Reviews

When I watched the first few episodes, I was surprised it managed to get a rating as high as 4.7 (the rating at the time of writing).

Katee Sackhoff is the one redeeming feature throughout.

****There will be spoilers ahead****

So let's get the bad things out of the way first:

1) The crew of this ship are totally unbelievable. This is a critical mission for humanity, yet the crew behave more like high school teen's than highly qualified experts.

2) The ships second in command seems unstable, mutinies and puts the entire mission at risk. Surely any space mission would also require psychological screening to weed out unsuitable candidates.

3) The script doesn't really generate any empathy for the characters. So when some characters die, you don't really care. And there's no real impact anyway, as there seems to be an entire 'backup' crew held in suspended animation or deep sleep - so when someone dies, they just defrost another crew member.

4) Much of the show revolves around sex in some episodes. I'm no prude, but it seems out of place.

And the good:

1) The scripts get better - but probably too late for many who've given up watching. I found the show started improving by episode 5.

2) The story becomes more relevant in the last couple of episodes, when we actually find out what the aliens intentions are.

----------Summary----------

If you ignore the first half of the season, it starts to show some promise.

Problem is, by then it's probably too late, as many will have stopped watching.

My honest advice - watch the first few minutes of episode 1 to see what's happening. Then skip to the final few episodes and see what happens.

As it is, this seemed like a very very long trailer for a possible second season that will probably never happen now.

Come on Netflix. Many of your originals show promise, yet seem to be let down by poor scripts.

A shame, as while this was probably never going to be a scifi classic, it could have been so much better.

Caught this on Netflix, and looked good at first glance - good cast and a decent premise.

It's a low budget film, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Any genre can be filmed on a low budget if the script and characters are good - many of my favourite shows and films are low budget.

Unfortunately the script is poor, and the characters are never developed fully enough to actually care for them.

The back story is never properly explained either, other than a war being started by the 'East'. We're then left with 3 settlements that were presumably research facilities of some kind before the war.

It ends with an 'army' or robots seeking to kill humanity - given the humans were doing a good job of killing each other, that seemed superfluous.

This is meant to be the first in a trilogy, but I can't see that happening.

I haven't read the comic it's loosely based on, so will only comment on the TV show itself.

And season 1 was okay - not the best show of all time, but quirky and likeable.

Season 2 was weaker, and season 3 is barely watchable in places...............the show's descended into farce and way too much time exploring 'feelings'.

My main problems are based around the lack of powers - these are supposedly mighty supernatural beings, yet they're reduced to weak whining individuals.

To sum it up, the main problems are:

1) The relationship between Lucifer and Decker. Decker is unlikeable and cardboard, and all too often outshone by other stronger females in the series (just Tricia Helfer's character and Maze spring immediately to mind). There's no real chemistry, and no reason for this attraction, other than Decker was apparentally introduced by God.

2) Come season 3, none of the characters seem to have any powers - other than Lucifer's 'what do you desire' line (hardly a superpower). Maze and Lucifer have devolved into childish whining characters.

And therein lie the main problems.

Other shows, whether Bones, Castle or The Mentalist have had better leads and better storylines (at least for the first half of their runs).

And if a 'supernatural' show is just going to be a cop show, it needs to up its game substantially. That hasn't happened in Lucifer, so for once (and the only time in my life), I actually agree with Fox's decision to cancel.

Not sure what the budget was for this film, but I've seen better student productions.

The film had the kind of idea that could have been comedy gold. But poor script and direction left it severely lacking.

A shame, as the cast are capable of so much more.

Gets a 5 from me, as much of the story seems to have been lifted from films like Captain America..........(overuse of the shield, war based setting, a group of useless sidekicks, and in both films 'Steve' goes down with the plane).

Thus far, it's the best female superhero movie. But that doesn't excuse so many similarities to other superhero films.

Also gaping holes, like what happened to the huge German ship anchored off the hidden island ? Their first groups of sailors ended up dead, so surely the ship could just have shelled the island.

Others have pointed out the failings, so won't bother reiterating them.

Bottom line is, you'll either love it or be indifferent. It's made a fortune for the studio, so I guess many people loved it.

**EDIT**

This was an early review, and sadly after 5 episodes this is one of the worst shows ever made. As a result I've cut the original rating to one. (Believe me, this show should merit a zero)

Doesn't work as Star Trek, and doesn't work as a decent science fiction show either. Duff science and dull characters.

Dire show that should be cancelled and forgotten.

Gets a 4 from me for the good special effects, although they won't be to everyone's taste. And special effects are commonplace now, so even the best CGI won't save a turkey.

If you removed the Star Trek name, and called the Klingons something different, you wouldn't recognize this as 'Trek'. I don't say that as someone who'll blindly follow canon, as I loved the new Star Trek films.

But this is barely recognizable as Trek. Unstable first officer, an alien character more interested in their own preservation and Klingons who follow someone with no honor.

Then you have acts which would seldom have been thought of in Trek, such as teleporting a torpedo charge next to a Klingon corpse being recovered.

Fortunately this was available on Netflix in the UK, as there's no way I'd pay another subscription just to watch this.

Trek's had a rocky road at times, and each series has had its fans and haters. As an example I hated Voyager but loved Enterprise, but for many the reverse is true.

This show may improve, especially as the awful 'After Trek' show on Netflix suggested the first 2 were back story, and the third episode would in effect be the pilot.

That seems a strange way to do business, especially for CBS if they want to entice subscribers.

Overall this was way too close to the new films, which for some may not be too bad. But it's too similar in many ways. Massive alien ship, Starfleet vessel(s) easily destroyed, Captain killed by being stabbed by the alien leader - similar to the opening of the first new Star Trek film.

May revisit my rating later if thing improve, but right now 'Discovery' isn't on my must watch list.

Big spoiler ahead - the whole act is basically about how old Jeff Dunham is. That's it in a nutshell.

The majority of jokes are about his age, his wifes age or his kids.

Usually I love his shows, but this one just fell flat. Like others, I didn't like his new puppet either. The 'Irish' baby really wasn't funny, and the stereotype was cringeworthy.

An enjoyable twist on the usual detective shows out there.

Whether it's believable will depend on your perspective. But I guess it's not beyond the realms of possibility, so skirts with realism.

Overall a really enjoyable show, and the only complaint is that there aren't more episodes in each series.

The show was never 100% original, in that odd partners and detective shows are a penny on television.

But it was generally enjoyable, although to be honest the episodes are very similar to one another - can't escape that, in that it's identify cause of death and catch the bad guy/gal every week.

But it should have ended when Bones and Booth became a couple. And given the stretched out will they/won't they story, that was more or less rushed through in a few minutes.

Once together, it became more about babies and family discussions. Not exactly a crime series, and it felt out of place and frankly boring.

The visit to the UK killed it for me more than anything. Stereotyped to high hell, and there's no way you'd get a vintage mini car from a hire firm either (other than those renting classic cars). Cringeworthy television at its worst.

If it had stuck to 5 seasons, I'd have rated it higher. However, Season 6 onward killed it for me.

A shame that shows like this carry on (and on and on and on), yet other shows get cancelled halfway through their first run.

I wasn't even aware this was an anime adaptation, so my review's based solely on the film as I haven't seen the original source.

It's a fairly predictable film, and for comparison it's probably closest to the Final Destination films (although here the lead chooses who dies).

As a film it doesn't warrant a 1 star rating, but neither does it really justify any more than a 6.

I'd have liked to have seen more depth given to the characters 'L', Ryku (the demon) and Watabi.

As others have said, this kind of story would probably have lent itself better to a series rather than a film. That would have allowed for better character development, and better back story.

By no means unwatchable, but not something you'd rush to watch again.

I was looking forward to watching this when it appeared on Netflix.

I love Stephen King, and enjoyed the 2007 film version.

But this adaptation is like pulling teeth.

The first few minutes of the pilot were promising. A man waking up with supposed memory loss, a dog watching over him and the mist slowly rolling in.

Then the show turns to garbage.

For a small town, we have the local 'bike' turned good mother. A gay/bisexual/pan-sexual??? angst ridden teen. A rape victim (who seems to spend plenty of time with the teen she accused). The loony woman. A priest who loses the plot. Cowardly police officer, psycho doctor.....................list goes on.

The problem is, I hate the characters. And for a show that foregoes horror, and concentrates on these people, that's a problem. If you're going to stretch a short story, then you need characters we can root for.

I somehow made it to episode 8 before giving up. Every episode I was hoping one or more of them would get what was coming, but no.

I'd advise reading the original, or watching the 2007 film. Just don't bother with this tedious version.

Should be a zero, but that isn't an option unfortunately.

It's bizarre that both Prometheus and now Covenant have more or less trashed the Alien franchise. What's more shocking is the 3 books released to coincide with the new films are immeasurably better. That's 'Sea Of Sorrows', 'Out Of The Shadows' and 'River Of Pain'.

It's a shame that the books weren't used to script the films.

Equally a shame that Neill Blomkamp never got a shot, as the newer Alien films are dire. Honest Trailers got it right when they said there are now more bad than good Alien films.

Prometheus was bad but watchable. Covenant is just bad.

With 2 strong female leads this should have been a great film.

However, both actresses are let down by poor script and direction.

With more care, this could have been a 'B' movie classic. As it is, save your time and money and find something else to watch.

Extra line to satisfy review criteria.

It isn't often I'll slate a series, but this is a mess. It doesn't hold a candle to the other Netflix Marvel shows.

The character Coleen Wing is the only highlight of the show. I hope we see much more of Jessica Henwick in future, as she was the only truly interesting character.

Difficult to say with the rest of the cast, as the script is all over the place. Half the time it seems to be business politics, and the remainder seems to be 'Iron Fist' constantly bringing up his parents deaths.

I'm not going to criticize the cast, as they all seemed to do what they could with the lines they had.

Biggest problem seems to be the big fight scenes. They just aren't convincing in the main. A shame, as plenty of actors/actresses who aren't fighters learn how to portray it (through good choreography etc).

After 15 years of being trained, the Iron Fist should have been far more emotionally stable - or at least able to control his emotions.

I'm not religious, but how do you take a story with so much potential and make it boring ?

I'm not sure, but they managed it with this film.

Despite some big names in the cast, the actors are never really utilised. Ben Kingsley gets an easy pay cheque, and Christian Bale's capable of much more than the script offers.

And we never actually see Moses as any kind of leader (except right at the end). He just has the occasional chat with 'God', then doesn't do much else. We see no action or even interaction with the slaves. Closest we get to that is setting some boats on fire.

And the plagues of Egypt are dulled down to the point they make no impact.

The ending's the worst though. No dramatic parting of the seas, just a leisurely stroll over the seabed.

Save your time and watch older versions if you want spectacle, and definitely acting.

Honestly, seen more drama and spectacle in some TV documentaries about the subject.

I have to admit that xXx is one of my guilty pleasures, as is xXx The Next Level. Both Vin Diesel and Ice Cube fitted their roles perfectly, and each had at least reasonable scripts and great action scenes.

Fast forward to this installment, and it seemingly tries hard to emulate the Fast & Furious franchise. And that's where the entire plot starts to fail. xXx (whether Diesel or Cube) was a lone wolf. He didn't need a team, many of whom are instantly forgettable.

And while there were memorable scenes from both previous xXx films, they're sadly lacking in this outing. After getting home from the cinema, I dusted off my old xXx DVD, and it was like night and day. This installment makes the first 2 look like masterpieces.

I was really looking forward to this film. But it's a massive let down.

As with 'Riddick', Diesels character has been changed to be gods gift to women. Hence a pointless scene in London where he beds about 6 or 7 women, and a gushing OTT scene with Nina Dobrevs character.

Guess the main problem is there's no real villain throughout. Turns out most characters are in the xXx program, and the 'villain' is big government. Problem with that is, the script (and most of the cast) aren't strong enough to carry the film.

Unless they get back to grass roots, e.g. just Vin Diesel or Ice Cube (maybe both), then I hope there isn't a 4th installment.

Save your money for a better film is my recommendation.

So many good series cut short by Fox Exec's, usually thanks to poor scheduling etc.

The tragedy is they pick up a proper audience when sold to other countries, or shown on Netflix etc.

Backstrom had the potential to be a great TV show (as with most of Fox's canceled shows). I'm just watching on Netflix, and am annoyed to know there probably won't ever be another series.

Anyway, the characters were progressing well. As with many first seasons, it takes a few episodes for the characters to develop. Hence why I've only scored it 7. Had the potential to score higher, if Fox actually had confidence in their shows.

As it is, the whole world suffers more and more 'reality' show garbage, while TV shows aren't given a chance.

Saw the trailer and assumed this would be science fiction. Don't make the same mistake - this is 'stalker' territory masquerading as romance.

The visuals are stunning, and set designers would score a 10, as would the effects department.

The film's full of plot holes, but let's start with the distasteful aspect first. Jim Preston's suspended animation pod malfunctions and wakes him up 90 years early. In a ship of several thousand sleepers and a few hundred crew, he's left to walk the ship alone for over a year.

During this time he hatches the plot of waking up a fellow passenger, who he's picked. He reads up on her, essentially profiling her.

Despite (or in spite of) knowing it will ruin her life, and condemn her to the same miserable existence, he goes ahead and wakes her up.

As many others have said, this could have worked as a much darker film, where she gets revenge etc. What we get is a sappy romance story where she hates him after finding out the truth, then decides she loves him and sacrifices her future to be with him.

The film left a nasty after taste for me, as it was essentially a stalker type film, where the victim forms an emotional attachment with her 'captor' - 'Stockholm Syndrome'.

This is evidenced when she could have gone back into suspended animation, but chose to stay with the man who trashed her dreams.

Again, this could have worked if it had been far darker, exploring the human psyche. What we get is sugary coated romance.

Anyway, some obvious plot holes.

1) The ship's built on the premise that nothing will ever go wrong. This despite the film showing spare parts for every aspect of the ship later. Yet there's no facility to awaken the crew, or even having an android repair crew (despite there being service androids in abundance elsewhere).

2) It's impossible (apparentally) to go back into suspended animation once you're awake. Yet much later in the film, it shows it's possible to be put into suspended animation in the medical department. Why do the pods not have the same facility ?

3) Why was the bartender shown as human like, yet the waiters and breakfast dispensers are just machines ?

4) How did he survive a massive venting at the end ? Okay he technically died in space, but was bought back with some very dodgy procedures.

5) What would planting trees and vegetation do to delicate electronics ? Looks like a jungle at the end of the film.

Overall a massive letdown, with the message seeming to be if you're 'hot' you can get away with anything.

Really wanted to like this instalment, as being a lifelong fan of Star Trek I've enjoyed the reboot up to now.

However, 'Beyond' lacks any depth, and possibly has the weakest villain of any Star Trek movie to date. And that's a tragic waste of Idris Elba, who could have done so much more with the role, but was let down by a mediocre script.

Beyond is a waste of an excellent cast, some of whom seem to be there purely for the pay cheque this time.

I've heard that if there is a 4th instalment, Chris Hemsworth may return as George Kirk. I'm not surprised by this, as the opening to the 2009 Star Trek was phenomenal. A shame that Hemsworth wasn't given the part of James Kirk, as he'd have been far more believable.

So many daft plot holes (as ever), and usually they can be forgiven if the film's fun. Beyond isn't, and drags on forever.

Biggest plot hole has to be why Krall needed some ultimate weapon, when the weapons he had could take down the Enterprise without breaking a sweat. More than enough firepower to utterly destroy much of the Federation.

Could go on, but it's sad to see Trek reduced to this. Okay, it could be corny at times, but both the original series and next generation had actors who convinced.

Can't decide if this is an amazing series, or just a run of the mill 'average' back from the dead series.

The problem for me is that the series is way too short at 6 episodes, and an awful lot is never explained. That isn't a problem of itself, as I hate having things spelt out.

But the real problem (for me), is how the characters take being resurrected in their stride. I try and think how I'd feel about being resurrected 100+ years into the future, and although the show occasionally touches on this, the characters are all too often just concentrating on how they died etc.

So at the moment it's just an average show for me. I think season 2's been greenlit, and hopefully the show builds on what it has so far and expands it.

It's got the potential to be an excellent show, so I really hope it expands on what it has.

Yet again TV Executives show poor judgment, canceling a TV show that showed great promise. I guess the future of TV is cheap 'reality' shows and hours of narcissistic 'z-celeb's'.

Almost Human was an excellent TV show, boasting not only an amazing cast (fronted by the criminally underrated Karl Urban), but also well written scripts.

This was backed up by what seemed to be genuine chemistry between the cast, making each episode even better.

It should have been a show that ran for far more than its 1 season.

TV Executives have shown (yet again) that they should never be trusted with science fiction.

Unfortunately, many are unaware of shows like this until they make it onto the likes of Netflix or Amazon.

They then quickly gain a deserved following, with viewers genuinely hacked off that the show was canceled prematurely.

Even more unfortunately, it leaves many questions unanswered, and we can only hope that as with Firefly, Almost Human at least gets 1 movie to answer some of these questions.

The original was never a classic film, but it was (and still is) a guilty pleasure of mine. The science is daft, the film's corny and there's way too much US of A.

But the original in 1996 had a great cast, some memorable lines and of course the presidents speech.

Fast forward 20 years, and this is a stinking turd of a film. Honestly, there have been 2 decades to write a sequel (that didn't need making), and this is the best they can do ? This is one of the few films I've walked out of halfway through, so I don't know whether the film improved at all.

With the exception of 1 or 2 characters, everyone else in this film is boring, wooden and not worth screen time.

And therein lies the problem. Great effects don't make for a great film, and certainly can't disguise a poorly written script.

The original film had you rooting for the characters (corny as some scenes were). And when the president decides to 'nuke the bastards', the cinema erupted with cries of yes.

The sequel just doesn't involve you in the characters, which seems to be a massive problem with Hollywood these days. If you don't care about the characters, then the film has no purpose.

And when you don't care about the characters, the massive mistakes are all too apparent. Someone wakes from a coma and starts walking straight away being a prime example.

I really hope there isn't an ID3, as poor sequels serve only to cheapen the original.

And I've read rumours that the same team have been asked to 'reboot' Stargate. The original was their film, and although corny, I enjoyed it.

If ID2 is anything to go by, I really hope they don't get anywhere near Stargate. The film was original and fun, the TV series (though overplayed) was good too.

What we don't need is more sequels or reboots, not unless they can employ some scriptwriters with talent.

It could be argued that Last Days Of Mars has at least passing similarities to 'Ghosts Of Mars', 'The Thing' and many other films besides.

And as others have said, essentially it's a zombie film, probably more akin in some ways to the T-Virus in Resident Evil.

So with that said, why would I give it a 7 ? Well, it's not really a bad film at all. Could argue that the characters could have been better written, but that's a common complaint with many movies (some of which have far higher ratings on IMDb).

And for 7 million, it's really well put together. Good CG-I, some good acting and many times feels like a far higher budget effort.

All I can say is, if you like older style sci-fi films, or like zombies, then give this a go and don't be put off by the low rating.

Now I REALLY hated the first film in this series (Divergent), and only watched this one because it was a DVD double set.

And firstly, can it be any worse than the first ? The answer is a resounding yes, although there seemed to be a faster pace about this installment (the only positive).

This installment continues the ridiculous idea that most of us are either kind, honest, brave etc and nothing else. A flawed idea from the outset, as very few would fit rigidly into one 'faction', not without some kind of psychological meltdown.

Anyway, this installment continues the absurd notion that the lead character is a strong fighter. Most times she looks like she couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag, and her hair's nearly always immaculate - even after she butchers it with a pair of rusty old shears.

In a nutshell, she's apparently the only one capable of passing some mind games contained in a box. This box was left by the founders of the faction system, and contains a message for them.

Their founders must've been a bunch of loony tune scientists as well, as not only did they consider the factions system to be good, but they ensured their lovely box killed anyone who didn't pass their silly tests.

Needless to say, pretty fighter girl passes the test, and it transpires that Divergents are the future of humanity (yep, the plot really is that lame).

Not only that, but the rest of humanity's somewhere else.............probably laughing their socks off at the daft faction system they created.

Ignore this massive turkey at all costs, and ignore the 6+ rating it has. These days I despair of the ratings, as some actually give crud like this 10 star ratings.