CapnMikel Reviews

Firefly (2002– )

Highly entertaining, but not the best out there.

[7/10 · 23 July 2006]

I really love sci-fi and fantasy, all other genres of media don't compare to them for me, so it was only a matter of time before I picked up firefly.

I'll start with what I really love about this series, for as long as it did last..

• It had characters that could make you laugh and bring you into action that was enjoyable to watch. - It had a space western theme that althougth didn't make perfect sense, you could always think "Well, the poor planets didn't have the money for technology" which helps explains a lot, and if you leave it at that then I think you'll find the theme very entertaining espescailly since it's done in a very serious manner. -It's plots weren't anything epic. I know typically that sounds like a negative comment, but I really enjoyed the episodic feel to this show. You were following the journey of a crew, not witnessing an alien invasion on humanity, political issues that could destroy the universe, or cause a galatic war. It was just a simple group of people trying to make cash. Though the plot gets a little deeper and larger with River's character, it's not the specific highlight of the show which brings me to my next point. -There seems to be no specific character isolation. No one protagonist you root for. Though Mal is in control of a lot of things, he's the Capitan so he should be. Aside from that you really feel like your watching the whole crew and their journeys and not any specific person. That made it a lot more fun to watch, especially since I liked all the characters more or less equally. -The action is good. Not much else to say there. The drama varies however, but it works when there is drama even if it's nothing spectacular it's fun to watch anyway.

There's a lot more minor things but they fall into personal preference more then a broad opinion, so for those who aren't sure if it's worth a pick up i'll give you the negative as well to help see if it's something you can enjoy. The show is very good just as many of the other reviews state, however it's not as huge as something like Babylon 5.

-The plots had a lot of clichés which made them really predictable at times. Every episode is indeed watchable, some things more predictable then others, but nothing highly original in any episode. -The characters have depth, but could use a lot more. You laugh with them, you enjoy what they say, you root for them in the action and you hope they come out of a job successful. However, not once did I really find myself feeling for the characters. -Episodic. Though I said earlier I enjoyed the show this way, some people get the wrong impression when they hear how great a show is an expect a huge arcing story. If you do, firefly is not for you. Some things are referenced from the previous episodes at times, and like most other shows, previous villains make re-occurrences for revenge and minor details of their previous missions that would add a depth to the plot seem to be lost. The overall story continues through the episodes, though the character relations don't develop through each episode as much as you would think. They seem to "reset" a little between episodes. Not always, but for the most part. -Some things don't make sense. If your a big fan of highly realistic sci-fi you may have trouble getting over some of the way things work in a bunch of the episodes, especially since this is supposed to be 500 years into the future. Personally I overlooked it and use the "the poor don't have money due to the war" excuse to counter most of that, but it's up to you to do the same.

The only real gripe I have with this show is there could have been so much more. The show was canceled and althougth there was a film, Serenity, I still find myself wanting more. Not really something that I'd say should keep you away, but it's very disappointing that there were so few episodes.

If your a sci-fi/fantasy fan, check it out. Give a few episodes a chance at least see if it fits your taste. If you're not, then consider the positives and negatives and decide if it's for you: it may be if you like action and a fun story. Espesically since you can pick up a couple episodes and just watch them not having to worry about missing out on a huge story if you put it to rest.

OVERALL: I highly recommend this show as a sci-fi fan, and it's not for everyone, but if you're looking for some entertainment without a huge plot or deep characters that you feel for, then you should pick it up.

7/10. Could have been so much more - lacked a few things, but the biggest bomb was the shows cancellation.

Equilibrium (2002)

It's just one of those films...

[10 April 2006]

Equlibrium is just one of those films that people have flame wars over silly little things OVER and OVER again. Some of the constant complaints I see or hear are things like " It's plot is a rip off!" -- "It has inconstancy - people express emotion!" -- "The action is unbelievable and childish!" If your trying to decide if you should see this film or not, please don't listen to these comments. They are strictly opinion (Though I will admit there are reoccurring themes and plot elements in this film that are in many others before it) and should not force you to pass this movie over.

Personally, I loved it. It has action, and it has a plot you can enjoy espescailly if you like Science fiction. If you like the matrix, you will like this film. I respect and really enjoy the matrix series, however if I had to choose, I would choose this film. Why? Simple. I like what I like. Following that concept, give it a shot. You may really fall in love with it.

Ultraviolet (2006)

A promising trailer that disappoints..

[4/10 · 4 March 2006]

I'm NEVER one to judge a movie before I see it. I don't like to believe opinions either before seeing a movie, and before forming my own. Sadly though, Ultra Violet was just as bad as most people are describing it to be.

The CG was very poor - espescailly with the Truck - it looked VERY unfinished, and VERY fake.

The acting was pretty poor at most times - worse then I thought it would be.

Little to none Plot / Character Devlopment - I felt nothing for any character, the plot was nothing original though thats not what this film was for, it was pretty much like being dumped in the middle of a story in a very rapid pace. Thumbs down on how it was presented, even if the subject matter was nothing spectacular.

The action, the one thing I wanted to see in this movie, was very poorly done, and boring. It was always her outnumbered, always her kicking ass, and worst of all always done in a OVER coroghraphed manner. It felt VERY fake, and it wasn't even fun to watch without blood/gore of ANY kind. (If only it was rated R..) I'm sorry to say I didn't like this movie. The trailer was promising, even the clips posted online didn't discourge me, but the film as a whole felt like a cheesy drama with poor action thrown in.

Unlike transporter 2 or Doom, I wasn't able to enjoy the simple action movie for what it was.. because it was a poor simple action movie at best..

That's just my two cents. I would not recommend seeing it in theaters, if it sparks your interest still - give it a rent. You may just enjoy it for a simple sci-fi, I however know I sure did not.

Doom (2005)

Doom - Faithful? No. Good film? Yes.

[6/10 · 22 October 2005]

So many people everywhere have some sort of Doom memory. Whether it be playing with friends, siblings, or hell even family, Doom seems to be something that anyone who's played enjoys.

If anyones seen the film Alien and Aliens -- the difference between the original dooms and Doom 3 is exactly the same. Doom 3 being more like alien, more horror with less action, and the originals like Aliens, more action, with some horror.

Now the film review. After seeing my title, "Faithfull no? Good film? Yes." your probably wondering how it could be unfaithful to the games and still a good film at the same time -- i'll explain.

Anyone who's played any doom game as much as I have(Which is a lot) will DEFFINTLY be disappointed in this film. It's got light rough elements of the original games in there yes, but not enough.

Lets not even talk plot for a moment. Say the whole 'hell' involvement thing didn't even matter. Think demons, think weapons, think action/horror. Thats what dooms always been about more then anything, right? Right. Which is why this film comes to a disappointment.

Lets talk demons first: They included 4 of the demons from the doom games, The zombie, The imp, the pinky, and the baron/hell knight whichever you want to call it, it really dose't matter in this case. The zombies behaved well, like zombies. You don't see much of them, but you see them none the less and they never do crap. You just see them die. Thats it. The imps and barons? They don't shoot fireballs anymore sadly. The barons use brute force, while the imps either just scratch or attack you with their tongue to turn you into an imp, IF your souls 24th chromosome is declared "Evil." If thats not bad enough, you don't even get a good look at them or see them very much! The pinky, he was in one very short scene, and pretty much just acted like a slow CGI monster, so it was kinda obvious. It was fun to see it get slashed with the chainsaw, one of the few moments that everyone loved in doom. Though, in doom 3 they at least explained why chainsaws were on mars..

Weapons: You see the rocket launcher picked up, but never used. You see the shotgun shot ONCE in a very dark scene, meaning you see flashes and hear a shotgun sound and thats it. The big mini gun/chain gun was used ONCE to shoot a monkey. Other then that you see the machine gun used the WHOLE time, and the BFG used twice. The double barrel shotgun and plasma gun don't even get a mention! The chainsaw just happened to be on a random table and used to kill the pinky. The pistol was used a few times. Shooting wise - this film was dull. The first person section was really the only place you felt doomish, other then the 2 times the BFG was used. Not to mention the BFG color changed from green to blue..

The action / horror: You don't see much of it. You see some action here and there, but it's mostly random. You don't see much shooting and stuff dieing. You do, but it's dark not very gory and hard to see. The horror? Absent in this film sorry to say. They tried 1-2 cheap scares, which didn't even work..

Plot: I'm not going to go into this. Only one thing to say : Not doom. The plot of hell and demons was taken out, and replaced with a genetics plot. Not much else to say.

Now i've explained why it's very unlike doom, i'm going to say one more thing on the matter, and thats that the soundtrack was nicely done(Remiended me of the original doom music sort of..) and the sets were constructed mostly very well and close to the game.

The next part of this review: Good as a movie.

Anyone who's never played a doom game, can DEFFINTLY enjoy this. Anyone who's never played video games: Can ENJOY this. They won't understand the FPS section maybe, but you can still enjoy it none the less. As a sci fi film, it's not the best out there no, but it's pretty well done, and if you don't see it as seeing Doom the movie, and just some sci fi movie on mars, you can DEFFINTLY enjoy the film.

The plot, is out there yeah, but it explains why some people are infected and others are not. It explains a lot about chromosomes, and hey, they even included an ancient civilization bit, which was in the game, AND makes sense in this plot.

Don't worry about knowing nothing about the games - it won't matter. You'll be able to understand it all.

Overall, you can defiantly enjoy the little action mixed with the strange sci fi plot, into a nicely mixed film that lets not refer to as doom.

My final judgment: If your a doom fan see it, but don't expect to like it. You may enjoy it as a film, but you won't like it as doom. If your a video game fan, see it, you'll probably find yourself enjoying it. If you like Sci-Fi, give it a go, if you haven't seen Sernity yet, which is the only other sci fi playing to my knowledge at the moment. If you just want a movie to see on a Friday night with some action, go for it. If your looking for a in depth rich story lined sci fi action combined film, go rent aliens..

I gave this a 6/10, because though unlike doom, it was still a well done film, and maybe one day Hollywood will learn to make a successful video game adaptation..

Transporter 2 (2005)

A good Friday night popcorn flick.

[6/10 · 17 September 2005]

I'm just an average guy who wanted to see a film on a Friday night with a few friends. And thats just what this film turned out to be.

Now, i'm all for a good action film, but this was a little TO Hollywood for my book. I went in expecting a somewhat good time, and came out having one more or less. Let me explain.

If your wanted to see this for plot, and as a realistic high standard action film, your going to be VERY disappointed. The stunts though really cool looking, are virtually impossible to pull off -- realistically. The transporter was almost superman-like in a film that was based on a realistic present day world, and he pulled off things that SHOULD NOT and COULD NOT have happened. This is the negative side to the film, and really the plot was Mediocre at best.

** PLOT Spoiler** The whole virus idea is so overused at this point in time, and since they didn't expand on it enough until the end it didn't really matter. The ending however well, it looked rushed. Althougth, it became more and more like a James Bond film then a driving film with each scene.

Now , the positives: If you wanted to see a action film that would mildly entertain you on a Friday night, this is a great little flick. Sure it's not the best, and sure it's not the most realistic, but it was fun overall. Now I know there are a lot of people who won't see a movie just because the plot is really unrealistic -- But if your like me, it dosn't take much to be entertained. Just to be simply entertained, this was a good film. You get to see some cool action scenes, and while they are Hollywood style, and almost superhuman at points, they are still very much so enjoyable. The plot can keep you somewhat entertained, as well as the characters, however they arn't the best. The action is the glue in this case.

Overall - It's an average film. I'd say 5-6 out of 10. If you want to see an action movie with decent fighting and stunts, or have nothing better to do on a Friday night, give it a look.

If your looking for a film to keep you entertained and enrich you in a realistic plot with realistic events, pass this one.