Boa [DVD]

Premise? Weak. Just because nitrogen in a cavern might prevent decomposition, it doesn't mean any animal living it in would be able to breathe. In fact, it rules it out.Characters? Way too stereotypical. No surprises, nothing unique anywhere.Acting? Campy, but not the worst I've seen.Effects? Again, not the worst, but more in keeping with a low budget weekly TV series than a feature film. In fact, many of the weekly sci-fi series I've seen have superior effects throughout.Writing? Just terrible. Dialog, plot, all of it -- bad.Originality? Virtually none. If you've seen any kind of "there's something in here with us" movie, you can predict, scene by scene, what's about to happen. You'll find yourself talking out loud to the guard in the tunnel "Don't go into the tunnel." The poor guy might as well be wearing a red shirt with a Starfleet emblem on it.Overall, the film just leaves me feeling like the mood in the studio must have been one of "Hey, guys, we've gotta get SOMETHING released. Who has a free weekend to knock something out?"

This review is for the standard DVD edition of 'Boa' release by Sony Pictures in 2002.ABOUT THIS MOVIE: This movie is part of the 'Boa & Python' mini universe that ends with 'Boa vs. Python' in 2004. That universe includes two 'Python' movies.PLOT/SUMMARY: It doesn't really get much simpler than this one. There is a secret prison in Antarctica that also is doing some drilling. After breaking into a large area that is hollow, gas as well as an ancient Boa escape. The gas causes an explosion and the Boa starts eating everyone. A married couple of paleontologists is sent to the prison to help deal with the Boa. The couple has 12 hours to complete their mission and return to the plane. If they don't make it back on time, they will stranded in Antarctica for a month. The heat is on! Literally!COMMENTS/PRODUCTION: I have found that all of the movies in this mini-universe of 'Boa' & 'Python' are respectable. None are extraordinary and none are terrible. If I had to pick one that I think is the best, I'd go with the first 'Python' movie.-This movie has a decent enough plot. I think the location of a secret base in Antarctica is a pretty good idea.-I do not think that the idea of putting a maximum security prison in Antarctica is a good idea. I know this is really nitpicking in a movie of this type but it makes no sense. The cost would be prohibitive. That is the exact reason why Alcatraz was shut down. The cost in Antarctica would have numerous multiples of higher expenses. The funny thing is that they actually call it a New Alcatraz. They could have just as easily done the same thing with a scientific facility which is what really exists in Antarctica to begin with.-Speaking of New Alcatraz, this movie's alternate title was, in fact, 'New Alcatraz'.-Dr. Trenton, played by Dean Cain, does not do a good job of conveying emotion. The script calls for him to be madly in love with his wife and very protective of her. Yet when he thinks she has just been killed, he just shrugs it off like "oh well" and just moves on. Then when he meets up with her later and discovers she is not dead, he's like "Hey, what happened to you?", behaving no different than if they were just briefly separated in a shopping mall. Then later, after the guy who helps them escape and saves his wife, gets pulled off of the plane by a snake and sent falling to his death, he just kind of shrugs it off and says "OK, we have to close the door." He must be a blast at funerals.-The acting was decent enough for a low budget movie but it really feels like Dean Cain just mailed it in on this one. He is a veteran actor and has appeared in many movies and television shows. You'd figure he could do better. Either that or he just isn't very good at showing emotion.-The snake CGI is decent when you take into account the budget and the time period in which it was made. At the time of this review, 16 years after it was made, I'm still seeing movies with inferior models for giant creatures and reptiles in movies of this genre.-The movie didn't do a good job of explaining the locations. Once they go on the run it is impossible to figure out where the people are running. They just seem to be running in random directions into all kinds of different random places with no real goal. Of course the goal is to get out of the facility and to the plane.-After having watched the two Python movies, this one was basically as expected. The only thing that wasn't expected was the setting.-The extra's are minor. You get some preview trailers of 'Dracula' and 'Anaconda' along with the trailer for this movie. You also get director and cast bios and subtitles.RECOMMENDATIONS: I'm giving this movie 3 stars.Recommended for fans of giant reptile and snake movies.Recommended for fans of SyFy channel low budget movies.Also Recommended for fans of prison movies but only if you are a diehard fan of those movies. The prisoner interaction is minimal.

A Super Max prison in Antarctica, that has 6 prisoners (the worst of the worst) but is designed for 25, 000. They are going to be drilling to 12,000', but strike a hollow rock. The warden tells them to drill through, as he is willing to take the risk. The rock explodes, and it is filled with pure nitrogen. Now nitrogen is an inert gas, but that does stop it from setting off an explosion. It also releases the snake. I was going to bail out after an hour, but since I had already wasted that time, I decided to stick with it to the end. There are so many holes in the plot, it is beyond count. For instance, in the ‘Super Max’ prison, the prisoners were eating together. To watch the movie, you have to jettison all logic, thinking, plot, script, and most of the acting. They do rip off the original Alien movie for how they initially were tracking the snake. It is not even a good low budget B movie. While for most of the movie the snake stays near the heat exchanger, at the end it comes out in -67 degree temperatures. This really is a bad movie. At least the ending did not set up for a sequel.

By far one of the worst I've seen...Plot is choppy; acting is almost missing - the only "actor" in this movie is Dean Cain and that's too bad he picked this movie to be in!The warden things he's got a leading role; the soldiers have no clue at all and their lines are so absurd (one guy radios in that he sees the boa and his commander tells him to keep moving rather than 'stay put we're on our way'; another soldier questions his commander telling him to push through in combo; they move aimlessly; etc... And the girl, Dean's wife, I'd fed her to the snake myself with her attitude and lack of acting....

So I sat through this sci-fi-meets-light-horror flick a few days before watching 'Eye Of The Beast' (they are similar type movies)... and this one seemed more interesting (it was more fast-paced and more suspenseful), but it still didn't add up to what I'd label a blockbuster horror show. First of all, the Russian prisoner guy? His accent sounded acutely fake. Secondly, the tough-talking Irish broad prisoner? Her ending was a little too predictable. Thirdly, Dean Cain? Why is he even in this - were the auditions just light the week he got cast in this role? The snake creature was scary, but the overall parts in the film just somehow didn't seem to add up. A good attempt, but not good enough to sleep with the lights on after it was over.

disappointing. Reasonable CGI; but like most of the rest of the characters, I didn't really get why the soldiers wanted or needed a pair of paleontologists along for the ride. Then we move from paleontology to herpetology in one leap as Dean Cain's scientist character is suddenly able to predict the snake's behaviour. A big explosion, a few more chomps and suddenly it's all over. This film needed more snake and more action. It took too long to build to the climax and then it was all over far too quickly.

I think the film was ok but the copy of the film i purchased from amazon refused to work in my dvd player even tho it says region 2 so it should of worked

Good film i enjoyed this film.

good delivery very happy with this dvd

Real bad film not my cup of tea!!