The Hive

I do not dare to call myself a film critic but I think I do know how to appreciate a good film and differentiate between a good movie and a bad one. And in my opinion, this is a rather bad one, given the technology in film-making of 2008.

Honestly, when I play the movie, I thought it was made in the 1980s. The whole texture of the film just looks cheap and unpolished. Even if it's done on a low-budget, I assumed given the abundance of hi-tech equipment and all today, there should be at least some quality to making this film (apparently I was wrong). None of the characters look good(except for the lead actor who look like Keanu Reeves at times)and frankly, I would not turn my head to have another look at them if they passed me by on the streets.

The plot is ridiculous and the twist at the end of the movie just made me deemed this film as stupid rather than pleasantly surprising. The CGI is really really bad and childish. And to be called a sci-fi movie, the special effects should be the most basic component that the film-makers should invest money in. I would probably had felt better if it was seriously just a plain good horror movie about man-eating ants destroying things and end up being destroyed by humans. This, to me is more convincing than telling me that the ants are controlled by aliens. I am utterly disappointed in this movie and though I do not deny the fact this movie has the potential to be good, it failed badly this time as I do not see the effort in the film-making process.

I'm giving this a 5 coz it did make me laugh out loud on a number of occasions.

The basic plot, killer ants. It sounded like the kind of cheap sci-fi B-movie I like, so I though I would watch it. And I was entertained for all the wrong reasons.

The acting was OK, not the worst I've seen, but I've seen a LOT better. The story was ridiculous! I mean, even to the point where; you know in Bond movies, how the bad guys does a plot exposition to Bond? Well, the 'ants' do this to the good guys of the movie...yes, the 'ants' actually tell the humans what they want! I'll not tell you how, but it is ridiculous! It made me laugh out loud.

The direction was taken from the 'how to film every camera cliché in the book' school of filming.

The end was really disappointing. They try to have a 'twist' ending, but it's more of a 'we couldn't be bothered to think of anything, so we'll resort to an obvious answer' ending.

After I saw this, I read a review that said this film has 'credibility', lol, really, it's only credible if you've never seen the 'moving image' before. If you like B-movies, that make you laugh, then you will enjoy this. If you're looking for a sci-fi/horror/action film, then this isn't for you.

Bad, bad, bad. And worse!

This flimsy piece of Sci-Fi wish-wash is so contemptuously awful, I could not suffer to watch it all. After forty minutes of mind-numbing banality, I was forced to switch it off.

So where did it go wrong? My timer indicated 00:00:30. For a start the acting was so lame, in some scenes (notably the party scene,) not even a vet could have saved it.

The CGI was quite possibly the worst set of special effects ever to have inflicted itself onto my screen. Perhaps if I'd watched it through a woolly sock after rubbing olbas oil into my eyeballs it might have looked half decent, but I'm not going to give it the satisfaction.

The plot I can't really comment on as I was fortunate enough to stop it in its tracks. However, I can say that the first forty minutes that I did see must have been written on the back of a napkin, and then accidentally washed.

The script must have been on the other side. It was so jam-packed with pointless rhetoric and hackneyed clichés that the six or seven lines that did try to drive the plot must have had delusions of adequacy.

My verdict: Maybe this was meant for the ants to enjoy.

That said, though, if I was an ant, I'd rather find a magnifying glass on a sunny day.

When the residents of the Bao Tao Island are attacked by ants, the government hires the Thorax Company to work with the army to exterminate the ants. The scientist Len (Kal Weber) and his friend Bill (Tom Wopat) are attacked by a swarm and lose communication with Debs (Jessica Reavis) that is recording from the base. One ant enters into Bill's ear and reaches his brain, affecting his behavior. The scientist Claire (Elizabeth Healey) arrives in the island and team-up with Len, and soon they discover that the ants can communicate and they want the island for them.

"The Hive" is a laughable and awfully dumb sci-fi. The first scene with the ants attacking a mother and her baby is violent and gives a wrong idea about the movie. However the story is so stupid that it is hard to believe that a producer invest his money in such garbage. And the ants have affected the brain of the viewer that liked (he rated 8 stars) this flick and has written about "an epidemic in Brazil" (LOL). My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "O Ataque das Formigas" ("The Attack of the Ants")

I don't know why I keep attempting to watch a film made by the Sci-Fi network. Somehow, I think that just maybe this one will be decent. But, as usual, it sucks! When will I learn? You can bet that when you hear the announcement, "An original Sci-Fi film" it will be the usual lame story line. Some painfully bad CGI creation of a killer creature (super sized snakes and reptiles seem to be the favorites) attacking a group isolated, stranded idiots. And when I say "painfully bad CGI", it truly is painful to watch. ("I confess, just turn the channel!") I've seen better effects from the original Nintendo games! What I find even sadder is that some of the stars who sign up for these catastrophes are ones that "I thought" were on the fast track to great careers. Actors like, Stephen Baldwin, Michael Pare, Casper Van Dien & Dean Cane to name a few seem to keep reappearing in these features. I like to think that maybe they new managers or that there is just no quality work going on.

But, you can always count on the Sci-Fi channel to be in production of another low budget cookie cutter flick. I guess you gotta take what work you can get. Unfortunately, I believe that starring in these films is just going to keep you starring in these films. So you can kiss the Oscar goodbye!!!! "The Night of the Lepus", now there's a good cheesy I could enjoy over and over again. And that starred Janet Leigh, Deforest Kelly and Stuart Whitman.....what bet did they lose?