Supernova (2000)

Film Title: Supernova
Released: January 14, 2000
Directed by: Walter Hill (as Thomas Lee)

Written by: David C. Wilson based on a story by Daniel Chuba & William Malone

Starring: James Spader, Angela Bassett, Peter Facinelli, Robin Tunney, Lou Diamond Phillips, Wilson Cruz & Robert Forster

Plot: A deep space medical rescue ship answers a distress signal from a distant mining colony and the lone survivor they pick up brings aboard an artifact of unknown origin.

IMDb: 4.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 10/100
My Score: 1.5/5

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Supernova had a tumultuous production and the end result shows it. Originally pitched by William Malone in 1990, the script went through many changes before finally being produced. The movie opens introducing the crew of the Nightingale 229, a deep space medical rescue ship. They receive a distress signal from thousands of light years away from an abandoned mining colony. The ship is damaged upon arrival at the colony on a rogue ice moon orbiting a blue giant star. The mysterious survivor (Peter Facinelli) they rescue brings aboard an alien artifact discovered in the mines. It turns out to be a ninth dimensional bomb that transforms the humans who come into physical contact with it. Facinelli becomes increasingly stronger, younger and homicidal, killing nearly everyone on board in an effort to keep the artifact for himself. In the end, he gets jettisoned into space with the artifact right before it explodes, igniting the blue giant into a supernova. The two remaining crew members (James Spader and Angela Bassett) barely escape the blast and as they are leaving, the ships computer informs them that the supernova will reach Earth in fifty-one years and will either destroy all life or "enable mankind to achieve a new level of existence." The end. Seriously, that's how it ends. Spader (who looks fantastic) and Bassett try to bring some depth to the material but have a hard time because there's not much to mine. Facinelli is great as the nice guy but when he starts showing his true colors he begins to falter. The effects are decent with the exception of the ship's robot. MGM didn't want to give director Walter Hill money for an animatronic so he was left with a guy in a shiny suit that looks like, well, a guy in a shiny suit. This "robot" wouldn't be out of place in a B sci-fi movie from the 1950's but it sticks out like a sore thumb here. The other actors are adequate in their roles but there isn't enough for them to do and when they die, you don't really care. Hill and the executives at MGM butted heads over several issues, including the number of effects shots needed to be completed in post-production, leading to Hill quitting the movie. When test screenings of the film met with poor results, MGM brought in Jack Sholder for extensive, uncredited re-shoots. Sholder's cut also met with poor test scores and Francis Ford Coppola was brought aboard to re-edit the film yet again. The final result hit theaters nearly two years after it was originally planned to and was almost universally panned by critics. Hill had his name removed the movie, and the pseudonym Thomas Lee was used in place of the more traditional Alan Smithee. The trailer below is proof that the studio had no idea what to do with this mess as they tried to market it as a lighthearted sci-fi adventure film instead of the darker sci-fi thriller that it is.