Unlike Gene Roddenbery who thought that the successful bridging of interstellar chasms would coincide with permanent solution of all mankind's social and political problems, creators of Space Marines, 1996 science fiction adventure directed by John Wiedner, had more pessimistic vision of the future. In this world of interstellar travel, new technology only brings new opportunities for evildoers and new challenges for those who must defend freedom and democracy. One of such problems starts when the group of space pirates, led by diabolically evil Colonel Fraser (played by John Pyper- Ferguson) steals shipment of antimatter, captures important official and starts blackmailing government of United Planets. Group of crack space marines led by Captain Gray (played by Edward Albert) could have made a short work of those criminals, but they are constrained by their bureaucratic superiors and the final showdown would be much more complicated.
At first glance, Space Marines looks like nothing more than cheap attempt to exploit science fiction fans' interest in cancelled TV show Space: Above and Beyond and hype about upcoming Starship Troopers. In reality, this film is indeed nothing more than low budget exploitation, but it nevertheless shows quality that viewers usually don't associate with this category of film products. Special effects are very good, never giving impression that the film is cheap, at least when they show space ships. On the other hand, Mikhail Kalashnikov would probably be delighted by scenes that show people in distant future still rely on his famous automatic rifles. This cheapens the impression of the film, but then comes John Pyper-Ferguson with incredibly effective over-the-top performance of villain and reminds the audience that this film shouldn't be taken seriously. Those who take the hint and adapt their mental state accordingly would be awarded by "guilty pleasure" and future candidate for cult film status.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on May 8th 2003)
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