Directed by:
Craig R. Baxley
Starring:
Eric Stoltz ………. Howard Thomas
Michael E. Rodgers ………. Bruce Geller
Catherine Bell ………. Emily Patterson
Bruce Davison ………. Stan Lathem
Sam Neill ………. Eric Benirall
Lou Diamond Phillips ………. Meeno Paloma
John Sloan ………. Aron Ackerman
The Movie
I don’t know about you but growing up there were three things that fascinated me to no end, Dinosaurs, UFO’s, and the Bermuda Triangle. Those were the subjects that in school I could read about for hours on end, something about all of the history, back stories, origins, and mythologies that were so enthralling it was hard to step away from them. So when the SciFi Channel was planning on producing a three part mini series on the Triangle I was certainly interested in it. There were doubts, naturally, because lets be honest here anything that says “SciFi Channel Presents” before it has a good chance of being a waste of time. Then when word got out that Bryan Singer, Dean Devlin and Rockne S. O’Bannon were the masterminds behind the project they had my full attention.
The Bermuda Triangle has been the sight of numerous disappearances over the years with hundreds of planes and boats losing contact or worst, disappearing inside of it without a trace. Which is where our story begins, Eric Benirall a shipping tycoon has lost numerous ships over the years in that area and has now just lost his sixth ship in under a year, things are getting worse and he wants to know why. He enlists the help of four experts on the matter and offers five million dollar to each of them if they manage to come up with an answer to why all of his ships are disappearing. From that as you guessed, he wants them to solve the mystery that has left numerous scientists and experts stumped for decades, and he wants answers fast.
Of coarse this isn’t the first time Benirall has looked for answers, he just can’t seem to find a team who wants to be a part of the quest. Until now that is, he’s compiled a team that has nowhere else to turn, the offer is too rich for these four to turn down. The four members of the group are experts in their fields, well, they have the most expertise compared to those who haven’t turned down Benirall.
In this group we have Stan Lathem a psychic who helped families track down their kidnapped or lost children who’s now batting around .100 at this point in his career. He’s been relegated to doing the shopping mall circuit promoting his latest book. Next we have Emily Patterson an oceanographer that studies the structure of water and it’s effects. Bruce Geller is a climatologist who’s more of a rough and rugged storm chaser than a scientist per se. And last, the de fecto leader of the group, Howard Thomas who is the premiere expert on the triangle due to his work at The Observer. A tabloid magazine that prints columns about people who think they saw Elvis or think that the aliens are reading their mind so they were tin foil hats to keep them out. A giant step down from his former job at the New York Post to say the least. He’s added to the team because after all the crack pot theories he’s heard there’s very little left for him to believe as fact. Basically he’s there to disprove any theories created by the others in the group.
Little time goes by before the team begins to notice strange activity near the triangle. The further they get in to researching the phenomenon strange things begin to happen to them. Their minds are starting to experience alternate realities and now they need to solve this mystery not for Benirall but to save themselves and their own existence.
Many people will rent or buy this because of the subject matter but they’ll be surprised at just how likeable and enjoyable it is to watch the characters and actors as the story progresses. Many scifi tales tend to lose its viewers by being too serious on the subject matter but not The Triangle, it has a fun time with dialogue exchanges and quick ones liners when they’re appropriately called for. Giving the viewer a nice mix of intrigue and light hearted humor to chuckle at. The characters are the real heart to the story which is the key to any good movie or TV series, having people you enjoy watching and have genuine investment in.
Lets not leave out however Rockne S. O’Bannon the real wizard behind the curtain, he created one of televisions most praised scifi series in Farscape and is the writer of this mini-series. O’Bannon has shown with his work he enjoys delving deep in his material just getting lost in facts and twisting them to get the audience to believe every single word he writes down on the script. Getting them to sit on the edge of their seats at the suspense but at the same time making them think of what could happen next or what does it all mean.
The mini-series required its own effects department where over eight hundred shots were created for the film. A shocking scale of effects for a TV project showing how dedicated Singer, Devlin and Baxley were to providing the best product they could to their audience. True visionaries of our time. Here instead of the crew knowing what they’re doing is only for TV it’s treated as a big budget studio project, they’re all on their A game the entire time not once just floating by because it’s “just for TV”.
For a miniseries this is one of the better ones you’ll experience, with the runtime a little over four hours just flying by. The Triangle is a perfect form of escapism thanks in large part to a stunning cast and a director whos talent is quite impressive.
score: 8/10
The DVD
Video:
(Presented in 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen)
There is nothing here to complain about whatsoever, there is zero edge enhancements or grain, the black levels are solid and no aliasing or compression problems. The picture quality here will surely please even the most pickiest of videophiles.
Score: 9/10
Audio:
(English Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.0)
Audio isn’t as impressive as the video presentation but is still very good. The rear channels and subwoofer get little use, only coming in to effect when there is a storm or when the musical score kicks in. Still the audio is more than serviceable for this series.
Score: 6/10
Extras:
The only thing included inside this two disc set is the Sci Fi Inside: The Triangle preview that isn’t so much an extra as it’s simply the original half hour piece made to promote the series on the SciFI Channel before its premiere. With that it’s safe to say this is nothing but hype after hype for the series with nothing but praise from the cast and crew. There are some useful bits of information from Bryan Singer and Dean Devlin but this isn’t something you’ll be going back to watch more once.
score: 4/10
