Mysterious Island

Though some reviews of this adventure miniseries have been unfavorable, the movie successfully recreates the feeling of Saturday matinee serials, as well as the Harryhausen film of 1961 which clearly inspired it. Purists seem to have been disappointed with changes from Verne's original novel, but this Hallmark production owes more to the Cy Endfield version, and in that respect, it's entertaining, colorful, delightfully improbable, and (for a TV film) sumptuous. Enough monsters, swordfights, pirates, treasure, action, scenery, and humor for five films, and the pacing is brisk. Performances manage to engage, with Patrick Stewart's Captain Nemo a standout. Set design is very elaborate, and the film has great visual beauty. Perfect for eight and ten year olds, this fanciful and endearingly childlike "lost world" adventure is priced right to buy, for fans.

Being a fan of the 1961 version of "Mysterious Island," I HAD to see this 2005 TV remake. Despite the somewhat lackluster reviews, a few things perked my interest: Patrick Stewart (aka Star Trek's Captain Picard) as Captain Nemo, Gabrielle Anwar and the long runtime of 170 minutes, just ten minutes shy of 3 hours (!). What compelled me to seek out this rendition more than anything is the simple fact that I favor stuck-on-a-deserted-island type adventures.BASIC PLOT: A handful of people, including a nurse and her daughter, escape in a balloon from a Confederate prison in Virginia. Storm winds ludicrously take them West into the South Pacific where they land on an uncharted island. There they discover numerous huge animals and two men living as recluses, the master being the mad genius Captain Nemo, who hates war so much he's trying to invent the atomic bomb in order to stop it altogether. Add to this mix a ship of pirates seeking hidden treasure hidden somewhere on the island.Despite the film's full title "Jules Verne's Mysterious Island," the story is based on the 1961 movie rather than Verne's book. All the elements of the 1961 version are here with a few notable changes: The story is switched around so that Captain Nemo is revealed right away rather than in the final act and the castaways don't search the island and make their home in the cliff until the second half of the story. Also, there are way more gigantic creatures -- a mantis, rat, scorpion, ant, eagle, spiders, squid (or octopus), etc.WHAT WORKS: The Thailand locations are magnificent, and far superior to the Spanish coast with fake backdrop of the '61 version; the cast is decent - characters you don't like at the beginning you'll probably start liking by the end; the score is decent, although not as good as the '61 version; the story maintains a vibe of realism despite the absurdities (for instance, it doesn't go overboard with camp like, say, "Pirates of the Caribbean"; the CGI special effects for the various creatures are pretty good; the pirates look & act like what you'd think real pirates would act like, with a good mix of races and an accurate Eastern-styled ship (with a dubious backdoor, lol); and the second half of the story is more captivating than the first half (so if you're bored with the first half, stick around - it gets better).During the first half you'll note a growing attraction between the castaway leader (Kyle MacLachlan) and Gabrielle Anwar's character. In the second half, this culminates in a seriously passionate kiss. This is one smoking hot kiss! It ranks with cinema's best kiss scenes, like "Jerry McGuire" or "The Whole Wide World."After hearing the criticism leveled at the black castaway Neb (Omar Gooding), I was prepared for the worst. Upon seeing the film, however, I don't get the beef. Not one bit. Neb, as portrayed, is far from an "1860's gansta rapper with an attitude," as one reviewer over-criticized. When they first land on the island he shows a bit of angst toward an unlikable character in response to the criticism, "You're just a slave anyway." Neb rightly responds that they're far from the Confederacy and slavery doesn't exist on deserted islands. Isn't it realistic that Neb would revel in a new-found sense of freedom now that he's far from the social constrictions of the Confederacy and America in general? Besides, his "attitude" is short-lived. He's actually a likable character as the rest of the film bears out. Also, even though the unlikable character is a questionable weasel throughout most of the story stick around for the last act.WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Captain Nemo isn't remotely likable here - he's basically just a grumpy recluse who happens to be brilliant; there are probably TOO MANY monsters - sometimes less is more; the explanation for the numerous large creatures is lame (why didn't they just chalk it up to Nemo's experiments like the original film?); I found it hard to believe that the handful of male castaways could prevail against an entire ship of pirates during the on-board battle in the second half (but this is larger-than-life fantasy, right? And the fight is thrilling); and the CGI effects at the very end depicting lava and an erupting volcano aren't very good (although they get the job done).One of the highlights of the original film was cutie Beth Rogan and her skimpy cavegirl outfit. Unfortunately neither female cast member in this remake dons such an outfit. I suppose it's more realistic, of course. Anyway, Danielle Calvert certainly possesses a undeniable cuteness as Helen, but Beth Rogan is all around superior.FINAL WORD: The critics are a bit too hard on this 2005 remake. It's a respectable TV updating of the story. If you love awe-inspiring island locations, island adventure, gigantic creatures, convincing pirates, lost treasure, Captain Nemo and insightful moralizing about the evils of war, you'll want to catch this remake. The original 1961 version is a nigh-masterpiece and I admit that I can't say that about this version. It's limited by its TV budget and doesn't have the mystery build-up of the original, but it has numerous positive aspects the first one lacks, as noted above."Mysterious Island" is worthwhile if you appreciate adventure/fantasy films like the original 1961 version, Sinbad, Conan, Jurassic Park and Pirates of the Caribbean (not that I'm a big fan of the latter two franchises), as long as you don't mind TV productions and the limitations thereof.GRADE: C+ or B- (5.5/10)

Product was without defects.

This was not that bad of a movie at all. Sure you do not see much of Captain Nemo (Played by Patrick Stewart), but the effects were great (for a television movie), and the plot was excellent.I am not sure why so many people gave this movie bad reviews that it did not deserve. It may not have close captioning or any bonus features but the movie itself is great, and definitely worth the low price. Of course I have not seen that many echo Bridge produced DVDs that were not good (Unlike many of the Mill creek products.) And to those who complain about the special effects of these type of movies, why are you complaining? I have seen special effects shots in Buffy The Vampire Slayer that was much worser than anything that these films contain. In the end I would take a chance on any of the films sold by echo Bridge (That is unless they raise the price to $10.00 or more.) Sure they are cheaply made, but in the end many are actually good movies.

The movie was ok it had a decent story line considering that it was a tv mini series. The effects were so so but I would expect that with a budget that was given for this movie anyways. The acting varied greatly. Patrick Stewart was probably the only recognizable actor for most people and the best one. Kyle MacLachlan was decent enough as well with Omar Gooding. The worst acting was from the pirates that played it as if it were a "Pirates of the Caribbean meets the Goonies" spoof. I describe it like this because the pirates in this movie tried to hard to be goofy (in my opinion) and labeled themselves too obviously as pirates such as putting skull 'n cross bones on every part of their ship. It just didn't do it for me with the pirates. I almost had to skip every pirate scene.

I disagree with reviewers that the CGI is poor in the movie. I found the various giant insects to possess a unique 'Alice In Wonderland' quality, rather than the dead sense of hyper-realism you get in Hollywood blockbusters! The first shot of the giant praying mantice is especially effective!Admittedly, Vinnie Jones as the 'he's behind you' panto pirate, is a big problem ... he seems to think he's in Alice's wonderland! Especially when coupled with Patrick Stewarts deadpan realism as Captain Nemo. Its like watching two different films!This movie, is, nethertheless an enjoyable bit of escapism, as i suspected it would be.

not for me

I thought this 2 part TV show was quite good for it was. The acting was a bit like a pantomime in some places, but it's a childrens show and that is to be expected. I liked the special effects, the creatures of the mysterious island were very good. I also thought that casting Patrick Stewart as Captain Nemo was a good choice. I haven't got an interest in stop motion animation like the previous reviewer, and find those old films very dated. If you're looking for a bit of harmless entertainment for yourself or for young children this DVD will not disappoint.

I got this film because i am a Patrick Stewart fan. However,this movie does test your patience.Patricks performance is Brilliant,as usual,but the rest of it is a bit week.its not unwatchable but once i watched it, i binned it.the special effects are attrocius at best and the ending sucks.

interesting story.... enjoyed the movie