Despite their best efforts, The Asylum isn't the bottom of the barrel. They make a lot of awful schlock, yes, but I've genuinely enjoyed some of their pictures, and there are other production companies that are consistently even worse. Be that as it may, one must necessarily approach anything they make with the lowest of expectations, especially with regards to any "mockbuster." As soon as we begin watching 'Battle Star Wars,' released to ride on the coattails of 'Star Wars Episode IX,' it's readily apparent that it does not count among the studio's best work - but if nothing else, I also don't think it's the lowest of the low, either. This isn't good, yet if you're looking something light to pass the time, it's somewhat acceptable.
There are flubbed lines, a flat and bland tone accompanying mild, milquetoast direction, and wholesale overacting and chewing of scenery. We're given a bounty of dialogue in lieu of action sequences and special effects that require a budget, and just as we've seen in other genre fare like 'Supernatural,' where non-human races and monsters were often depicted taking human form, there is no special makeup on hand here, let alone prosthetics, fanciful costume design, or fabrications from a shop. (Well, okay - there is ONE non-human race depicted.) The lighting used to represent the rebels and "The Coalition" is more heavy-handed than latter-day 'Star Wars' or even M. Night Shyamalan would dream of, and writer Jeremy M. Inman lifts ideas from both George Lucas' flagship creation (such as Paladins, standing in for both Jedi and Sith) and other science fiction (e.g., HLPRs are holograms a la the EMH of 'Star Trek') in fashioning characters, dialogue, scene writing, and the narrative at large. Even the props master and costume designer follow the same path as Inman, the trio of composers take direct inspiration from John Williams, and the editing makes use of the same playful scene transitions as Lucas.
In fairness, all involved obviously knew what type of flick they were making. Whether it's a matter of James Thomas' direction or the cast's inability there is certainly some acting that's less than great, but in general one can't fault the actors for leaning into the nature of the production. The men were clearly instructed to be extra ham in their portrayals, and they do so heartily, not least Canyon Prince, Benedikt Sebastian, and Justin Berti; the women were given an opportunity to actually demonstrate their skills, insofar as The Asylum allows it, and Alyson Gorske, Alissa Filoramo, and Aimee Stolte come off better at some times more than others. The music is fairly unremarkable and often imitative, but not bad, and much the same could be said of the designs of visual elements (including CGI ships), the sets - yes, actual sets, and not just green-screen projections! - and the costume design, hair, and makeup, such as they are. Those special effects and action sequences that we do get are minimal as they present, less than completely robust, and don't specifically inspire, yet even in their modesty are decent enough. The story is generic, but suitable, even if some bits (especially dialogue) are questionable and poorly written. There is some intended humor herein that really did earn a laugh, and some genuine good ideas, not all of them lifted.
No, 'Battle Star Wars' isn't exactly good, but it's not terrible. I've seen far, far worse features than this, and even recognizing some instances of outright theft (e.g., a hologram like Leia's recorded message in 'A new hope') I don't think the utmost denigration it's received in the past four years is remotely deserved. It's possible I'm being overly generous, but there's a part of me that even sort of enjoyed this as the unabashedly low-grade romp that it is. Considering how rotten even big-budget, major studio releases can sometimes be, the very fact that The Asylum can churn out something that's not strictly abominable, let alone anything that can hold something approximating meaningful value, is kind of admirable. This is hardly a movie that one needs to make time to watch, but if you do come across it, and if you're receptive to the sort of cheesy, middling fare it calls kin, then it's passable for a lazy night.
There are flubbed lines, a flat and bland tone accompanying mild, milquetoast direction, and wholesale overacting and chewing of scenery. We're given a bounty of dialogue in lieu of action sequences and special effects that require a budget, and just as we've seen in other genre fare like 'Supernatural,' where non-human races and monsters were often depicted taking human form, there is no special makeup on hand here, let alone prosthetics, fanciful costume design, or fabrications from a shop. (Well, okay - there is ONE non-human race depicted.) The lighting used to represent the rebels and "The Coalition" is more heavy-handed than latter-day 'Star Wars' or even M. Night Shyamalan would dream of, and writer Jeremy M. Inman lifts ideas from both George Lucas' flagship creation (such as Paladins, standing in for both Jedi and Sith) and other science fiction (e.g., HLPRs are holograms a la the EMH of 'Star Trek') in fashioning characters, dialogue, scene writing, and the narrative at large. Even the props master and costume designer follow the same path as Inman, the trio of composers take direct inspiration from John Williams, and the editing makes use of the same playful scene transitions as Lucas.
In fairness, all involved obviously knew what type of flick they were making. Whether it's a matter of James Thomas' direction or the cast's inability there is certainly some acting that's less than great, but in general one can't fault the actors for leaning into the nature of the production. The men were clearly instructed to be extra ham in their portrayals, and they do so heartily, not least Canyon Prince, Benedikt Sebastian, and Justin Berti; the women were given an opportunity to actually demonstrate their skills, insofar as The Asylum allows it, and Alyson Gorske, Alissa Filoramo, and Aimee Stolte come off better at some times more than others. The music is fairly unremarkable and often imitative, but not bad, and much the same could be said of the designs of visual elements (including CGI ships), the sets - yes, actual sets, and not just green-screen projections! - and the costume design, hair, and makeup, such as they are. Those special effects and action sequences that we do get are minimal as they present, less than completely robust, and don't specifically inspire, yet even in their modesty are decent enough. The story is generic, but suitable, even if some bits (especially dialogue) are questionable and poorly written. There is some intended humor herein that really did earn a laugh, and some genuine good ideas, not all of them lifted.
No, 'Battle Star Wars' isn't exactly good, but it's not terrible. I've seen far, far worse features than this, and even recognizing some instances of outright theft (e.g., a hologram like Leia's recorded message in 'A new hope') I don't think the utmost denigration it's received in the past four years is remotely deserved. It's possible I'm being overly generous, but there's a part of me that even sort of enjoyed this as the unabashedly low-grade romp that it is. Considering how rotten even big-budget, major studio releases can sometimes be, the very fact that The Asylum can churn out something that's not strictly abominable, let alone anything that can hold something approximating meaningful value, is kind of admirable. This is hardly a movie that one needs to make time to watch, but if you do come across it, and if you're receptive to the sort of cheesy, middling fare it calls kin, then it's passable for a lazy night.