The Philadelphia Experiment

Sy Fy gets no respect when it comes to "Another Sy Fy original ....".

This one isn't so bad of a production. But the story really doesn't do any justice to the lore of the Philadelphia Experiment.

I come to Sy Fy channel for simple entertainment, and this movie was OK in this regard. Although I sincerely wish that one day somebody with Steven Spielberg caliber talent would create an Indiana Jones level expose film about the Philadelphia Experiment.

One thing I have to give this movie credit is that it's beautifully shot.

For a low budget movie it's well crafted, and my hats off to the producers for keeping the production quality high.

Not so compelling of a story, and that's the problem of this movie, but this is about the level of production I come to expect from "Another Sy Fy original ....".

Whilst ironing I figured I'd turn the TV on, this film was already on. Ever witnessed a car crash or someone fall over, you know it's going to be bad but you couldn't look away? This was like that. I watched it to the bitter end, it's flawed and cheesy, poorly edited and the soundtrack trite, I rate several of the actors in it but you can only do so much so I don't lay the blame at their feet as if the script is laughable and the director tells you to stumble down that corridor uttering scripted banalities then that's what you do. The original was much better with probably a much smaller budget and FX team so watch that instead. Trust me. Still, I did get my ironing done and that's something.

This 2012 version of THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT is a failed reworking of the minor sci-fi classic that was the original. Gone is the military-focused, ship-bound storyline to be replaced by a generic 'government conspiracy' style tale, with lots of driving around and chatting as a couple of protagonists evade the generic bad guys.

The special effects are very limited and consist merely of a couple of 'electricity' effects which they really shouldn't have bothered with, as they're not very good. The hero duties are fulfilled by Nicholas Lea, who certain cult fans may remember playing Krychek in THE X-FILES, while the likes of Michael Pare and Malcolm McDowell prop up the cast. However, like a lot of low budget Canadian sci-fi movies in recent years, it's really not worth bothering with.

A group of scientists trying to create a cloaking device accidentally conjure up the USS Eldridge, a ship that disappeared in 1943. Now their only priority is to send it back.

While I did not see the 1980s version of this story, I am familiar with what allegedly happened in real life. I think this is a fine plot of what could have happened, even if it does not necessarily make logical sense.

Director Paul Ziller is SyFy's go-to guy and has made quite a few of their productions now, with varying degrees of success. I feel like Ziller really has a handle on how to make a low-budget science fiction film, as he has the formula down. The weakest part is always the special effects (the computer-generated effects), which are out of his control.

Of course, this film also suffers from having Emilie Ullerup, one of the worst actresses in the history of the universe. Her character is a bit hard to believe (a world-class hacker working as a waitress in a small town diner), but even if we accept that, Ullerup just kept overacting repeatedly. I felt no sympathy for her and think the film would have been much better if her scenes were just cut out completely.

And why did the police officer wear jeans?

Corniest movie I've ever seen - can't believe that Malcolm Macdowall would lend his name to this tripe.

Simply unbelievable sequences where a (seemingly) 30-35 year old woman can single handedly order nuclear attacks (OK OK - so she says the President authorized it - but dear me).

Not clear why they are trying to kill the main characters chasing them all over the countryside (despite the scientific advice that says don't do it).

Also when Carl finally gets off the ship by metamorphosing through the hull (how did he do that?) - there is Molly standing at that very point to meet him