Supernova Review

A shape-shifting alien intruder decimates members of the crew of an ambulance space ship travelling between the planets in the 22nd century - that`s the set-up of Supernova, in which James Spader plays an ex drug addict, Angela Bassett is the ship`s doctor, Robert Forster the captain, and Lou Diamond Phillips and Robin Tunney crew members with the hots for each other - oh, and there`s a computer called Sweetie. When they receive a message for help, the ship makes a dimension jump, a strange, naked man, Peter Facinelli, comes on board - and the trouble starts... This is a painfully predictable post- Aliens film, which isn`t a patch on the recent Pitch Black, which covered similar territory. Once a project for Geoffrey Wright (who cast most of the lead actors), it was mainly directed by Walter Hill, but is now credited to the fictitious Thomas Lee. Whoever did it, it`s a mess - a predictable mishmash with, however, some clever and at times quite beautiful special effects. Margaret`s comments:It`s always suspicious when no-one seems prepared to put their name to a film. Thomas Lee is a fiction. Director Walter Hill apparently walked from the production and Francis Ford Coppola is supposed to have stepped in to supervise post-production at some stage. The film seems to fall between sci-fi and melodrama and actually that`s fine with me. All special effects and no humans is boring. Admittedly the storyline is a cliche - but I quite liked the human dimension and I particularly liked seeing James Spader on screen again particularly when coupled with Angela Bassett. The film is interesting visually but its resolution is rather perfunctory and abrupt.