Epoch isn’t too bad, but it’s bad enough. The sci-fi unreality isn’t really a problem. It’s the unreality of all the other stuff – from the diplomacy to the way operations work in the field. That stuff is tongue-in-cheek some of the time, but the rest of the time it is just silly. The premise was certainly interesting, though not much different than, say, The Abyss, except that it’s on land. The are the usual stereotypes – bumbling ambassadors (who are indeed sometimes bumbling, just in different ways – this isn’t social commentary), mindless trigger-happy grunts (ok, that’s not too far off, either), a fundamentalist (hmmm. Guess he was kind of spot on, as well), the peace-loving scientist (one word… Oppenheimer), and the tough but soft in the middle uniformed love interest (’bout had enough of those). Then there’s the bewildered presentation of the Chinese. Clearly written by someone who knows nothing about them. There is too much shadow, gas, and too many sparks inside the “torus” – the mysterious (think ‘monolith’ from 2001) stone funnel that rose from below bedrock and stretched to the sky, hovering just above ground. And there’s the usual destruction of the great machine, complete with the getaway of our two reasonable heroes amid lots of camera shaking and rocks falling. And lo… he’s cured and she’s finally able to conceive. Ick! This is the B-side ot a B movie. It would be a decent comic book, but isn’t worth a DVD.

Iggy Goes Down . . . Well… another film by Camus. [Doesn't deserve it's own post.]