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Not perfect, but well done. The CGI effects were better than I expected for a grade B sci fi movie. Adrian Paul's acting was quite a bit better this time than some of his past efforts. Richard Greico's acting skills were not taxed by any means in this movie. Chalk that up to directing and how his character was written, any fan of his knows he has done better. Interestingly one new actor (Bali Rodriguez) turned in a good performance (for a lovely lady whose main career is in modeling). This movie is worth watching just to see her run around in camouflage. This movie was better than I expected, and is of better quality than much of the stuff running every week on the syfy channel. I felt it was worth the money to rent this movie.
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This is an Asylum film (not the one with Will Smith) which incorporates several other films or film pieces. There is a twist 10 minutes from the end which you figure out 10 minutes from the beginning, and I am going to great lengths (ugh!) not to reveal it Scooby-doo, although for most Sc-Fi fans if you know there is a twist, you know the twist. Sorry.Earth is under attack by aliens. A large ship, the Albert Einstein (AE) manages to escape with a handful of people who go into cryo-sleep. The next thing we know they are on a pod, crash landing on a planet. This planet contains a race of invisible hunters called "Chameleons." There are locals and survivors from another space craft. Our group of hardy explorers are aided by Lea (Bali Rodriguez) because Pocahontas would be too obvious. There is also an android called TIM (Gray Hawks) who acts like he came from "Next Generation." Yes, "There are some who call me... Tim."
The goal of our group is to find a craft that didn't crash, get back to the mother ship in orbit and head on back to Earth...and kill as many Chameleons, giant CG bugs, and CG lizards as then can along the way.
The plot sounds great, but the acting and dialouge was dry. They created bad cardboard stereotypes when there was no need to do so. The film appears to be a TV pilot for a SyFy series. The execution misses the mark. Kids and SyFy movie fans might like it.
Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.
Best Deals for Ae Apocalypse Earth
This low-budget gem of a story made under the Asylum masthead is not to be dismissed by the snobbery of the bigger studios. Set in the rigorous but breathtaking backdrop of the Costa Rican jungle, it is a fine example of what can be accomplished with less. Some of the leading players are well-known, but it was also nice to see the use of some local talent. This was a great vehicle for Adrian Paul, and it was fun to see his talent and very appreciable screen presence put to good use in this film. Richard Grieco also had some great moments. Newcomer Bali Rodriguez will be one to watch and her body makeup design was outstanding. The special effects were more than decent. The movie's score (by Chris Ridenhour) and it's panoramic cinematography lent a definite big-budget feel to the film. For those of us who are die hard SciFi adventure fans, I would like to have seen the story fleshed out a bit more, as there was the opportunity to develop the very good story line into either a longer, more complex version, or to continue this story in an ongoing sequel. It should be noted that this direct-to-video can be seen under the title "Alpha Earth" on Amazon Instant Video, or a DVD version alternately titled "AE: Apocalypse Earth."Honest reviews on Ae Apocalypse Earth
AE is an obvious mockbuster of After Earth, but so thoroughly surpasses it that only the presence of Will Smith in the genuine article gives away the copy. That's not to say it's greatthe effects are mediocre, anyone will see the twist ending coming from a mile away, and the middle lacks punch, but compared to the Asylum's usual fair, it's a well-shot, well-edited, totally passable film I would have no problem watching again.These direct-to-video sci-fi films tend to follow a pretty predictable formula, so I'll break this review down into its constituent parts:
Lone Token Celebrity:
Adrian Paul. He used to be Duncan Macleud of Highlander: The Series fame, then he was a spokesman for lingerie companies for a while, and now he has to be content with banging supermodels and making cheapo sci fi movies whenever his Maserati needs a new timing belt. Poor guy.
Lesson About Man's Hubris:
None really. Fleeing earth for distant worlds after an alien invasion, the crews of several spaceships crash back ON Earth in the distant future where they must battle the descendants of the original invaders, survive the now-hostile jungle landscape that covers the planet, and score with the hot jungle-girl remnants of their own species. And they make a pretty good, selfless go of it; by the 90 minute mark our ragtag heroes have liberated humanity from alien slavery, ended racism, and shot down a space station. Even the requisite jackass naysayer character redeems himself in the end.
Carnage:
Surprisingly believable for an Asylum film. The alien attacks and monster fights are well realized and there's a panicked battle scene at the start that is very effective.
Awful Effects:
All the CG is decent, although like most Asylum films the best effects are there and gone again in the first 10 minutes. The invisible aliens are fairly decent, although having them ALWAYS be invisible makes it seem less like a plot point and more like a money saving device. We NEVER See the aliens made visible, unless that's one of them yelling at the movie title on the box there.
Romantic Subplot:
Adrian Paul meets a foxy lady in the jungle, and after spending about 3 days frolicking around the tropics they get it on in a lake. This is actually how he spends most of his winters, so it was pretty easy to make it seem natural.
Big Action Truck:
This is the future, so everyone has big action spaceships. The aliens have little gunboats they use to menace the heroes, but in the end Paul and company recover the Last Starfighter of the human fleet and much payback is had.
Predictable and slow, AE still manages to best that OTHER AE and become a genuinely acceptable action romp. If this is the direction Asylum films are going to continue taking, then the other (AA) studios may have to watch out.
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