5.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A group of refugees from Earth land on an exotic planet, where they must fight ruthless aliens to survive.
Starring: Adrian Paul, Richard Grieco, Bali Rodriguez, Gray HawksSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The recent Will Smith/Jaden Smith Sci-Fi release After Earth has been met with much critical derision and substantially lower box office returns than was predicted for a film directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood history. Nevertheless, it's a high profile release and one of the summer's more noteworthy titles. That means The Asylum is up to its old tricks, creating a low-rent knockoff of one of Hollywood's biggest would-be moneymakers and notable releases. This is that film. AE Apocalypse Earth tells the story of a handful of humans who, after fleeing Earth, find themselves on an exotic world filled with invisible hunters, huge insects, dinosaurs, albino cave dwellers, and camouflaged girls. And no matter how abysmal the Shyamalan picture may be, it's certainly a far superior production. AE Apocalypse Earth is typical Asylum all the way. It's completely unoriginal, lacks much of a plot, fails to provide robust action, shortchanges audiences looking for honest drama and characterization, and scrapes by on putrid visual effects. In other words, it's The Asylum being The Asylum, though there's probably more of other movies in here than there is of After Earth. After all, as long as the title sounds similar, the release dates fall closely together on the calendar, and the basic plot is more or less the same, who cares?
A kiss to my fans, a bullet to my enemies!
As usual, The Asylum has produced a rather good-looking Blu-ray release. AE Apocalypse Earth's digital photography usually sparkles. Bright skies look washed out, as they seem always to, and there are a few instances of black crush and a bit of noise across darker backdrops. Otherwise, this is a tight, good-looking image across the board. Details and colors both pop with regularity. Close-ups reveal facial textures as complexly as the digital photography allows, to the point that pores, beads of sweat, and beard stubble may be effortlessly counted on the individual level. The vegetation around the film looks great, too, whether veiny leaves or soil. Even extreme distance shots maintain tremendous sharpness, clarity, and attention to detail. Colors are equally brilliant. That same vegetation sparkles and represents the most consistent bright, high-yield color in the film. However, all of the surrounding earthen tones take on a true, natural balance. Blacks, despite that bit of crush, are at least consistently deep. Flesh tones appear accurate. All around, this is another rock-solid transfer from The Asylum.
AE Apocalypse Earth enjoys a quality DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It could stand to be a bit richer, fuller, and more robust, but for a low-end, low-budget picture the track proves rather satisfactory and well put-together. There's a rather good presence to the Earth attack that starts the film, with mass crowd hysteria on the ground and enemy weapons from above reigning down to fair effect. It's the first of several instances where the track seems to miss out on an opportunity to really deliver a more potent, full-stage effect, but the end result is nevertheless pleasing. The ship's descent to the planet enjoys a good bit of activity with alarms and clanks and crashes and all sorts of chaotic effects; it's a good facsimile of the tremendous opening to Pitch Black, though The Asylum's track never does quite find that seamless immersion into the moment. There's not an excess of natural ambience down on the planet, but there's enough in the way of satisfying gunplay and other action sound effects to bring the stage to rather robust life. Dialogue is presented with positive clarity and stage presence. All around, a rather good track considering the film's roots and limitations.
AE Apocalypse Earth contains the following extras:
AE Apocalypse Earth is the poster child for the typical Asylum experience. It banks on a similar title and release date of a major blockbuster, rips off elements of several other films, and features a minimalist plot, poor acting, and miserable special effects. It's all that's bad (or great, depending on one's perspective) about the studio, and if anyone's been wanting a good entry point into just what The Asylum has to offer, this would be it. The Blu-ray features the typically strong Asylum video and audio qualities. A couple of extras, including a commentary, are included. Worth a rental for the morbidly curious.
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