DIRECTOR: Thomas Lee
STARRING: James Spader (Nick), Angela Bassett (Kaela), Lou Diamond Phillips (Yersy), Peter Facinelli (Karl Larson), Wilson Cruz (Benj), Robin Tunney (Danika), Robert Forster (A.J. Marley)
SYNOPSIS: The crew of the medical rescue vessel Nightingale stumble upon more than they could have imagined when they rescue a strange young man from a blue giant.
"Beware my lazy eye! Beware!"
REVIEW: Once again, Hollywood proves that attractive stars and cool CGI effects do not a good movie make. Even though the performances are solid and the sets are fantastic, it is still not enough to distract you from the fatal flaw of this movie: it has no plot. You may not realize that at first, because of the quick and dirty glut of exposition where you meet the Nightingale crew and their various quirks and issues. Add to that the occassionally clever dialogue and it all adds up to a potentially interesting story.
Therein lies the problem. Supernova promises a lot and delivers next to nothing. Nick (Spader), the hero, is coming off an addiction to a psychotic drug, opening the possibility that the whole story never really happened outside his head. But that option is mentioned once and then never pursued. Benj (Cruz) programs the ship's computer to think for itself, but when the opportunity for it to do so comes up, the computer doesn't, rendering the whole setup completely pointless. And significant screentime is devoted to the hot 'n heavy relationship of Yersy (Phillips) and Danika (Tunner), but as Danika is seduced by "Troy," Yersy either never finds out or doesn't care and it's never even fully established how Danika feels about her infidelity. So why was it such a major plot point in the first place? In the end, none of the principle conflicts are satisfactorily resolved and the only resolution you get is to minor issues that were established in throwaway lines.
Yersy gets another time-out.
Considering the delightfully nerdy concepts introduced in Supernova, the movie's devolution into a crummy, oversexed killing spree is profoundly disappointing. If you want a sci-fi thriller that actually does its material justice, go to Blockbuster and check out Event Horizon. But if you prefer to waste your time and money on crap, then see Supernova.
SUGGESTED DRINKING GAME: Take a drink every time the Nightingale computer says something slutty.
