And nothing could have lived up to the hype. Likes: 1) Capt. Martel, Sarah, and Dulann. All three were interesting characters. I think they picked the right guy to play the captain (he actually has a personality- a smartass who wants to do the right thing). Sarah didn't get much material, but I can tell there might be something between her and Martel already. (But is it okay if we have at least one other female who doesn't "kick ass" for a change?) Dulann reminds me of Lennier only with a sense of humor. It's nice to know there are some Minbari with a sense of humor. 2)Special effects were great! Especially, the new look of the jumpgate event horizon. Ships looked realistic for the most part. Explosions were good. 3) The costumes are unusual for a sci-fi show, but they work. They've got a casual almost "Miami Vice in space" look to them. The vests are an improvement over the robes that Marcus Cole wore in B5 (who could fight in a robe?). 4) The humor in the movie was a nice touch and wasn't overdone. Characters with humor are given a 3 dimensional feel. 5)The way Martel outsmarted the evil aliens twice with the rigged escape pod bombs. Very cool and funny, too! 6) The way the captain and crew aren't afraid to kill the bad guys when they deserve it. Very refreshing change from the usual liberal "be nice to the bad guys" crap that we are always fed on TV! Way to go! 7)G'Kar. Despite being a bit hammy in some scenes, it was good to see G'kar again. But I wouldn't want him on the series on a regular basis. It would take away from the regular crew. Maybe occasional guest cameos.
Criticisms: 1)Broken down ship. I'd prefer a sleek, metallic gray ship that works, any day. But I suppose the ship's problems can be amusing. 2) The alien villains. They (the ships) look and sound too much like The Shadows. We don't need copies. And "The Hand" as a name just doesn't sound cool enough. It sounds like an Italian Mafia gang. Are these aliens the same as the ones in the "Thirdspace" movie? The way G'Kar described them, they sound similar. 3)The overall design of the ship (outside and inside). It just doesn't look that good. Too dark. Too small and cramped too. 4)The other members of the cast/crew (other than the main three listed above) are two-dimensional and not that appealing, but the same can be said of almost any sci-fi show. They may develop later if it goes to series. 5) Some of the dialogue. Sarah says, "It's not fair!" when she sees the alien ship at the jumpgate. That just didn't work for me. Also, when she was yelling and firing at the aliens; that scene went on too long and it wound up seeming silly instead of intense. 6) The "gunner pod" that Sarah hovers in and shoots from is just too weird. I would rather see her pushing buttons and the ships' guns firing. It makes it look like she has special super powers. It's innovative, but just too strange. 7) Dulann's name. It's too close to "Delenn". What's up with that? JMS also gave another character a name too close to another with "Galen" and "Valen". And now there was a Valen ship, not to be confused with the actual person Valen. Is it that hard to come up with new names? 8)Another opening credits sequence with voice-overs. I hated the opening to Crusade with those annoying spoken word messages and I don't like it on this one either. Get rid of the voice-overs and just let us hear the theme (it sounded like it might be pretty good). 9) The Rangers motto was spoken WAY too much. What, 5 or 6 times at least, "We live for the one, we die for the one." Okay, we get it already. Let's not overdo it. 10) The ghosts on the ship. That may be an innovative idea, but it doesn't work for me. It is too distracting from the main plot and just doesn't feel right. Let's lose the ghosts.
Despite my criticisms, I liked it and hope it goes to series. It was certainly better than the pilots for B5 and Crusade, "The Gathering" and "A Call To Arms", respectively. And with a series, I can see it being improved over time just like B5 was. If it does go to series, I think a name change would be in order. It's too wordy the way it is now. How about simply: "Rangers"? That would work for me.
-Mike
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