The Omega Man (1971)
Yep, it LOOKS super-awesome, but sadly, it's fruity-pantsGenre: Apolcalyptic Sci-Fi Drama Thriller
Starring: Charlton Heston (Planet Of The Apes; Soylent Green), Anthony Zerbe (Papillon; The Dead Zone)
Directed By: Boris Sagal
Overview: The last healthy man on earth tries to survive, hunted by "The Family", a group of infected anti-technological zealots.
Acting: Charlton Heston is one of those actors whose melodrama is almost as appreciated as any of those in Kurosawa's films. Yes, he goes a little overboard, but he made a career out of it, so there's no point in saying it's no good, try telling Shatner he overacts. The problem with the acting in this movie is the actress Rosalind Cash. Maybe it's the script but she just is not believable at all.
Rating: 7
Cinematography: A couple of problems, the blood is definitely not one of them. I like the squirting throughout. The stunts are a little forced. I don't know if they had a "Do two car crash stunts get one free" deal goin' on, but either that or Charlton's the world's worst driver. In one scene I saw the ramp, in the same scene I saw that the stunt double was wearing a bad wig. Other than that and a couple choppy edits (could have been the DVD version), it was decent.
Rating: 7
Script: No. This woman rescues Charlton from the mutants, then points a gun at him, yelling and threatening him to help her, when he was quite obviously appreciative of her saving his life. She wouldn't stop talking jive, she was waaay too two-dimensional. The way that some of the things were said just made me frown.
Rating: 5
Plot: Here's the problem. I love post-apocalyptic film, I really do, but this plot had more holes than the mutant's pockmarked faces. Quite obviously these people, once mutated, suffer severe brain damage. They can't knock a guy off a motorbike even though they form a gauntlet with 2x4s. The Omega man lives in a place for two years, and still "The Family" hasn't managed to burn down his house, but they light a bonfire in front of it and constantly harass him? They're blinded by light, but fire doesn't bother them. One character is a senior med student and does absolutely nothing to try and heal a wounded hero. Worst of all, Charlton gets plenty of opportunities to plug the big antagonist with his sniper rifle, or any other of his vast arsenal of weapons, but no, he doesn't even think of wasting a bullet on his worst enemy, just emptying his endless clip on the guy's minions! Yuck! Spit! This has so much promise, and I'm saddened by the delivery.
Rating: 3
Mood: The horrible Jesus imagery at the end scene just did not cut it; the end music just did not fit. There were some pretty good moments admittedly, some good action scenes and the darkness had a way of being appropriately invasive at times, but it should have been creepier, more madness of zealotry, more fear of the dark corners. I'd love the chance to do a remake, I could creep the hell out of people with this plot's premise.
Rating: 6
Overview: The last healthy man on earth tries to survive, hunted by "The Family", a group of infected anti-technological zealots.
Acting: Charlton Heston is one of those actors whose melodrama is almost as appreciated as any of those in Kurosawa's films. Yes, he goes a little overboard, but he made a career out of it, so there's no point in saying it's no good, try telling Shatner he overacts. The problem with the acting in this movie is the actress Rosalind Cash. Maybe it's the script but she just is not believable at all.
Rating: 7
Cinematography: A couple of problems, the blood is definitely not one of them. I like the squirting throughout. The stunts are a little forced. I don't know if they had a "Do two car crash stunts get one free" deal goin' on, but either that or Charlton's the world's worst driver. In one scene I saw the ramp, in the same scene I saw that the stunt double was wearing a bad wig. Other than that and a couple choppy edits (could have been the DVD version), it was decent.
Rating: 7
Script: No. This woman rescues Charlton from the mutants, then points a gun at him, yelling and threatening him to help her, when he was quite obviously appreciative of her saving his life. She wouldn't stop talking jive, she was waaay too two-dimensional. The way that some of the things were said just made me frown.
Rating: 5
Plot: Here's the problem. I love post-apocalyptic film, I really do, but this plot had more holes than the mutant's pockmarked faces. Quite obviously these people, once mutated, suffer severe brain damage. They can't knock a guy off a motorbike even though they form a gauntlet with 2x4s. The Omega man lives in a place for two years, and still "The Family" hasn't managed to burn down his house, but they light a bonfire in front of it and constantly harass him? They're blinded by light, but fire doesn't bother them. One character is a senior med student and does absolutely nothing to try and heal a wounded hero. Worst of all, Charlton gets plenty of opportunities to plug the big antagonist with his sniper rifle, or any other of his vast arsenal of weapons, but no, he doesn't even think of wasting a bullet on his worst enemy, just emptying his endless clip on the guy's minions! Yuck! Spit! This has so much promise, and I'm saddened by the delivery.
Rating: 3
Mood: The horrible Jesus imagery at the end scene just did not cut it; the end music just did not fit. There were some pretty good moments admittedly, some good action scenes and the darkness had a way of being appropriately invasive at times, but it should have been creepier, more madness of zealotry, more fear of the dark corners. I'd love the chance to do a remake, I could creep the hell out of people with this plot's premise.
Rating: 6
For an much as I may dump on this one, that is one sweet shot.Overall Rating: 56% (Uh, Certainly Not The Alpha)
posted by Squish at 1:12 AM
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