Here Is What You Need To Know:
-You may have missed this little mini-series as it is airing on the A&E network and its worth a look, especially in these long summer days with nothing but vomit oriented game shows-I am looking at you G4. What is up with that? Anyway folks, The Andromeda Strain is a better than you might expect adaptation of the original Michael Crichton novel. Producers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott do a good job with the production values of the mini-series and give it a big-budget feel. Director Mikael Salomon was the cinematographer on some big name flims like The Abyss and Backdraft and it shows as The Andromeda Strain has, at moments, a really sharp look for television.
What Was Cool:
-Since most of you probably know the original book and movie, all I will say is that the “alien virus comes to earth” story is intact but there are some real twists and turns that fit well with the current, how should we say, “political climate.” The acting from Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, who really does a great job in playing a totally different character from his Will & Grace persona and Ricky “Rickster” Schroder all do nice work in the mini-series. I was surprised in fact to see Schroder in this part, you’ll know what I mean once you’ve seen it.
-The visual effects are suprisingly good as well.
What Was Stupid:
-Oh there are moments of logic errors, here and there, but you’ll probably be able to overlook it. The script does rely on some old cliched charcters, but would it have been greenlighted without them? Once must wonder.
The Film's Real Genius or Geniuses:
The real geniuses on this one were the producers who kept the mini-series looking big-budget instead of some sort of Sci-Fi Channel disaster.
Overlooked Performance/Accomplishment:
-Director Mikael Salomon should not be overlooked for this one, nor should Lost actor Daniel Dae Kim, who hands in a nice performance as well. Let’s give A&E a little credit for producing something that us sci-fi fans might want to see and not just a special two-hour episode of Dog the Bountry Hunter-uggg.
Story B+ (The Andromeda Strain has some nice twists-it was actually not a strain to watch-hey I couldn’t help myself.)
Use of Science A- (Oh sure some liberties are taken where science is concerned but needless to say liberties are always taken in mass consumed science-fiction. For example, look at Star Wars and Star Trek, saying they take liberties with science and even logic is an understatement. The Andromeda Strain puts science in the driver's seat and that is pretty cool.)
Acting B+
Portrayal of Women B- (The women are definitely portrayed as being intelliigent, but they are also portrayed as letting their emotions get the best of them and consequently make stupid decisions. I could really do without that.)
Visuals-Visuals and Special Effects B+ (Pretty good for television.)
Visuals-Set Design/Props B Wardrobe/Costumes B Style/Sex Appeal C Enjoyability Grade B Home Theater/HD Factor B
Gut Check (Level of Studio Executive Guts) C- (How much guts does it take to milk the Crichton name and The Andromeda Strain-not much.)
Overall Innovation B- (There is more innovation in The Andromeda Strain script that one would expect from an “update”.)
Overall Grade B (Good stuff overall, good summertime entertainment for science-fiction fans.)
A Little Fact About Cherie:
I am a refugee from a small town-a small town that unfortunately possessed a collective narrow mind.
