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"Planetfall" DVD
One of those great rarities,
the science fiction / western hybrid, comes roaring out of Heretic
with "Planetfall", a movie as good as it is rare.
"Planetfall" is simple enough at its roots--basically,
a handful of factions are after the last known stockpile of Psylenol,
a drug that gives people psychic powers. Enough of this drug--which
there just happens to be in the stockpile--could give one of these
factions control over half a galaxy. We've got bounty hunters, like
the machine cultist Lux and her erstwhile partner Shark; we've got
more hunters like the fallen-from-grace Wendy and wanted criminal
Gorton "Ugly" Hex, and just for kicks, we've got a rogue
unit of telepaths led by the psychotic Lieutenent Jerik.There will
be obvious and worthwhile comparisons.
Clearly, the guys behind "Planetfall" long to compare
themselves to Sergio Leone westerns--the back of the box will breathlessly
make the same proclamation--but it's clear who did it first. Full
Moon did this one up first back with its "Oblivion" movies.
Futuristic Westerns are hardly anything new.But, they are so infrequently
done that each one is a special case. While not truly original,
their appearance is so rare that they merit innovation points by
their mere existance. Only a handful of similar titles exist.
And let's be honest--"Planetfall" is well put together.
The factions have their own separate motivations that play well
against each other, and each one gets a comparable amount of screen
time. It's exciting and downright clever.
Granted, there are flaws. They used CG for just about everything,
from special effects to hard-to-engineer weapons effects, and the
CG isn't all that it could have been. Muzzle flashes often seem
to be to the left or the right of the weapon barrels they're ostensibly
firing from. Knife hilts float on their own, independent of a victim's
movement. And grenade rings just look downright fake, as does most
of the CG effects. But that's really a very small complaint alongside
a good plot executed well.
The ending features at least a couple good old fashioned gunfights.
Not much twisting here, but then, did we really need a twist here?
No.
The special features include audio options, a feature documentary,
deleted scenes, cast and crew interviews, featurettes about a couple
of the shooting locations, and a featurette on the design of "Planetfall".
All in all, despite some truly minor flaws in the relentless use
of CG effects, "Planetfall" is a solid, stable, and highly
unique film that should make any science fiction buff or western
fan happy.
Planetfall
****
DVD
Directed by Gianni Mezzanotte
Written by Matt Saari, Michael Heagle
Starring Leitha Matz, Heidi Fellner, Alan Struthers, Charles Hubbell
Produced by Troy A. LaFaye, Matt Saari, Michael Heagle
NR
91 mins
2007
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