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The original story was a sequel to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea
and featured Captain Nemo’s efforts to create a new power source on a
remote and uncharted island inhabited by giant prehistoric
animals. This offers the opportunity for plenty of scenes
featuring mammoth battles between savage monsters and multiple attacks
on a group of adventurers stranded on the island.
This
particular film version of the story looks very much like the cheap TV
movie it was – it actually premiered on The Hallmark Channel in
September 2005. While it includes some relatively well known
stars like Kyle MacLachlan and Vinnie Jones, Patrick Stewart is the
real drawcard despite his constant wearing of a turban in an
unsuccessful attempt to create a visual difference to his more famous
character portrayals in ST: The Next Generation and the X-Men movies.
Mysterious Island
is a lengthy film (approximately 2 hours 40 minutes) which reflects its
production as a TV mini-series. Unfortunately, quantity does not
equal quality!
It was filmed in Thailand (which obviously
provided some dramatic and colourful backgrounds) but it is let down by
some very lame visual special effects. In many instances, there
are scenes where the computer generated blue-screen shots are so badly
coordinated and utterly disjointed. In fact, scenes of similar
prehistoric monsters in earlier 1950s and 1960s films were far superior
and convincing – even it they were lizards with horns stuck on their
heads!
I have previously had a lot of respect for the film’s
director, Aussie Russell Mulcahy. In his defence, I will just
have to acknowledge that he did the best he could with the financial
and technical resources he was given. A mysterious mess. EXTRAS
Extras on this DVD edition are limited to a trailer that in some ways makes the movie look more impressive that it really is.
Conclusion:
Movie 35% Extras: 25%
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