Venus Risingis a laughably bad movie advertised as “in the tradition of Johnny Mnemonic”. Maybe the two movies are in the same ballpark, theme-wise, but quality-wise they’re not even the same sport. Audie England and Costas Manylor play two fugitives who escape from a desert Island. Eve and Vegas, however, are still controlled by drugs from the Pacifica Corporation. The drugs also enable the characters to achieve a “virtual reality” state of mind. Fantasy sequences occur, flashbacks etc. It’s just an exc…se to kill time in this lame piece of celluloid.
Morgan Fairchild is advertised as one of the movie’s “stars”. She barely has 30 seconds of screen time. Oscar winner Joel Grey also makes a cameo. Can’t the host of the Kit Kat Club get better work? Venus Rising moves at such a slow pace too. It’s only 90 minutes, but it seems like 90 days. The acting is wooden, the dialogue is inane, and the plot is ridiculous.
Video
The 1:33:1 full screen transfer of the film is fairly bland. The “seductive” viritual reality sequences look cheesy. There are a few attempts to make some cool looking shots. But those are few and far between. I would give this transfer a mediocre rating if it were not for the transfer damage effects! There are moments of out and out speckling. It’s very noticeable and distracting.
Audio
Recorded in Ultra-Stereo! Oooooo. It’s a Dolby Digital 2.0 track, and there’s nothing ultra about it. I mean, the track is good for what it is. There’s nothing special about the surround effects (minimal). It’s a straight up front heavy track with clear dialogue. Some of the sound mixing is questionable, and the cheesy music is very questionable. Is it above average? I’m not so sure.
Special Features
There are some previews for movies of Venus Rising’s ilk, as well as a Hell Boy trailer.
Final Thoughts
Maybe I’m in a bad mood today, but this movie is lame. The distracting video transfer and adequate audio don’t help either. Venus is Rising? Well, maybe I can get Mars to attack.
Special Features List
- Trailers
