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If there is one thing this new century seems to proving more and more it is the fact that if you want character driven drama, television is the place to get it. ‘Battlestar Galactica' has for the last six years been hailed as a prime example of this. A mini-series, four seasons, and a bridging tv-movie (Razor) broke any prejudices of genre and proved that spectacle could resonate and be as relevant as any topical contemporary drama.

When it was announced the fourth season would be the last, this reviewer, among many, felt a sharp sense of loss even before we found out if our heroes would reach earth and finally defeat the Cylons. But one had to respect the wisdom of the creators in bowing out while they were still on top and wanted. ‘Leave ‘em wanting more' was both a creative choice and narratively employed come the last frame of the series.

Battlestar Galactica: The PLanNot surprisingly it wasn't too long before we heard that another tv-movie was in the works, with no less than Admiral Adama James Edward Olmos in the director's chair. He, along with former ‘Buffy' writer Jane Espenson, have continued the franchise by creating an alternate view point to the beginning of the series—from the Cylons' perspective. So the question begs, with all of us tonguing for more Galactica, have they satisfied our appetite?

Well firstly, this film is a complicated and intricately plotted piece of work. There is no doubt no effort has been spared in the detail, either from a story stand point or from an effects point of view. The production value is top notch, and in many cases surpasses many of the glorious shots we saw in the series' original run. But as much as I personally love everything Galactica, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that the script's complexity is not a disadvantage. As a fill in the blanks effort, this film delivers, but that is its sole purpose, and a dangerous approach should a non-Battlestar Galactica viewer decide to enter the universe here.

As wonderful as it is to see many of the talented cast returning to their beloved roles, as a whole this film plays like a stapled together stack of deleted scenes. Someone has been kind enough to chronologically file them, and put in scenes of the series for context (an obvious economical way to get major star's involved without shooting new scenes), but it is still very frenetic and discombobulating. Should you have never seen an episode, I strongly recommend you start at the beginning.

For the fans the film will make sense at the end, but it was an effort to get there at times. I personally would have preferred to see what happens next instead of going back in time. They did it right the first time. ‘The Plan' solves a couple of minute mysteries, answers to questions some that pay very close attention might ask, but there are no great revelations here.

Altogether, although it pains me to say so, this is first effort from Galactica to fail the above asked question? Do we want more? Absolutely, but not like this. It's not poorly made; in fact nothing is poor about it. But the sum total doesn't add anything significant this time around. Let's hope there's another one, and that they go in another direction.


Component Grades
Movie
DVD
3 Stars
3 Stars
DVD Experience
3 Stars

DVD

DVD Details:

Screen Formats: 1.78:1

Subtitles: English; French; Spanish; Closed Captioned

Language and Sound: English: Dolby Digital 5.1.

Other Features: Color; interactive menus; scene access; trivia game; deleted scenes; behind-the-scenes featurettes; audio commentary; director's commentary.

Supplements:

Commentary

  • Feature-length commentary track with Director/Actor Edward James Olmos and Executive Producer/Writer Jane Esperson.

Featurettes

  • From Admiral to Director: Edward James Olmos and The Plan - (6:40)
  • The Cylons of The Plan - (6:51)
  • The Cylon Attack - (04:03)
  • Visual Effects: The Magic Behind The Plan - (19:01)

Deleted Scenes

Number of Discs: 1 with Keepcase Packaging

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