Solar Crisis

Amazon.com

Not everyone will have the patience for Solar Crisis; in many ways, it lands on the not-so-good end of the B-movie spectrum. Possibly something got lost in translation between the American crew and the Japanese producers. The premise: a giant solar flare is threatening to end all life on Earth. Our only hope is an antimatter bomb launched into the sun to trigger the flare prematurely. A greedy corporate concern (headed by Peter Boyle as a somewhat doofy antichrist) sabotages the mission. Meanwhile, the mission leader is under additional pressure--his admiral father (Charlton Heston) has descended to the near-apocalyptic Earth to rescue his son (Corin Nemec) who has gone AWOL from his military academy. Jack Palance gives the best performance in the film as a half-crazy desert dweller who rescues the son from the cruel environment and the corporate goons. Story sound a little complicated? Wait till you get to the "intelligent bomb" subplot.

This movie has high hopes and some interesting moments, but can't make up its mind whether it's a Mad Max-style end-of-the-world movie, an Outland-style space thriller, or a Blade Runner-style "soul of the robot" meditation. It's none of the above. Best viewed after midnight. --Grant Balfour

Customer Reviews:

Exploding bomb!.......2007-07-25

I would actually give this "film" no stars. Quite possibly, next to a few others, this has to be one of the most convuluted, boring and sickening movies to watch. Want the storyline? Refer to the title, and thats about as exstensive as it gets. I own this on laser disc and have wanted to burn it for years. So many quality films being excluded from dvd and this pile of junk gets released. Too bad alot of good actors got caught up in this mess, but they are just as responsible. Man, this is bad, dont waste a dime on it.

Alan Smithee Strikes Again :).......2006-05-21

Here is your first clue - Directed by Alan Smithee. I would definitely like to know the story behind this movie. Like some of the previous reviewers I'll point out that this film is definitely a failure, but I would love to see the original screenplay. It seems to me that this movie was probably supposed to be 2+ hours and somebody came into the editing room and randomly removed large chunks to shrink the running time. I can't even discuss the performances because they all seem so incomplete. Here is an examples. When Annabel Schofield's character starts acting odd Matheson's character says that he knew she didn't look right. This is the first moment she didn't look right so what is he talking about. Plus, her "not looking right" looked way over blown. Something is missing or we're supposed to believe that the other characters are real morons who can't tell when there is something physically wrong with someone else. Anyway, there are a lot of things that don't make sense in this movie because it seems like there are missing pieces. As I said, I would love to read the original screenplay because there is actually a lot of potential for a good story, but the filmmakers really messed up. Alan Smithee was the right choice for this Director when it came time to get credit. I'm sure if they've ever seen it that the prominent actors in the film would have loved to use Alan Smithee in place of their own names as well. The problem with SOLAR CRISIS might have been the writing, but if it were written the way it came out I don't see why anyone would have put money into the project. It seems that if you read the screenplay line for line the way the movie turned out it would make even less sense than the finished product does. I think this one died when the budget ran out or when the editors had to chop it too much. More than likely the CG spending on top of Palance, Boyle, Matheson, and ESPECIALLY HESTON's salaries caused the well to go dry on this one.

Inept sci-fi.......2004-10-25

This flick posits the world facing a doomsday solar flare in the near future. Tim Matheson leads a cast of boring action figures to the edge of the sun, where he will pilot a smaller spaceship into the sun while carrying an anti-matter bomb - what amounts to a suicide mission. (The science of solar flares theorizes that they form based on magnetic lines that work like rubber bands; the bomb will snap the lines and prevent the lethal flare from forming.) Meanwhile, Matheson's son escapes from his military school, and Matheson's disapproving father - Charlton Heston as an uptight career military man - sets out to find him. The flare is preceded by other solar phenomenon that's steaming up the earth (and interfering with anything that relies on basic principles of electromagnetism). While the mission must succeed for the sake of humanity, a sinister tycoon played by Peter Boyle is determined to sabotage it.

Nothing in this flick works - least of all why Boyle is set on sinking a mission that's clearly mankind's last hope (doubts over whether it may be worse than the flare or at least uneccessary seem to have been left out of the script). The plot about Matheson's son seems entirely uneccessary, even if it does allow for the obligatory showdown between Heston & Boyle. Lastly, what is the state of technology here? It looks like the near future (with concept versions of today's space and aircraft), but also with holograms and nearly sentient AI - embodied in a luscious fembot and the antimatter bomb's computer (voiced effectively by Paul Williams). "Crisis" rode the crest of early 1990's CGI (a path blazed by the new Trek show) in which then nifty effects made drama obsolete. Now its effects look dated, and the story remains as incomprehensible as before.

A FLARE WITHOUT FLAIR.......2004-03-14

SOLAR CRISIS, a Japanese/American co-production, never seems to understand what it wants to be. The main plot concerns a solar flare that will decimate the earth and kill all living habitants; a secondary plot involves a young military academy student who goes AWOL to join his father on the mission to deflect the solar flare. Thats where the movie's problem lies; the movie could have survived without the subplot at all. Makes it appear as though the writers felt the solar mission couldn't sustain the entire movie, so they threw in this other plot to make it 90 minutes. The only good thing about the subplot is the inspired performance by the late Jack Palance as a seemingly demented "road warrior."
As for the solar mission, Tim Matheson again sabotages a role that could have been played by countless other actors; Annabel Schofield makes for a lovely saboteur; and Dorian Harewood is the token minority who tries to keep things going on board. Charlton Heston is wasted as Matheson's father and Peter Boyle is his usual surly self as the corporate wizard who will stop at nothing to make money. Brenda Bakke as his sidekick slithers around, smoking funky looking cigarettes.
For a 1992 movie, the effects are adequate, and there is some suspense in the final moments, but overall, SOLAR CRISIS burns out because it's too heavy.

Not a bad science fiction film, could have been better.......2000-10-22

I can see where some people say the FTL ending and Freddie The Bomb were influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey. Nevertheless, the film had some good points to it. Charlton Heston did a remarkable job, as did Jack Palance, British actress Annabelle Scholfield, and some of the other actors. The character played by Tim Matheson could have been played by someone else though. Nevertheless, the Japanese filmmakers of this picture did a good job. Even the special effects and musical score by Maurice Jarre was good, too. Overall, not a bad picture. It could have been better.

Average customer rating:

EARTH CRISIS DVD IS A GREAT TRIBUTE TO THIS BAND

Earth Crisis
Director: Earth Crisis
Manufacturer: Victory Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005QVUI
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Customer Reviews:

EARTH CRISIS DVD IS A GREAT TRIBUTE TO THIS BAND.......2004-03-30

I'll be honest..I thought this was going to be some arty, shaky cam crap like the Strife One Truth Video..that was pathetic. This is a completely different story. Great filmwork. The sound is good also. If you were ever a fan of this influential band you need this DVD. The extra footage of their last show at Hellfest 2001 is worth the price of the whole DVD. Buy this!

Earth Crisis 1991-2001: Forever True (DVD)

Average customer rating:

Earth Crisis 1991-2001: Forever True (DVD)
Director: Doug Spangenberg
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Bonus Footage
Behind-The-Scenes Interviews
Audio Samples
Deleted Scenes
Director/Band Commentary and More!

ASIN: B000O8PDJQ

Product Description

Earth Crisis' 10 year legacy is captured and documented on this full length DVD release.

Average customer rating:

The New Explorers - Crisis Planet Earth

Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000F6ZBXU
Release Date: 2006-04-25

Live Earth - The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis

Average customer rating:

Was at the NYC Show

Live Earth - The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis
Starring: Red Hot Chili Peppers , Madonna , Dave Matthews Band , John Mayer , and The Police
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Customer Reviews:

Was at the NYC Show.......2007-07-19

I was at the New York City that featured The Police, Roger Waters, Smashing Pumpkins, Bon Jovi, and many more. There were many highlights of the show including seeing Roger Waters again as well as seeing Bon Jovi in New Jersey. The entire stadium (Giants Stadium) was going nuts for the whole Bon Jovi set (started with a new song then did Its My Life, Wanted Dead or Alive, Can't Come Home, and ended with Livin on a Prayer).

Roger Waters was awesome. He faked like he was going to play In the Flesh and then broke into Money followed by Us & Them, Brain Damage, and ended with Another Brick in the Wall in which he sent the famous pig around the stadium.

The Police were cool, I wasn't too fond of them bringing out Kanye West & John Mayer during Message in a Bottle. Smashing Pumpkins were cool. I was fond of Keith Urban starting the set (after being introduced by Al Gore, who was actually introduced by Leonardo DiCaprio) with a cover of The Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter" with special guest Alicia Keys.

Ludacris and Kanye West had great sets as well. Dave Matthews was fun. Overall the show was a blast, I look forward to seeing these concerts coming out on DVD.

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