Battle Planet: Taking hearing voices in your head to a new level

Battle Planet is so close to being great, it's frustrating. It's got cheesy dialogue, cheesy, overly-glossy CGI of planets and spaceships, weird-looking aliens, and a great cast. It even has a strong plot, despite getting too bogged down in an attempt at political and ethical overtones.

Zack Ward does wonders with his role as Jordan Stride (see, cheesy character names, too!). He pulls off what a lot of other actors wouldn't be able to: he makes me believe the high tech survival suit he is in really is talking to him, administering food intravenously against his wishes, administering adrenaline (also against his wishes), and generally driving him nuts. There are several scenes with just him and the suit, and I was laughing for all the right reasons. He obviously remembers his comedy from the painfully funny sitcom Titus well.

There are tons of other characters in this movie, in typical "Look at us! We created a whole new universe! Isn't it so cool and richly developed?" science fiction style. However, the only other character of any interest (and luckily for us, the other main character) is Jun'Hee, played with surprising skill by Monica May. If I had known one of her major roles was in Power Rangers: SPD in 2005, I probably wouldn't have taken her as seriously. However, she does some convincing acting past all the makeup they have her in, and her chemistry with Zack Ward is very believable.

They were obviously hoping for a lot with Battle Planet considering how slick and hyped-up the dedicated website for it is. However, while a good, strong story with solid acting, and decent CGI, it's missing a spark that would have made it great. I was rooting for this movie all the way until the very end, and even though I was bummed out by it, I still felt more frustrated than disappointed. Maybe that's what the writers were aiming for, but considering how many comedic breadcrumbs they dropped for me to follow, I think it should have ended differently, and I then would be singing this film's praises to all who would listen.

I will watch this movie again, and hope it comes to DVD soon so I can watch it with possibly deleted scenes that would make me feel better about the whole affair. I definitely recommend it for at least one viewing to all who enjoy old-fashioned science fiction-style stories that rely on actual stories, characters, decent CGI, and a little bit of humor, rather than unnecessary gore. Maybe someone else will see the spark I'm missing?