Cinematic Releases: The Colony

If the the movie stars Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton, its gotta be good. Right? Well, not really.

The Colony is the latest doomsday movie in which a small band of humans are battling for survival in  a post-apocalyptic earth that's been buried beneath snow and ice after a self inflicted weather catastrophe. While this premise is nothing new, neither are the several other genres they try to mash into this sad mess of a movie. The first few minutes start out relatively strong with a dastardly Bill Paxton doing his best to shed his typical good guy image and a heavy set Lawrence Fishburne taking on the role of colonial leader, Briggs. By the twenty minute mark it was easy to realize that The Colony was doomed.

As shocking as it was to see these top tier actors starring in a lower budget feature, it was even more astounding that a genre piece like this would try to meld so many themes or ideas in to one film. If the film had been left at the struggle to survive in the treacherous conditions of the frozen wasteland of earth, The Colony may have been able to maintain some intensity and realistic integrity. The human against human element could have satisfied the core audience for this type of movie. But instead, The Colony introduces numerous deviations in plot that are utterly stupid, derivative, and shamefully cliched.

Being a huge fan of apocalyptic movies, The Colony was a major letdown. The hopes that Fishburne and Paxton would carry this film beyond its shoestring budget were seriously dashed as both play second fiddle to the minor talent of  pretty boy Kevin Zegers. This is the perfect specimen of a movie that fails under an inexperienced director, a poorly executed premise, and too many loose ends. If you see the movie, you'll understand this reference when the movie comes to its disappointing and disjointed conclusion.

The Colony should have been put on ice.




-Review by Chris George