TREMORS 4 : THE LEGEND BEGINS!

[Flangepart]

A Universal/Stampede productions release.

Stars? : Michael Gross, Billy Drego, Sara Botsfield, Brent Roam, Ming Lo, Lidya Look, J.E. Freeman, August Schellenburg.

Plot? In 1889 , the town of Rejection, Nevada, a silver mine is doing rather well...untill something starts haveing the miners for dinner.
To save his investment, Hyram Gummer comes calling from back east. This is, indeed, the ancester of our beloved paranoid right wing survivorist, Burt Gummer.
It all starts here, gang!
As Hyram, Michael Gross gets to add some depth to the image of Burt, by showing where he came from, liniage wise.
I kinda thought he had fun, standing the image of Burt on his head, as an Eastern city boy who can't handle a gun to save his life. Kinda like Michael Gross his own self?...(Ahem)....
The remaining inhabitants of the town, are...hard to name, as the Sci-Fi channel shrinks the credits so they can run another commercial, and the stupid cast credits are too small to read on VHS! But, they all work well, doing what the Tremors series does best, creating characters wou like, so their dangerious situation means something. Less Monster Fodder, more people you can relate to.
Well, thats how it works for me.
The Grabboids have another stage in their develoupment, and it is a doozy. I'll not spoil it, i'll just say, watch out for leaping lizards!
After a bunch of hired guns becomes lunch for the crabby critters, Hyrum and Jose Padilo, likely an ancestor of  another Perfection, Nevada resident, realise they need help...stat! Soooo...
Hyrum hires a gunfighter to take on the beasties.
He gets Black Hand Kelly. We get Billy Drego playing...Billy Drego.
When you want a psycho killer with a bad attitude..or is that redundant?...who ya gonna call? Billy, of corse!...
cause Jack Elam's dead....
Anyhoo, The big showdown as the monsters come to town for a light snack, keeps up to the "on the fly" problim solving we've come to expect from the Tremors franchise.
But, don't worry...Burt..i mean Hyrum!...,get the gun with the biggest barrel. You was expecting something else?
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Flangepart says : Check it out!
I like this series. It just works for me. So, it your a Tremors kinda humanoid, you'll likely find it as satisfying.
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Back to you, Andrew!

[AndyC]

Hmmm, I don't know. I've seen the first three, and I'd have to say that Tremors is another great movie that should not have become a franchise. For me, the sequels only diminish the original, which had a good cast and a story rooted in 50s b-movies. The story stood nicely on its own, and the Graboids were best when they were simple and mysterious. I'd have been happier if it had at least featured only the classic Graboids. Personally, I'm tired of every sequel introducing a new mutation. I also liked Burt better as a supporting character. Putting him in the lead is a little bit like the Police Academy movies after all the main characters had left, and star status was placed on Tackleberry and the guy who makes the noises. I mean, Burt was the most popular character, but I wouldn't have made him the star. Having his ancestor in the old west also draws uncomfortable parallels with Back to the Future III.



Post Edited (07-26-04 18:18)

[Gecko Brothers]

I liked the way the first 3 and the show was. They shouldn't have done this film and just make an explanation of the Mix Master monsters. The redeeming thing about the dvd is you get the first one.

[Flangepart]

Hummm....
Can't realy argue your points, AndyC.
Burt is a great supporting character, but the real world intruded, character wise. They could have created new characters...wait, they did...hummm....new actors in the T.V. show....i Liked the show!...Up yours, Sci-Fi channel!
Ah, well.....
What might you guys recomend, per Tremors?

[Fearless Freep]

I'm with AndyC.

Burt was okay as comic relief off to the side but even in the second movie he became too much part of the focus and he was annoying.

Also, the graboids were great as these underground menaces that were huge and fast and could track you down.  Those little creature were just silly.

Like some people do with "Highlander", I enjoy the first as something special and ignore the rest

[Haze]

I always enjoyed Burt's antics, his crazed demeanor helped mask many of the flaws of the second and third film for me.

[trekgeezer]

I saw one of those big ass duck guns once in Scotland, although it was not as big as the one Mr. Gummer showed up with.  It was only  an 8 guage.

I actually liked this one better than #3, the ass blasters were just a little too much.

I wonder what  Billy Drego thought when they asked him to be scarfed up by a graboid.  I also liked Burt's Great  Grandad being a silly fop back east.