Manticore

I thought the plot had potential, but the special effects were very poorly done. It would have been better if we had never seen the "manticore" -- just shadows or a claw here and there. And I won't even comment on the helicopter crash.

The acting, though, was a pleasant surprise. Robert Beltran and Jeff Fahey (whose performance in "Silverado" is one of my all-time favorites) turned in good, solid performances. The real surprises came from A.J. Buckley, Faran Tahir and even some of the more minor roles, like Jeff M. Lewis and Richard Gnolfo. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

Manticore is woeful from the beginning to the end. There is so much wrong with it, that it belies belief.

A 'terrorist' brings back to life a 2000 yr old mythical creature in the middle of the Iraqi war! And the virtually indestructible Manticore goes on a rampage.

Horrendously poor acting; Robert Beltran is as woody and ineffectual, equalling his very worst performance on Star Trek: Voyager. Chase Masterson is sooo incredibly annoying I actually cheered when the monster presumably had its way with her! In fact only the occasional Jeff Fahey appearance was the acting saving grace.

The monster itself was a joke. The CGI looked like it was handled by pubescent first time computer users. I can fully understand why this production skipped the big screen and video/DVD sales and straight onto TV.

It is that bad, However I can say it has a twin in cheesy deplorable monster/horror genre; check out Bugs(2003) and yours truly's comments ;) They could release Bugs and Manticore as a 'Dastardly D-grade Duo'

Recipe on how to make a "Sci-Fi Channel (Un)Original production".

1) Get one or two out of work Star Trek actors. There are plenty of them nowadays. 2) Add low grade CGI special effects 3) a half-dozen no-name actors to be monster chow. 4) 3 Gallons of Catsup. (For the fake blood) 5) 1 Crappy illogical script.

Mix in movie for 2 hours (including commercial breaks).

The movie begins with some clips of Iraqis looting art treasures, and a squad of American soldiers lead by Robert Beltran, playing the kind of new-age castrati he played on Voyager for seven years. A reporter, played by Deep Space Nine's Chase Masterson, (who actually bothered to breath some life into a character) is trapped in a town menaced by the resurrected CGI Manticore. Beltran's squad is sent to rescue her.

Now, I often hate most military movies because they get so many things wrong, and this one is no exception. They have a Master Sergeant (E-8) leading a squad. They have a woman with an infantry team. They only send one vehicle on the rescue mission which they've deemed to be "important". The Sergeant is addressed as "Sir" by his squad. They use relaxed tactics in a hostile situation, allowing them to be picked off.

Other than that, what you see is a predictable mess, like you've seen in every other Sci-Fi production with a CGI monster.

The Iraq setting is unique and a definite plus for "Manticore". The daylight photography of the barren, rocky, landscape is interesting. The acting is average. The script relies heavily on conjuring up a beast from the past, that is about as likely as a children's bedtime story coming true. Now that I have built up expectations, prepare for a massive letdown. The Manticore itself is not only ridiculous, but displayed in c.g.i. that is totally unacceptable from any angle. There is no nudity, laughable gore effects, and a story that leads to one of the most preposterous conclusions ever. If the Manticore had been depicted as something that you actually believed was in the film, it would have helped. - MERK

The first 15 minutes looks like it could have been shot on the outskirts of Baghdad. Having spent 2 years working in Iraq I thought the movie crew did an excellent job with location. The background portraits of Sadaam with the eyes scratched out was a nice touch. Equipment used by the US Army is close to what is actually used except that none of the actors used Level 3 plates. As they add 25Kg to the weight of the body armor I understand why they were left out. The TV reporter should have been wearing black Kevlar Helmut with black body armor used by civilians working in Iraq. For some reason they were not provided with Personal Protection gear.

The movie is entertaining, and makes a fine "B" movie. You will be disappointed by the special effects. It would have been better if only parts of the Manticore were shown. A claw here or tail there. With this movie less would have been more.

I think it was still worth watching on HBO, Cinemax or Star Movies.