Genres

Visitors Review

2013-04-03 18:36:37

Never HEARD of it? Me either..... GREAT movie!

This review is from: Showdown at Area 51 (DVD) I really enjyed THIS one.Every once in a while I order a bunch of CHEAP movies.I bought this; HIGH PLAINS INVADERS; WARBIRDS; MEGA PYTHON vs. GATROID; MEGA PIRANHA and MAMMOTH.Haven't seen "HIGH PLAINS INVADERS", yet. It was neat seeing The MONKEES' Mickey Dolenz being eatten, alive,but the best ones of the bunch were THIS one and WARBIRDS.This particular movie isn't filmed in New Mexico, and, in fact, say it really happened in Missouri--Rosswell being a cover story. I HATE when people give away plot points, so I'll just say that THIS isa great story about a GOOD alien and a BAD alien. Which is which? The CGI is most-certainly betterthan those other films -- though WARBIRDS was very acceptable.This film has a normal-sizd guy playing an alien, and the other guy -- we never see HIS f-a-c-e -- isa guy about the size of Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal -- that rather large fellow that makes ME look small{see MY profile photo}.A recent "never heard of it" film that I enjoyed VERY much. THIS did NOT look "hokie" on my LARGE TV!

2013-04-02 21:43:16

The SyFy process

This review is from: Showdown at Area 51 (Amazon Instant Video) The way of Syfy movies is this: someone comes up with a pretty good idea for a SyFy film and pitches it to the SyFy execs. They buy the idea and green light the film at pretty low dollars. Next, they hire the cheapest writer they can find that had some success on the foreign film 'B' circuit. Then, they hire the most cliche dialogue writer they can find to put in as many film cliches as possible and dumb down the dialogue so no actor can possibly recite these lines with a straight face. Next, they hire a production company to make the film to spec, and lastly, edit it down as much as possible so SyFy can fit in as many commercials as they can. At each step down the line it gets worse.The end result is that at best, we, the audience get an actor that can still pull off a good performance despite the idiot dialogue, a halfway believeable plot and some special effects that look halfway good. At worse, we get a smouldering pile of unbelievable garbage that would best be used as torture devices at Guantanamo Bay. This film falls somewhere between the two. At times it is halfway decent, at other times you're reaching for the Pepto. For comparison purposes, it is not as good as any episode of the original "Star Trek" and not as bad as the human vegatable episode on the original "Lost in Space."

Sollus 2013-02-04 22:08:05

It doesn't even have much humor

This movie was bad within the first 5 minutes. It only takes minimalresearch to find out some basic info about Area 51. 1. It's on a drylake bed in the Nevada Desert. Not a whole lot of lush green vegetationin the countryside there. 2. It's an actual military installation, nota disguised park. The people at Area 51 are military and in uniform,again no disguises are necessary. So think of a dry fenced in airbasewith soldiers. Not a National Park with Rangers. Anyone in uniform hashis hair trimmed short and neat. Just putting on a uniform won't foolanyone closer than 50 ft. That was what I noticed in the first 5minutes. It went downhill from there when I found out that most of thecast can't act and the plot was thin. This doesn't even belong in theBargain Bin, If anyone makes a DVD of this it's worth more as acoaster.

2013-02-04 15:09:22

One of the best sci fi channel movies

This review is from: Showdown at Area 51 (DVD) The effects in this movie are good. The plot is interesting. I think this was a very well-made movie. It's not that gory or anything but something else makes it really good. I think you'll enjoy it if you see it. It's unique and very entertaining.

2013-01-21 21:26:42

Good movie!

This review is from: Showdown at Area 51 (DVD) I have to say I normally hate SciFi movies! But my husband likes them so we watched this together and I actually got into it! It is low budget, but beyond that, it is a great story line and good actors. I would recommend this movie!

arcdanku 2013-01-21 07:18:46

Pretty Good Movie

I enjoyed it. Don't know why some people are complaining - interestingaliens, a fast-paced story, plot twists. Acting wasn't too bad either.And for once, the hero wasn't like a regular guy who all of a suddenbecomes superman squared. One could relate to or at least understandthe characters, even the 'dumb' ones!! Aliens had their vulnerabilitiestoo. Adding Area 51 added a neat plot depth. I would like to seesequel. Compared to a whole lot of stuff I have seen on Sci-Fi(including one they send a demolition man to repair the moon-HA!) thiswas a well-written, well-acted movie that held my attention. Wherethere weaknesses? Sure, but I wasn't expecting Oscar-quality. Not badfor a Saturday evening.

RamblerReb 2013-01-20 19:23:50

Never send Dave to the Blockbuster alone!!!

Do you have one of those friends who takes sadistic pleasure inbringing utterly crappy z-grade sci-fi movies back from the videostore? Now you know how I was forced to have this travesty irreparablyburned into the synapses of my brain.Anyhow, you may have noted that I gave this utter dreck three out often. Was it the utterly unnecessary presence of TV's Matt Houston?Nope. The "I'm in it for the paycheck" performance of Gigi Edgley?Guess again! That's right, it was the totally unexpected presence of amint '67 Rambler Rebel SST convertible right in the middle of thepicture! "My God!" I shouted, frightening the dog and making Dave jumpin his chair, "I have found a redeeming feature in this movie!" Iactually watched the thing all the way to the end based on this fact,and I still could not tell you what the hell happened.

A.J. 2013-01-19 22:42:52

Third Rate Alien Shootout at the OK Corral

This movie is pretty bad. Syfy channel showed this once before and again this weekend. It was pretty bad the first time and it was pretty bad this time. Good alien is trying to save the earth and recruits a couple of humans to assist. Bad alien is here to make sure that a device, timed to destroy the earth goes off without a hitch. Good alien needs to find the key to stop the device with the help of his human accomplices. This is just a really bad movie.

J Bartell 2013-01-11 17:28:49

About average for the SF channel

Let's start with the things that are patently idiotic. Area 51 isn't inthe desert as we have all been told, it's actually in a national parknear St. Louis! Apparently that whole desert thing is just Governmentmisdirection. Damn clever! Can you say "tax break for setting your filmin our crappy backyard"? Apparently, a group of bad Aliens, the"Cronen" are waiting for us to generate enough pollution to meet theirneeds when they they will swoop in, kill us all and swipe our toxicwaste. When the requisite female scientist asked the obvious question"Why kill us, we'd be glad to give them all they want for free" theonly answer is "They don't negotiate". What are they, the BushAdministration? Not to mention the obvious fact that if they kill usall our ability to generate more pollution is zero, whereas if theyjust hauled it all away we'd make more than ever (just imagine if theEPA removed all restrictions, we would be a toxic goldmine). This iskind of like harvesting apples by cutting down the trees with achainsaw and burning the stumps. And what kind of civilization doesn'tknow how to create pollution? The Bizarro world? "Me make car runs onsmog and makes clean air. Me sad." Anyway, the plot revolves around agood alien sent here by someone to try to stop them by shutting downthe "Omega Seed", which is the alien sensor that determines when thepollution level is adequate for harvesting. Turns out it's buried undera futuristic manhole cover in a barn. Makes you wonder what the farmerthought it was. "Dang it Clem, I done told ya not to park the tractoron the Omega Seed". The acting is semi-adequate, with the standoutbeing Gigi Edgely, much missed since Farscape got axed ( a showsuperior in every conceivable way). Watching her try, and occasionallyfail, to hide her Aussie accent is enchanting. The SFX and fight scenesare OK. All in all, better than most SF movies, which makes it justsub-par for anyone else.

2013-01-11 08:46:32

TV original at best

This review is from: Showdown at Area 51 (Amazon Instant Video) This movie is about the level of a Sci-Fi channel original. Poor acting and dialog. Waste of three dollars. I should have just rented three Red Box movies of better quality.

2012-12-20 19:35:26

Idiotic

Alright... This movie has good special effects. Its fights are good.The acting is decent. That's about it. The story is thin, (somethingabout aliens harvesting pollutants from Earth; to collect them they aregoing to blow us up. Why not just ask us? "They don't negotiate". Duh.Why have a renewable resource when you can be macho and blow stuffup?)the plot twists are about as exciting as watching grass grow, andthe inaccuracies (pointed out in other comments) are glaring anddecrease any sense of "it-could-happen-someday" suspense garnered fromwell-done movies like Aliens. I honestly don't care if it is a good"Saturday night film" (i.e., mindless violence). Why would I waste mylife on it? Get this film if you are sick, extremely bored, you have nomoney or books, and your music player has no battery.

rlange-3 2012-12-20 11:35:57

More holes than script but slightly interesting

gigi edgely and coby bell deliver decent acting considering thehorrible script and swiss cheese plot full of holes. both areattractive and manage to deliver their lines pretty convincingly inspite of the preposterous situation.At a fundamental level, the plot has potential. Two aliens, one bad,one good, but you aren't sure which is which until the end of the film.Clues point in different directions (especially the girl on the swingpart).It's a low budget flick so don't expect much on special effects. Thatmay be an understatement.The problem is that it is really hard to suspend disbelief when so muchof the movie borders on the absurd, and most of the acting is so awful.The frat boy scene introducing the brothers is unconvincing but atleast short. The military part at the base is in part ruined by theoveracting and unbelievable stupidity of the officer in charge. Andthen come the aliens, one with tattoos and leathers and the other insomething that looks like he crawled out of an army navy surplus store.Hoses are are everywhere. He wears a holey summer shirt with a coupletears that apparently repels armor piercing bullets. It's a see tobelieve mess.The fights are worse. Bullets are bouncing off the aliens, one of whomhas a little shield that he waves around that nobody can miss. An RPG(what is Mr. Redneck doing with an RPG?) is used to threaten one of thealiens, held about 2 feet from him -- as it if wouldn't blow up thehero as well. The clunk clunk fat guy gets delivered in an ice creamtruck. No, wait, a bulletproof car comes first, then the ice creamtruck which has some awful fake bullet holes in the side. They runthrough a squad of soldiers like a knife through butter -- somehow thevehicles are bulletproof, then, in one of the funniest scenes of themovie someone hits the rear bumper of the car and it falls off. Just...falls off. Nobody in these elite military squads can hit the tireswhich survive the entire encounter intact. How much budget does it taketo deflate a tire?Its not that bad of a way to pass a boring night, primarily because ofedgely (at least if you are male), but I'd have a hard timerecommending it to anyone.

ctomvelu1 2012-12-20 06:02:26

Jason, what befell thee?

The movie is not even worth reviewing, except for the fact that itstars a one-time legitimate actor named Jason London. I know he ispretty much just a pretty boy, but there was a time when he appeared inlegit movies. I wonder what happened to him? I can guess, but I darenot say for fear of being sued. Anyhow, the movie is a very bad -- andI mean very bad --- copy of I COME IN PEACE, which was about two enemyaliens duking it out on Earth. In that incredibly silly but fun movie,which starred another has-been, Dolph Lundgren, the aliens at leastlooked like something from another planet. In this movie, the aliensare an ordinary-looking black guy and someone dressed in what appearsto be an ancient aviator outfit. I have seen worse, but not by much. Ionly watched it for London, who fails to deliver the goods. He remindsme a little of Kyle McLaughlin, another pretty boy who seems unable toact -- at least ever since SHOWGIRLS. Please avoid this one.

2012-12-19 18:10:45

Fun in the sun

Above average for the sci-fi channel but still a bit under par. Its a original story but just about everything else is recycled. I found the acting also to be a bit plain. But not bad for B-movie thrills.

SpirkSlasher 2012-12-13 22:08:59

I enjoyed it, but then, I'm easily amused.

I'm a writer, so I totally get what people are saying about plot holesand such, but it's a good film. Very action-packed, and you could pickout your clichés with your eyes closed, which can be fun.Jake was funny, and I'm so glad he managed to shoot the Jeep; at least-somebody- understands that stopping the vehicle is far more practicalthan aiming to kill the driver.Monica was okay, as far as relatively unimportant female love interestsgo, and it amused me that she was shrieking for Jude during the scenein the forest despite obviously being meant to be Jake's love interest.She's only rather pretty, too, which is always a plus when you'vegotten used to love interests who exist solely for the male audience togawk at (Mikaela from the new Transformers movies, I'm staring youdown, right between the eyes.).Jude, well, Jude was awesome. He had this amusing twitch in the rightside of his face, and I was thinking it would make an interestingdrinking game. Also, I found his protectiveness when concerning Jake tobe very, very, -very- sweet. This is the sort of thing thatdifferentiates the good aliens from the evil, world-asploding aliens.However, he had a very out-of-character moment when he shot Diamond Joeand kidnapped (for lack of a better term) Monica, which confused meimmensely, given that I'd been lead to believe he was a good guy.Kronnan was a useful villain and a good liar, but there's not much elseto say about the guy.

lastliberal 2012-12-13 06:17:58

The battle to save Earth

It is hard to imagine that my attention would be directed away fromChrista Campbell, but Farscape star Gigi Edgley managed to do justthat. Campbell (Death by Engagement, Revamped) was very evident in thefirst part of the film, but Edgley took over and saved us from the evilaliens. Well, Jason London (Dazed and Confused) helped her a bit.It was the aliens that really stole the show. The good alien (unnamedon IMDb) was trying to stop the evil alien, with massive tricks up hissleeve, from destroying Earth to harvest our spent nuclear fuel. Wewould have gladly given it to them! The alien battles were veryreminiscent of the Terminator.References to Area 51 and the crash at Roswell in 1947 made this moreinteresting for conspiracy fans.

2012-12-13 02:48:46

Showdown at area 51

This review is from: Showdown at Area 51 (DVD) This wasn't a high budget, quality film, but being able to see Lee Horsley,again working, was great !!! The quality of the dvd was first rate and a great deal for what I paid !!!

2012-12-12 15:24:11

Jeff Knox rocks this film

Given the stellar performances by Jeff Knox and his truck, it baffles me that he was not mentioned in the Title. I feel that he truly made this movie what it is; Jeff Knox is a true thespian

Whoa666 2012-11-29 22:30:01

Low Budget- really really stupid alien designs of the 2 species (or should I say 3?)

No matter what mood you are in and how bored you are- do not watch thispiece of trash. It's not justifiable to watch yet another such USmovie? If you bored, join the US army but don't watch this. How muchdid it take to make this? I'm a Sci Fi Fan, Independence Day wasawesome and so old. What profit is bought to the World creating stupidass low budget movies like Showdown at Area 51??? How did they get itout onto the screens or straight to video - (wotever u call it). OMGthe world will be such a better place if only there was a minimumstandard to pass movies as watchable but noooooo, some US peopleactually like this stuff??? I reckon this should be removed fromrecords because it's not doing anyone any favours to get a chance towatch this.

2012-11-29 08:04:20

A decent scifi movie

I didnt buy this movie, rather i rented it from the local movie gallery, and im glad i didnt purchase it. Its not that its a bad movie, it just has some special effect issues that bothered me. Now i know that they didnt have a huge budget to work with so im understanding with that. It just didnt captivate me, the story isnt that great, it is lacking in originality, but what can you do with this genre that hasnt already been done? So i think a score of 3 is just right. Not a buy, a rent.