51

In Area 51, the tough Colonel Ronald Martin (Bruce Boxleitner) decides to open the facility to the reporters Claire Felon (Vanessa Branch) and Sam Whitaker (John Shea) and their crew to satisfy the public opinion. Col. Martin denies the existence of aliens and invites the journalists to visit the two floors in the underground facility. Meanwhile, in the top secret four floors below, one shape shifter alien called Patient Zero (Jed Maheu) capable to replicate any humanoid form escape and releases the dangerous aliens Little Devil and Lady Death (Ivan Djurovic). While Col. Martin and his soldiers hunt them down, Sergeant Hanna (Rachel Miner) and her team protect the exit and are the last barrier to avoid the aliens from escaping.

"Area 51" is a lame B-movie and a terrible means of wasting time. The stupid story is awful and ridiculous. There are good names in the cast, highlighting Bruce Boxleitner and John Shea, but the acting in general is shameful. John Shea from "Missing" keeps the same expression along the whole film. Anyway, the screenplay and the dialogues are poor and the cast does not have a good chance to work. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Área 51" ("Area 51")

This has got to be one of the most hated recent movies. People call it the worst and make fun of it, so of course I wasn't expecting this movie to be a masterpiece or any good really. However I have to be fair; I was pleasantly surprised by it and actually enjoyed watching it.

Really, as far as aliens versus humans, low-budget, action/science-fictions flicks go, this one is pretty good. And trust me, I have seen a lot of these type of movies, of which most did so much more wrong and poorly than this movie ever did. It was was pretty good for what it is and it definitely serves its purpose just fine.

With its budget, acting and writing quality, you could call this a modern B-movie but one of the aspects about B-movies often is that they are quite enjoyable movies to watch, as is the case with this movie. Of course I recognize all of the bad aspects of this movie and all of its plot holes and weaknesses but quite frankly it never took away any of the fun I had with watching this movie.

It's a movie that really 'borrows' heavily from other, better known genre movies, most notably "Alien" and "The Thing". But I'm even willing to forgive the movie for doing so, since it works within the context of the movie.

The movie does feature some pretty good creature design. All of the aliens are pretty cool and monstrously dangerous looking ones. Definitely not something cheap looking, like a guy in a rubber suit (while if of course still is a guy in a rubber suit but that is besides the point).

Pretty good and enjoyable for what it is.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

If this were a test paper I'd give it 51 out of 100. I was really disappointed with this film as I'm generally a keen devotee of area 51 films. However, from the get go I knew I was in for a good serving of high definition amateur hour. The news anchorwoman scene which served as the film's opening just didn't look right & neither did a similar scene which served as the film's conclusion. The acting in most scenes is a little dodgy, although much of the blame must be attributed to the lackluster script & lack of finesse in the editing department. By poor editing I mean there should have been more closeups & camera angles.

Still though, it could have been worse. What I did like about this film were the creature effects. Also, for those interested in lashings of blood & gore there were sufficient quantities of both. And to be truthful it was actually quite amusing watching the actors labor like troopers through some of the weaker scenes.

In conclusion, don't watch this film if you're expecting something great. If, however, you're like me & just can't resist a horror flick even with a guaranteed cheese factor, knock yourself out.

When I watched this I believed I was in for another terrible B rated movie, but I must admit, out of all the B rated movies I have seen, this is by far the best one. The actors were not amazing, but better than usual in my opinion. The special effects were also better than many other B rated movies I have seen, although they were still terrible in comparison to bigger movies of course. The story line was alright and I quite enjoyed it, although I thought the end was a bit weird... Anyway, not the best movie I have seen, but still a pleasant surprise.

I give this movie a 4/10 for making a good effort with their low budget.

I really enjoy the cheese factor of SyFy original films. They are the kind that friends and I get together and watch and make fun of. We occasionally have "live chats" on the internet while watching them so friends from all over the country can connect and laugh together.

That being said - and taken in that context - this movie was absolutely fun! Yes - there is a low budget. Yes - the the plot, script, sets, and special effects were a little lacking; but it is a SyFy original movie and should be taken in that context. It was a cheesy alien romp that left me smiling. Certainly not a great movie, but I was definitely entertained.