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Released by: Warner Archive
Released on: November 11, 2009.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Cast: Alex Cord, Mariette Hartley, Ted Cassidy, Percy Rodrigues
Year: 1973
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The Movie:
Directed by Argentinean TV wunderkid John Llewellyn Moxey, Genesis II was written and produced by none other than Gene Roddenberry, best known as the man who took us all along for the ride with the cast and crew of the starship Enterprise by creating Star Trek.
The 1973 made for TV movie follows Dylan Hunt (Alex Cord), a scientist who, in 1979, decides to put himself into suspended animation deep inside a cave owned by NASA to see if his comrades can bring him back to life a few days later. The point of this rather loony sounding experiment? Well, he figures if this works, he'll be able to apply the technology to the space program and allow astronauts to travel much further into the recesses of space.
Unfortunately for Hunt, there's an earthquake and the cavern collapses on top of him, leaving him there essentially asleep for one hundred and fifty four years. When he wakes up and finds himself in the year 2133, he's shocked to learn that a massive war has broken out. While he slept, the educated minds and scientists of the world took it upon themselves to stop the hawks in charge of the various military forces in power by creating their own society appropriately dubbed PAX. Their united ideal is to persevere and ensure that mankind's indomitable spirit remains, but they've got to contend with the Tyranians, the military types who plan on overthrowing everyone else and usurping power for themselves.
The Tyranians trick poor Dylan into working alongside them in hopes of using his knowledge of the world that once was, figuring fairly reasonably that they can learn from mistakes and just maybe rebuild an ancient nuclear generator that will give them the edge they need to take the world and keep it. Dylan, however, is no dummy and he soon figures out exactly what's going on and decides to fight alongside the citizens of Pax to stop things from spiraling even further out of control.
Originally envisioned by Roddenberry as a series pilot for a television show that never happened, Genesis II does sort of have that feel to it in that it leaves open a lot of possibilities. Regardless, this was the only adventure that Dylan Hunt would ever have and that's too bad as this is a fun story. Combining elements from Star Trek and maybe letting a bit of influence from the Planet Of The Apes films taint his vision, Roddenberry tells a pretty interesting story here, and on that in light of the current political divisiveness running rampant through the United States, seems more relevant than ever.
Sci-fi has almost always had a social conscience and the script makes no qualms about whose side we're supposed to be one, but it's interesting that the film at least allows Dylan to interact with both factions. Alex Cord makes for a decent enough hero, while supporting performances from the likes of Majel Barrett, Percy Rodgriguez, Ted Cassidy, and of course the lovely Mariette Hartley round out the supporting cast nicely.
While aspects of the production certainly show their age, the storyline holds up surprisingly well here, resulting in a picture that's not only entertaining but actually a bit thought provoking. Roddenberry's vision of the future has its good sides and its bad sides, it's neither utopian nor dystopian, but that's not a bad thing as life is rarely so black and white. It's a well thought out piece made by a decent director, shot by a talented cameraman and made with some decent production values. Definitely worth seeing.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Genesis II is presented in its original 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio demonstrating very nice color in a decent progressive scan transfer. There's some mild print damage but given the film's age that's understandable. The contrast levels look good, detail is stronger than you'd probably expect, and while there's a little bit of shimmer, this is otherwise a decent looking effort. The film has not been given any sort of restoration according to the Warner Archives website, but at least the elements used for this transfer appear to have been in pretty nice shape and this is definitely one of the better looking WB Archive releases this reviewer has seen so far.
The English language Dolby Digital Mono track is obviously limited in range but the dialogue is easy to understand and the levels are properly balanced. There aren't any recurring problems with hiss to complain and generally the movie sounds alright.
This DVD-R features a plain, static menu and nothing else.
The Final Word:
A bit dated but still plenty of fun, Genesis II gets the typical no frills treatment from Warner Archives but at least the transfer is a strong one, which for some fans will be more than enough reason to pick this up.