(2000/USA)
Review By-Paul Cooke Director : Matt Codd Scripted : Jonathan Raymond & Phillip J. Roth Starring : David Keith , Stephanie Niznik , Ryan O’Neil , Brian Thompson , Craig Wasson & Shannon Lee Source : Unipix Entertainment / PAL Region 2 DVD / Full Screen / Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Four Million Years BC and a rampaging comet hit’s the Earth’s ocean with an impact that metaphorically produces Neanderthal man with a surf frenzy to put them eye to eye with a hundred Tyrannosaurus Rex stood upon each others shoulders. The effect of which realises itself in modern day central Asia as a rock monolith emerges and its appearance brings forth a powerful force of almost biblical stature. A recently dead young boy is resurrected in the Bhutan region , news of which reaches the US government and the structures wake brings forth a global power disruption.
Star David Keith plays Mason Rand , an engineer with a military past and a talent for being able to assimilate new technology with great speed and agility , a troubled man terminally diagnosed with just one year to live !. He is an essential cog in the wheel of the US government expeditiously deployed scientific unit to investigate this incredible phenomenon. Within the special NASA Crisis Control Room co stars Craig Wasson , Shannon Lee and a bloated Ryan O’Neil , looking like an elder relation to Captain Kirk , get de briefed and down de caffeine. Mason gets picked up on route to the Bhutan by the government team , selected as the task force and helicopter transported over in stealth mode , as he forgot to read the small print of his open contract with Uncle Sam.
Sexy Stephanie Niznik plays the role of military operative Dr. K. C. Czaban , a determined and strong willed woman , given the task of keeping Mason under a controlled leash whilst endeavouring to bring out his talent for unravelling the impossible. It is his ability to compute babble into useable code that cracks the Alien hieroglyphs made up of a nine hole configuration , gaining them access into the structure of unknown origin. As they enter with a highly trained and armed corps of men they leave behind an approaching brace of Chinese Mig planes , circling above on a fly by observational mission. Mission leader Ryan O’Neil has a ground force to set protective parameters but soon has surrounding local forces vying for position to deal with , along with aircraft ordered to assume assault mode. The attack on the now rotating structural behemoth is met with deadly retaliatory strikes , ripping the planes apart and sending them plummeting to the base camp below in a CGI moment of explosive force.
The revolving rock named Taurus by the locals also makes its presence felt within its cavernous belly , as strange lights of an ethereal state whisk away a soldier after a rash show of arms initiates a show of greater power. With the by the book military pulling back it is left to non conformists Czaban and Rand to head on in deeper within the monolith to investigate further. Their curiosity is heightened by the discovery that by just being in the vicinity of the discovery Mason Rand’s believed state of incurability is in fact now completely reversed , with no sign of any diseased tissue at all !. Outside the unbelievable is also being realised as from the ashes of the fallen aircraft the dead pilots rise up from within this zone where all life is now inextinguishable.
Whatever sentient force is responsible for the unearthly vassal recognises a non threatening compliance that connects it with the exploratory teaming of Dr. Czaban and Mason Rand , affording them the foresight of what appears to be an evolutionary bitmap. A special effects influx draws up a future vision of the Earth undergoing a state of terra forming with the threat of a new Ice Age within two months. A terrifying vision of an Alien invasion to come , where an all engulfing super weapon creates global cloud coverage sweeping out around the world , preparing to wipe out human kind in readiness for a new birth !?. An attempt to re-educate a population as to the already self destructive button pressed by warring nations and a deluge of manufactured products that daily deplete the worlds natural resources !?. A messenger of prophecy for the greater good of mankind or a harbinger of destruction from an Alien invasion to come !?. The fate of humanity lies in the hands of two seemingly insignificant ants , one of which in David Keith holds a Swiss Army knife readied to use in a manner not detailed in the instruction pamphlet.
With the planets future in the balance the last thing Mother Earth needs is a paranoid Alien phobic military readying to blow everything up. The clock ticks down in this matinee Sci Fi movie , that serves up Action and Adventure with a healthy smattering of pretty well realised special effects , to a question marked finale that goes hand in hand with the overall theme. Are we ready to accept help from a civilisation perhaps older and wiser than our own , or are we indeed so wrapped up in our own self importance that we overlook how small and vulnerable we actually are ?. Director Matt Codd serves up a thought provoking premise of almost biblical sub referencing text and leaves ‘Epoch’ as a psalm of more to come !.
Film: 3/5 Bitch Slaps Picture: 4/5 Bitch Slaps Sound: 3.5/5 Bitch Slaps Overall: 3.5/5 Bitch Slaps
