Cyclops: No horn, isn't purple, doesn't fly, but still eats people...

Poor depth perception would make you cranky, too!

Poor Eric Roberts. Just when it looks like you're getting decent roles, like in Heroes, again, you revert back to these kinds of movies. Not that I mind. You do them well, and play Emperor Tiberius like the professional you are. Yet it's a bit beneath you, and lands you solidly in my "You Poor Bastard" category. Not that you care, I'm certain, but I still feel the need to let that out into the universe.

Craig Archibald seems like another actor who should do a hell of a lot better than a movie like this. He was in the movie Capote for crying out loud! Yet here he is, playing Falco with slimy zeal and making me hate his guts within the first few lines he utters. That's talent, and it's rather sad to be wasted in a creature feature, even one that's better than most.

Kevin Stapleton plays Marcus well, even though the script can't decide on how his character should be received. First he comes off as a huge jerk, then a hero, a jerk again, and then a hero, and then you just throw your hands up in the air and figure, 'Hey, it's Marcus up against an evil Roman Empire. I'd be bipolar, too.' Besides, it keeps things interesting when the Cyclops isn't around.

This is a well done historical B-movie creature feature. I was very surprised that I could follow the script considering many of these types of stories just throw out the time period and wander aimlessly from there. It's set in Roman times when people were still getting enslaved and then thrown into the gladiator pits to die for sheer entertainment value. Naturally there are factions ready to rise up, but in this case we need to wait for Marcus to capture the last living Cyclops and bring him to Emperor Tiberius.

The Emperor decides to distract the people further from his cruel reign by making the Cyclops a main attraction at the Colosseum. Plus, it does double duty by feeding the poor Cyclops at the same time. The Emperor pinches pennies when it comes to feeding prisoners, you know.

At some point a few slaves attempt to escape the city only to be captured, Marcus gets arrested for refusing to kill an innocent man, and everyone gets to go to fight as gladiators. Party time! Plus Marcus comes face to face with the creature he captured. The interaction between the two is very interesting to watch. You wonder if Marcus is befriending it out of empathy, or for some ulterior motive, and you wonder how long it will take the Cyclops to realize Marcus has a lot of meat on his bones.

The last third of the film is a lot of fight scenes, a lot of brutality both at the hands of humans and the Cyclops, and a little political intrigue for spice. The quality of actors holds this film up higher than it would have been with the usual stable a film company would have used, so I was watching intently all the way to the end.

The CGI on the Cyclops was very well done, clearly adding touches to a real human, in the vein of Gollum from Lord Of The Rings. It's pretty cartoonish against the film's backdrops, but because they made him move so well he still looks fierce and cool. The voice actor added depth, even though the lines were few and far between. I was glad they gave the Cyclops the ability to communicate that much, instead of just making him a big, rampaging beast.

Cyclops is a solid creature feature movie with historical tones, surprisingly well-written and well-cast. There were a few problems with the plot, but they weren't distracting, especially since this isn't going for any Oscars. I would watch this one again if I have the time, although I won't be tempted to own it on DVD. It was good, but not that good.

Watch for this one on rotation at SciFi.com. Then pop yourself a big bowl of popcorn, and settle in for a lot of cheesy action!