Abbreviated Entry...
So most of June has been pretty brutal for me schedule-wise. Big Time Life Events™ of close family members (weddings/funerals/reunions) have conspired to make the movie-every-day thing rather difficult. I've still managed to watch one every day, but the end result of everything life has thrown my way is that I'm as exhausted as I've ever been. So to keep my sanity (and this blog going), I'm going to do things a bit differently for a little while - I watched the movies, but rather than the standard entry, I'll just do a little synopsis, a little imdb research, quote some of the reviews (can you do that?) and bounce off of them. Followed up by my general impressions.
Okay, thanks!
DNA
Dr. Ash Mattley (Marc Dacascos) runs a small practice in a village in Borneo. One day, an evil scientist (Dr. Carl Wessinger, played by Jurgen Prochnow) comes to him and asks for his help finding an extremely rare beetle out in the jungle - Mattley discovered this beetle long ago, and it has many seemingly magical healing properties. But Mattley could not convince anyone that this thing was real, and couldn't get the funding to investigate further. The two manage to track it down, but Mattley is double-crossed and left for dead. But what Mattley doesn't know is that Wessinger is also out there looking for some legendary alien bones... which he finds.
Flash forward two years. Using the magic beetle, along with the help of some suspiciously Jurassic Park-ish science, Wessinger creates an Alien/Predator hybrid that, of course, escapes from its secret jungle compound. Agent Claire Sommers (Robin McKee) has been sent by the US government to check up on the compound, and enlists Mattley as a guide. The two, along with the help of a little boy from a local village, must make their way through the jungle and take on not only rival villagers and Wessinger's militarized henchmen, but also a horrific near-copyright-infringing beast that is not of this earth.
Well, since I watched this movie for the third time, I must like this rubbish, no? Damn right I do! This is one pretty bad PREDATOR rip-off. Actually, this movie borrows so many elements from so many other movies, you can't even bother beginning to count them. Jürgen Prochnow looks like he's on cocaine or something, over-acting every line he speaks intensely. He looks pretty insane as the mad scientist with no conscience or morality... So yes, this is rubbish, but of the enjoyable kind!
-Thanks "Vomitron_G" via imdb
I'm not sure how enjoyable this rubbish is. DNA is never terribly boring, but it's never all that exciting either. It's such an unoriginal film... you've seen just about everything that happens here done better in other (more expensive) movies. Jurgen Prochnow is indeed the highlight of the film - he's really acting the hell out of his role as the villainous Dr. Wessinger.
Also, "Vomitron_G" is my favorite imdb name ever.
DNA is a sub par movie, but a shining B-movie. Ripping off material from such box office hits as Indiana Jones, The Predator, Species and Alien, it mixes action, suspense, romance and horror into one hilarious stew.
The plot is convoluted even for a B-movie. Our main hero (Marc Damascos) begins the movie as a doctor of some kind but is forced to become an elite soldier as the plot progresses. He and his female companion must fight an evil professor and his Predator-like space monster through a jungle, aided only by their wits, heavy firepower and some jungle magic provided by the local natives.
The special effects deserve a special mention. They are nothing special up until the last moments of the movie, at which point the budget must've ran out, for they suddenly look like something out of a 60's action movie.
You'll cringe, you'll groan, you'll laugh and you'll have a great time. Cheese at it's finest!
-Thanks "soralapio" via imdb
I guess people really enjoyed DNA more than I did. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either. Special effects-wise, the monster looked all right considering the time. There is some dodgy CGI at times, but you also get a decent amount of man-in-suit too. I don't recall anything super gory in the film, but it's not totally neutered either. Besides monster shenanigans, you get a decent amount of gun play/explosions from Wessinger's henchmen. Overall, DNA is pretty much exactly what you expect when you think Direct To Video Alien/Predator rip-off. Back when DTV films had a little higher standards.
I don't usually like to have movies on in the background while I'm doing chores or anything. If a movie is on, I want to pay attention to it! But DNA screams "good background" movie to me. It's derivative enough that you can pretty much figure out what's going on at any time (despite the convoluted setup), and there's enough cheesiness to get a laugh or two out of it. But if you're looking for a movie to actually watch, I'd look elsewhere. A crazy Jurgen Prochnow (and one really surprising moment involving the monster and the little boy with Mattley) isn't enough to make this one worth your time.
I would not recommend this film.
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