Darklight

I really dug this movie because it delved into the birth of a female superhero which is something you don't often see. Shiri Appleby was great in the role of Lilith. The idea of raising the story of Lilith from the annuls of history and legend and remaking her into a superhero intrigued me.

I was not overly familiar with the legend of Lilith, but it captivated me. This hero has depth and a meaning. Great supporting cast as well, especially David Hewlett and Richard Burgi who bring a quiet intensity to their roles. Look out for this director in the future as the direction and writing are both intricate and detailed. I also thought the action fight sequences were great despite probably not having very much money. (It was SCI FI Channel, after all.) Above all, this film was fun. Highly recommend!!!

Shiri Appleby is the cutest little embodiment of evil turned good girl demon-kicking Buffy clone, Elle. But I'm getting ahead of myself, you see Lilith was the first woman made by god as a companion to Adam. But she got all uppity evil feminist so god banished her from Eden. A clandestine order known as The Fath captures her but doesn't kill her, so now with amnesia (which is not really explained that well) Lilith (now Elle) is free to become the aforementioned Buffy-clone who has to battle with a mad scientist who got an injection of Lilith's blood.

If the previous paragraph sounded hideously convoluted, that's because it is. The movie is also dull, generic, and for a film with a plot steeped in theology it doesn't seem to know a lick about it. This bargain basement lousy-CGIed movie was apparently a failed series pilot. All I can say to the fact that it didn't get picked up is a resounding Amen.

My Grade: D-

DVD Extras: Commentary by Writer/Director Bill Platt and Co-writer Chris Regina; and Stills gallery; video effects samples: before & after (it also has an "also available" selection that you would THINK would lead you to some trailers, but nope on DVD covers for other films, which is a stupid idea)

DVD-ROM extras: Final shooting script and Deleted scenes transcript both in PDF format

Shiri Appleby was adorable, sexy and cute in "Roswell". However her luminescent presence in this stinker couldn't save it. What the hell was THAT plot all about? A biblical backstory with so many plot loopholes you could drive a truck through them. When you create a mythology (especially using biblical references) delve a little more into what makes it tick and why.

Good actors are wasted. David Hewlett and John DeLancie were all wasted (Hewlett mostly, looking much thinner than he does in Stargate Atlantis). I knew this was going to suck when Hewlett's character takes off his shirt and puts on a black face mask to get an injection! LOL! Either the director sucked or the editor did, there are just too many scenes where the action looked very disjointed and out of place. Either a lack of coverage for the editor to work with or a crappy shooting style, you know a movie is bad when the action scenes from a student film are better choreographed. Also the CGI was about the same caliber as a good video game .... but this is a feature film! IN a movie, the CGI has to be better than something you'd pick up at a gamestore! The battle between Lilith and the Demonicos was laughably bad! Usually films that just seem stilted and weird are foreign films made with American actors where the director was suffering from cultural schizophrenia (i.e. being pulled into two different directions at the same time.) This movie had an American Director (albeit with little experience). He might get better in the future (either that or the suits came in, took it out of his hands and ruined it ... always a possibility!) The movie "could" have been good, with a decent script, better direction, better effects, better editing .... the ending was a setup for a sequel or series, but right now I wouldn't bet on it.

Although I agree with the earlier posting about Darklight not having much direction, I think it was initially a pilot for a series that never got greenlighted. It was like the producers had several episodes that they had to piece together to salvage what was funded in startup. The effects were good for TV -- we can't expect CGI in everything. I thought the initial storyline of Adam's first wife, Lilith, seeking to be absolved from her initial sins was a good premise. I would like to see the movie developed into a mini-series, if not a series. It could be something like 'Angel' with a flawed key figure trying to pay for the sins of the past.

Sweet Shiri is all grown up now and still quite lovely, but she must have been desperate for money to do this film. It's clearly low-budget. There's something wrong with the audio. It's like everyone is speaking through some sound filter. Their voices just don't sound right. This movie is so bad only a heterosexual male fan of Shiri would want to see this film. Richard Bergi, John De Lancie, Richard Gnolfo, and David Hewlett do their best to support this lousy production, but still seeing and watching Shiri is the only incentive to continue to the end of the film. I have no idea why this movie is Rater R. The Cable Guide referred to this as a Comedy, Romance and Horror flick. It wasn't funny or scary to watch.