SHOCKWAVE (2006)

[The Burgomaster]

I just got this DVD and, even though it has its flaws, I found it to be oddly entertaining.

A plane carrying nearly indestructible military robots crashes on a deserted island.  (By the way, George Takei is the pilot and Alexandra Paul is one of the passengers).  Coincidentally, a thief, his girlfriend, his accomplice, and his escape-chopper pilot land on the same island.  Of course, a team of Navy SEALS and a scientist also show up to recover the robots.

The robots look like the tripods from WAR OF THE WORLDS (except they have 4 legs and 2 arms).  They kill with various weapons including laser beams and flying blades that decapitate people.  This is all depicted through the magic of CGI (not great CGI, but decent CGI - - I'd give it around a B- or a C+).

The most stupid and irritating parts of this movie are at the beginning:

* This movie wins the award for "gun with unlimited ammunition."  During an early battle scene, a soldier keeps blasting away at a robot with an automatic pistol.  I did not count the number of rounds her fires, but I SWEAR he must shoot that damned pistol about 100 times and NEVER reloads it!

* Dumb dialogue includes a soldier saying something like, "That robot anticipated every one of our evasive maneuvers."  These "evasive maneuvers" consisted of a pick-up truck fish-tailing along a dirt road (now THERE'S some complex military strategy!)

But, if you can overlook some of the stupidity, I think you might enjoy this as 90 minutes of fun, escapist entertainment.  It certainly never gets boring.  Not to mention that Bill Mumy and Tim Thomerson are in it!

[Andrew]

* This movie wins the award for "gun with unlimited ammunition."  During an early battle scene, a soldier keeps blasting away at a robot with an automatic pistol.  I did not count the number of rounds her fires, but I SWEAR he must shoot that damned pistol about 100 times and NEVER reloads it!

Well, I mean that would be fine if the pistol had a clip that extended about six feet from the grip.

Did it?

[peter johnson]

This is terrible!
This has to be a remake of the pretty cool Peter Cushing "Shock Waves" (2 words) vehicle, which had zombie SS troopers on a Caribbean island.
What a rip!
peter shocked/denny vehicle

[The Burgomaster]

Peter - this is definitely not a remake of SHOCK WAVES with Peter Cushing.  Completely different.

[The Burgomaster]

****POSSIBLE SPOILER****

I also forgot to mention the part where a nuclear bomb is detonated and a helicopter that is in flight doesn't get knocked out of the air (heck, it doesn't even vibrate) from the shock of the explosion.

By the way, early in the movie a scientist mentions using an "A-Bomb."  When the hell was the last time anyone said "A-Bomb?"  I haven't heard this since those black & white sci-fi movies from the 1950s when A-Bombs were always exploding and unleashing prehistoric monsters!

[CheezeFlixz]

Here is a copy of a post I did about this film about 2 weeks ago when I rented it FREE from Blockbuster .... thank goodness it was free I hate to think I paid for it ....

Right now I'm watching a cheap DTV Sci-Fi movie called SHOCKWAVE! (A.I. ASSULT! on IMDB) it's a hoot. Cheap FX, a calvacade of old Star Trek, Babylon 5, Stargate 2nd and 3rd Bananas. George Takei, Robert Picardo, Tim Thomerson, Michael Dorn, Bill Mumy, Joshua Cox and more. Along with all the unknowns that do most of the acting ... um... bad acting.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468547/

This film would be GRAET to review, it's got so many goofs and error, I've caught myself laughing out loud at it.
Did you know ...
Rifles without scopes, show scope crosshairs from the cameras view.
Generals wear baggy shirts with the sleeves rolled up.
Military hair cuts are optional.
A 747 can crash from 42,000 feet and remain nearly intact.
Remote Island have paved paths.
Large car size boulders, rock easily when you run into them.
A LAAW (Light Anti Armor Weapon) is really a Bazooka and you can fire it without arming it.

that's just a few ...

Here's link to the company that released it ... they do a lot of modern day "B" flixz.

http://www.cinetelfilms.com/Movies.htm

[Foywonder]

Wynorksi just took his screenplay for his previous film Curse of the Komodo and reworked it with giant robots in place of giant komodo dragons. There are so many similarities it's basically Curse of the Komodo given the Chopping Mall treatment. And then he turned around and did the same thing again making the execrable Komodo vs. Cobra.

[peter johnson]

Indestructable soldiers on an island.
Called "Shock Waves" --
Completely different --
yes . . . got it  . . . under . . . stand . . .
pj/dc

[trekgeezer]

I watched this the first time it was on SciFi (as AI Assault). They really played up in the ads that George Takei and Michael Dorn  were in it.  I think George got killed during the credits or shortly after and Dorn played the General back at base looking pensive most of the time.

I posted a link to an article here a couple or years ago about how SciFi gets the things made. They make deals with UFO, Asylum, and some others and put up $750,000 towards the budget. They get script input,  first showing (usually the week prior to the DVD release) and rerun rights.

I wonder how much they pay the actors. Sometimes it amazes me who shows up these cheapies. Usually if a well known actor shows up, they play it up big in the advertising, but the "Star" is only in the movie for like ten minutes.


Tonight they're showing Pumpkinhead :Ashes to Ashes. This is a rerun from October.

[CheezeFlixz]

I watched this the first time it was on SciFi (as AI Assault). They really played up in the ads that George Takei and Michael Dorn  were in it.  I think George got killed during the credits or shortly after and Dorn played the General back at base looking pensive most of the time.

I posted a link to an article here a couple or years ago about how SciFi gets the things made. They make deals with UFO, Asylum, and some others and put up $750,000 towards the budget. They get script input,  first showing (usually the week prior to the DVD release) and rerun rights.

I wonder how much they pay the actors. Sometimes it amazes me who shows up these cheapies. Usually if a well known actor shows up, they play it up big in the advertising, but the "Star" is only in the movie for like ten minutes.


Tonight they're showing Pumpkinhead :Ashes to Ashes. This is a rerun from October.

SHOCKWAVE was loaded with old Sci-Fi show stars must have been a dozen of them for a collective screen time of about 10 minutes between them all. IMHO save your money on these 2nd and 3rd Bananas-has-beens and invest in ... oh I don't know ... a script? Or perhaps some CGI that doesn't look like it was made on a home computer. I mean come on it was like when Apocalypse Now headlined Marlon Brando and he was in the very end for what 5 minutes maybe? I don't care who stars as long as it's a good movie.