The Cold Equations (1996 TV Movie)
3/10
Will leave you cold; its flat and made on the cheap. I watched until the end, hoping it would get better but, it didn't
20 April 2010
In the future, John (Billy Campbell) is a pilot who accepts a commission to carry a cache of medicine to a distant planet. He's hoping that this decision will translate into a promotion. On earth, he is part of the more elite group, for there is now a lower caste of humans who do drudge work, eat poorly and live in crowded, noisy conditions. John's mission has a tricky element. Amazingly, the plane that he will fly has been designed for this mission only and has only the basic components. It is termed a "disposable vehicle" and will be dismantled at the voyage's end. Just after takeoff, the ground command notifies John that the plane is carrying extra weight, for some unknown reason. As the vehicle only has fuel for the calculated weight, this is a major problem. Looking around, John sees that he has a pretty stowaway, Lee (Poppy Montgomery). She is of the drudge class and snuck onto the plane to visit her brother who lives on the planet of John's voyage. Uh oh. Mission control tells John he has to throw her "overboard" into space, where she will die; otherwise, they will both perish, for the plane will not make it. What to do? Lee puts up a fight for her life, first with words, then with muscle. John, naturally, doesn't want to end her life and they try desperately to find enough other things to throw out the chute, including insulation, the first aid kit and other items. But, alas, they can't find enough. What will John do? This was a pretty flat and cheaply made science fiction film. It has some good ideas but they are never developed enough and the writing is stiff. The actors, too, don't fair very well, although Campbell and Montgomery truly do try to give it a go. All in all, if you love sci fi, as I do, you will be very disappointed in this one. Unless you have a penchant to "see them all", you should skip it.
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