Asteroid vs. Earth Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Asteroid vs. Earth Blu-ray Movie Review

Excitement vs. Tedium.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 25, 2014

It's Asylum time, and this time it's time for another vs. movie. It's about time. Or is time about to run out for planet Earth? There's no time to kill, except for 90 minutes. Asteroid vs. Earth is celestial body vs. celestial body rather than oversized creature vs. mechanical fish as was the case in the studio's last vs. installment, Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark. This is a superior film for the "Mockbuster" studio, not a great film but a flawed yet passable little excursion into a fairly basic end-of-the-world scenario and the risky maneuver required to save the planet from a rogue asteroid. In essence, it's Deep Impact vs. The Core on an ultra low budget and, for The Asylum -- the studio best known for ripping off blockbusters just as they are about to explode into theaters -- well more than a decade behind schedule if its primarily influences are any indication.

Boom goes the asteroid.

When a young astronomer named Evan Kitsias (Charles Byun) spots an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, all hell breaks loose. The world's militaries throw a limited nuclear "interdiction effort" at the rock but fail to make a dent. Kitsias, however, comes up with a plan: set off some nukes in the Pacific, cause massive earthquakes, and push the Earth out of the asteroid's path. It's a last-ditch effort, but it's better than waiting for the inevitable. Ordered to carry out the mission is Lt. Commander Chase Seward (Jason Brooks) and a deep-sea geophysicist named Marisa Knox (Tia Carrere). Overseeing the mission is General Masterson (Robert Davi).

Asteroid vs. Earth shows all of the hallmark signs of a bad Asylum movie -- poor and frequently laughable visual effects, dull dialogue, flat characters, even obviously phony guns -- but it also commands the screen far better than most of its peers churned out of the same factory, finding a little more depth, quality storytelling, decent acting, and even excitement. Certainly, that's not saying all that much for the movie given the competition, but the film is a capable little time killer that fans of cheap Disaster films should enjoy. The story is crazy implausible, not the "asteroid on collision course with Earth" part but rather the "set off a bunch of nukes and push the planet out of the way" part. A better film might have instead explored the consequences of the Earth falling out of its orbit and its displacement in the heavens following the mission's success. It might have looked like something out of a Susan Beth Pfeffer novel, but the possibilities there are likely too deep for The Asylum to even contemplate. No, this is basic junk TV Disaster sort of stuff, throwing together the military, scientists, and the whiz kid for a team effort to save the planet from bad special effects, er, total annihilation.

The film finds an odd middle ground wherein it feels terribly cheap but at the same time a little more refined than the average Asylum movie. As such, it can be, and often is, all over the map. There are scenes of borderline absurdity, several unintentionally humorous moments (whether thanks to special effects or actors forced to do and say ridiculous things), and genuine drama. Generally, the actors display no real emotion beyond the full ups and downs of the situation, rarely showing any real wear and tear as armageddon inches closer at 7,000,000 miles per hour. Tim Russ, essentially playing the same role John Rhys-Davies has occupied in a couple of recent Asylum clunkers, manages to bring a seriousness to the part that Davies never could quite muster. The Star Trek: Voyager veteran carries the film in all of his scenes and, credit to him, takes the role seriously and is easily it greatest casting asset. The rest of the cast, likewise, refuses to go down with the ship (or, in this case, the planet), giving honest efforts even in the face of ridiculous dialogue and against the backdrop of absurd visual effects or plot devices. They elevate the film to where it feels less like Asteroid vs. Earth and more like Man vs. Time, and even when that sense of urgency really isn't there, they still manage to lift the film beyond genre doldrums and into a watchable, albeit forgettably watchable, little end-of-the-world Thriller.

Asteroid vs. Earth Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Asteroid vs. Earth features a typical Asylum 1080p transfer. The digital photography translates well to Blu-ray. Though it's very glossy and fairly flat, it finds some very well-defined details throughout, including heavily textured actor faces, fine lines on clothes, and a general crispness and definition to most every object around the frame, whether legible text on a countdown device or the cheap material used to construct the film's phony rifles. Colors are frequently bold and pleasing, showcasing a number of bright shades both real and digital, from blue military uniforms to fake red lava. There's infrequent background banding and frequently washed out skies. A few scenes show some heavy jagged lines and false colors; pause the movie at 4:05 and witness a mess of a moment. On the whole, however, it's a good, satisfying image given the rather low production values.

Asteroid vs. Earth Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Asteroid vs. Earth makes a solid sonic impact on Blu-ray. The Asylum's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack enjoys a fairly good stage presence, sending music and effects flying through the listening area with commendable placement, organization, and clarity. Though it lacks the finesse and natural immersion of other tracks from bigger movies and more reputable studios working with a bigger budget, the film's frequent musical cues that both overlay the film and underscore dialogue scenes are presented equally well, with strong attention to detail and wide listening area dispersement. Action scenes, likewise, spread out nicely and are often accompanied by solid heft and weight at the bottom. Dialogue plays naturally with a smooth, even center-front flow. Fans familiar with other Asylum Disaster film soundtracks should expect pretty much the same sort of listening experience here.

Asteroid vs. Earth Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Asteroid vs. Earth contains the basic Asylum array of extras.

• "Making Of" Featurette (HD, 7:04): Cast and crew interviews and a generic overview of the film and its characters.
• Gag Reel (HD, 2:12).
• Previews (HD): Several additional Asylum titles, including Apocalypse Pompeii, Android Cop, and Mother.

Asteroid vs. Earth Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Asteroid vs. Earth is nowhere near as well put-together and emotionally sound as Deep Impact nor as much mindless fun as The Core, but for a budget Asylum title it could be a lot worse. It's still home to poor special effects, a flimsy script, and endless music meant to drum up artificial drama, but the cast gives the film everything it can in light of the script and scenarios available to it. The film isn't a world beater, but genre fans can do much worse. The Asylum's Blu-ray release of Asteroid vs. Earth features solid video and audio. The included supplements are worthless. Rent it.