Monolith

I tend to cut SF more slack than other genres, simply because there is so much more setup work to be done in establishing a believable reality in which the story takes place. It is also my favorite genre. That said, this movie was one of the worst I've seen (I've seen a lot and own over 1000), which was very surprising considering the star power among the cast. Every, and I mean every, scene was stereotypical of some previous movie (cop buddy, action, etc.) done countless times before. And these worn out scenes strung together do not a plot make.

I kept dully pawing the remote in a futile search for some way to lower the frickin movie music volume somehow. It was just relentless! The "smoky sax", the "distorted guitar", the "ominous strings", etc. Someone got their hands on the latest 1993 synth and was wearing it out - and me too. It was often louder than the dialog, telegraphing the "mood" of every boring scene, removing even the possibility of anything unexpected happening in this dog.

An what's up with the name of the movie "Monolith"? I was expecting some large structure ala 2001 to appear at some point. No one even mentioned the word. I don't get it.

I'd rather watch the space saga Albert Brooks was editing in "Modern Romance".

As fledgling film maker myself, I think a lot of people don't understand just how damn hard it to make a movie. But yeah, it could have been better. I think the overall story was ok and yeah I'm sure more money would have helped. Some of the 'green screen' scenes are well...I can do better in my lounge room with my equipment and a laptop these days but remember this is from 1993 and things were a lot different then. I think without the actors they somehow got into this it would have been ever worse, they obviously thought it was worth working on but I wonder how much they got paid?....anyway 4 stars, for trying while it probably only really deserves maybe 2....

A couple of lively, prototypically querulous L. A. Cops, Tucker (Bill Paxton) and Terri (Lindsay Frost) fatefully discover the terrifying truth behind the sinisterly shapeshifting exploits of an alien in this enjoyably noisome 90s Sci-actioner. This neglected time killer has a golden cast, slam bang action, goofball buddy Cop badinage, mild weirdosity, healthy schlock elements and a thunderous climax, giving Monolith some viable B-movie heft. I can appreciate why some disparage Monolith, and, hopefully, they might also do me the same courtesy and regard my earnest enjoyment with comparable equanimity. You say Tomato, I say Clamato, what cooks your goose don't do much for your Gander etc. Etc. Etc. Patently Low brow, not quite monobrow, Monolith is less compelling than The Hidden, yet the cosy familiarity of the Twilight Zoned text kept me tuned in. Hey!!! No one in full command of their mental faculties will ever claim this specific Monolith is responsible for the evolution of man, but I'm more of a devolutionist, anyhoo!!!

The reference to Starsky & Hutch by another viewer is brilliant. This movie has no story, but, instead, seems to have been pieced together with bits and pieces pulled from Hollywood's vast supply of garbage cans. Bill Paxton does his usual out-of-control-but-I'm-really-hurtin'-inside schtick. Lindsay Frost's hair stays miraculously manageable, despite her being blown into a pool, shot at on a high-rise terrace, and (why do they subject us to this schlock?) diving into sewage. Both actors serve as the other's straight-man to hackneyed one-liners that are as predictable as the victims. Just who or what this alien with eyeballs that shoot fireballs is... or wants... is never explained, nor do we have any idea what the goon scientists have been doing with/at it all these years. I paid 20 cents for the video of this film on the streets of Seoul. I think I was ripped off.

Another good idea poorly executed with pot holes in the story line, improbable action and one dimensional characters. Thoughtful Lindsay Frost (Hutch as a woman) and hard case Bill Paxton (Starsky as a man) stumble onto a zany murder (pretty, vulnerable and distraught, young Russian scientist tries to run down and then succeeds in discharging a firearm into a little boy). Evil Fed agent John Hurt takes custody of the murderer from police Captain Lou Gossett. Shortly thereafter, havoc ensues as discreet portions of Los Angeles are terrorized by the evil of the Monolith (the term is not used in the film so one assumes that Monolith refers to the evil or its source). Starsky & Hutch pursue the invincible evil being--continuing to shoot at it even though they discover early on that it is invulnerable (but everyone in the movie seems to shoot at it as well--to no avail). John Hurt is 100% bad--including his acting. Bill Paxton has greasy dark hair. Lindsay Frost has really skinny jeans for a cop. Lou Gossett and the Squad Room could be recycled into another movie--any other movie. Perhaps this was originally made for TV and commercial breaks were integral to the plot.