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It seems like this programmer from the SciFi Channel took inspiration from the delightfully bizarre war series by DC Comics named ‘The War That Time Forgot’ where GIs battled dinosaurs on a lost island during WWII. In this case, however, the premise is even better as the all-female crew of a US plane with an officer (Brian Krause) and his secret yet vital wartime cargo (hint, it makes a Geiger counter stutter) are shot down above an atoll. There, a Japanese unit has already been fended off by flying dinosaurs that emerge from a cache of ancient eggs.
Kevin Gendreau achieves something for attempting to enhance the beasts vs grunts SciFi format by adding a period setting, even if this is not in the absurd realm of conquistadors-vs-tyrannosaur Aztec Rex. The nameless actresses (Jamie Elle Mann, Lucy Faust, Shauna Rappold, Gizza Elizondo) put on ‘40s hairstyles, deep red lipstick and take a stab at witty WWII banter but it certainly does not reach the pastiche level of that admirable, if ropey, ‘80s affair Zone Troopers. The Yanks have to cannibalize Japanese planes to get back in the air, while coping with the smarmily scheming enemy commander (Tohoru Masamune). But they also go up in borrowed Zeros to engage in dogfights with a gaggle of monsters.
On her first mission (Faust), the sweet child is tasting death, which makes her crush (Caleb Michaelson) die while gunning down a few beasts. This is for you, Hoodsie, the beasts that deserve Hoodsie are angry eagle turtles that attempt to fly but kick their feet instead of glide, resembling dragons more than pterodactyls or pteranodons.
It is to be expected that the special effects are overattentive and underwhelming, as is the case with the monsters and the planes, both look fake, and their clashes look like a rough draft which needs about a dozen more computer passes before they are satisfactory. It is possible to coast through thanks to some residual warm feelings regarding the premise, however, it really does need rewriting from someone who isn’t primarily a special effects man, and remade on a budget that qualifies as massive with an A-list of actresses zooming around in fake costumes fighting really fake monsters. I’d settle for a War That Time Forgot movie or a Zeppelin vs Pterodactyls, which has been a Pterodactyls.
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