Sunday 2 May 2010

Film Review: STAR RUNNERS (2009)


Director: Mat King
Running time: 88 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

UK Release Date: 13th June 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 2nd May 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is one of those ‘made for TV’ Sci-Fi movies that are made on a tiny budget, and it really shows. It’s mostly shot in a quarry and, like most films shot in a quarry, it has to rely on a decent script to carry it off. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t have one of those either. But I digress; let me tell you something of the plot before I really rip into it.

Two smugglers, Tycho ‘Ty’ Johns and Lei Chen are captured by the government and blackmailed into collecting a crate from a distant space station. They arrive and locate the crate only to find their ship is being watched by some rebels. They open the crate and find a young woman, Asta, inside. Booking a flight on a commercial transport, the three make their escape. They soon find they are being followed and, after the pilot is killed, make a dangerous jump into hyperspace. They emerge in an uncharted region of space and crash-land on an unknown planet. The survivors make for a man-made structure. They search it and find they are not alone, there are eight foot bugs living there with a taste for blood. The rebels soon follow; they are very keen to get their hands on Asta. As time goes on we discover more about Asta and why she is so special. So special indeed that military ships also arrive to retrieve her. Just on the off-chance that someone might want to see this, I’ll end my summary here, so as not to give the ending away.

To be honest I really didn’t care for this very much. Don’t get me wrong, I like Sci-Fi a lot, but decent Sci-Fi, not this pulp. The story was too predictable, the dialogue was diabolical and the effects were pretty poor. The one thing in its favour was the acting wasn’t too bad, but how they brought themselves to deliver some of those lines is beyond me. So, honourable mentions go to Connor Trinneer as Tycho ‘Ty’ Johns (you may know him better as Charles ‘Trip’ Tucker from TV’s ‘Enterprise’), James Kyson-Lee as Lei Chen (again, you may know him better as Ando Masahashi from TV’s ‘Heroes’), Toni Trucks as Asta and Aja Evans as Jenessa.

Over all it’s a pretty poor TV movie shot in a quarry that doesn’t hit the mark. There’s some acceptable acting but that’s about all I can say about it. Definitely NOT recommended.

My score: 3.6/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1239459/

No comments: