This is a huge step up from the usual sci-fi channel sort of cheese.
Unlike most of what the sci-fi channel has done in the past, this isn't "self-indulgent" or "self important". It's not "seventies" formula of "make the audience for the movie". It's more "make a movie for the audience".
I have a special personal reason for wanting this to be a good flick, since the last name of one of the characters is my family name, and I was happy to be satisfied with the results.
It works mostly for many reasons.
First, the characters are well done. What really worked is that the hero didn't initially push himself into the usual "fight the authorities" routine that is formula. Initially, he is ready to walk away, and the way he is drawn back in makes for a great comic duo situation similar to what worked for "Tremors". In fact, it works better, because these two characters are more likable, although not as glamorous.
That's a second thing. While not "glamorous", the two heroes who attack the giant spider are not freaks either. I actually would rather have seen a pudgier heroine than the "model" figure they gave us, to fill the bill with a totally risk taking venture. She didn't have to be a blimp, but she could have looked less "centerfold". Being a hard body military officer, it fits she would have a good body, but I actually would have liked to see battle scars on her face, to make for a totally different venture.
The third thing that works is that it isn't "contrived" in fatalities. It's entirely "draw of the cards", with none of the silly judgment calls that make most screen writers look like hacks. There are a few tawdry and slimy characters who would die in most such movies, just out of poor writing, that here just go about their business, without becoming spider food.
The victims here are mostly "luck of the draw" victims, with no "God playing contrived writing", and only one victim dies stupidly, but it is realistic considering this day and age. He dies stupidly because he feels above the situation in a godlike way that people who do what he does actually do. It's both credible (in an incredible situation) and humorous.
The humor is exceptional. It is very well done. No one takes it too seriously, and even the usual "government idiots" routine is done with a grain of humor.
There were a few too many silly special effects for me, but I realize there are dorks who need special effects to be happy, and we have to live with the beavis, butthead, Ted Baxter, Al Bundy, and WKRP Herb types who abound in society, those who insist on state of the art special effects and trivial background stuff no sane person cares about.
I'm also not into the "gore" scenes also made for those same dorks, but this movie didn't overuse the "gore". It just punched in enough to make beavis and butthead guffaw a few times.
It was a good mix. I would even rate it higher if the female lead would have been more casual looking, and if there were fewer typical gore scenes.
Unlike most of what the sci-fi channel has done in the past, this isn't "self-indulgent" or "self important". It's not "seventies" formula of "make the audience for the movie". It's more "make a movie for the audience".
I have a special personal reason for wanting this to be a good flick, since the last name of one of the characters is my family name, and I was happy to be satisfied with the results.
It works mostly for many reasons.
First, the characters are well done. What really worked is that the hero didn't initially push himself into the usual "fight the authorities" routine that is formula. Initially, he is ready to walk away, and the way he is drawn back in makes for a great comic duo situation similar to what worked for "Tremors". In fact, it works better, because these two characters are more likable, although not as glamorous.
That's a second thing. While not "glamorous", the two heroes who attack the giant spider are not freaks either. I actually would rather have seen a pudgier heroine than the "model" figure they gave us, to fill the bill with a totally risk taking venture. She didn't have to be a blimp, but she could have looked less "centerfold". Being a hard body military officer, it fits she would have a good body, but I actually would have liked to see battle scars on her face, to make for a totally different venture.
The third thing that works is that it isn't "contrived" in fatalities. It's entirely "draw of the cards", with none of the silly judgment calls that make most screen writers look like hacks. There are a few tawdry and slimy characters who would die in most such movies, just out of poor writing, that here just go about their business, without becoming spider food.
The victims here are mostly "luck of the draw" victims, with no "God playing contrived writing", and only one victim dies stupidly, but it is realistic considering this day and age. He dies stupidly because he feels above the situation in a godlike way that people who do what he does actually do. It's both credible (in an incredible situation) and humorous.
The humor is exceptional. It is very well done. No one takes it too seriously, and even the usual "government idiots" routine is done with a grain of humor.
There were a few too many silly special effects for me, but I realize there are dorks who need special effects to be happy, and we have to live with the beavis, butthead, Ted Baxter, Al Bundy, and WKRP Herb types who abound in society, those who insist on state of the art special effects and trivial background stuff no sane person cares about.
I'm also not into the "gore" scenes also made for those same dorks, but this movie didn't overuse the "gore". It just punched in enough to make beavis and butthead guffaw a few times.
It was a good mix. I would even rate it higher if the female lead would have been more casual looking, and if there were fewer typical gore scenes.