WYVERN on the Sci-Fi Channel, by Bruce Simmons from Cinema Static:
Saturday night Sci-Fi movies tend to have quick deaths in the beginning, cheesy over the board acting, miserable stories and sad effects. But it is Saturday night and camp can be fun.
WYVERN did meet some expectations and yet I was also surprised by it.
Wyvern delivered the first death within 2 minutes of the movie opening.
It actually had a story that developed decent progression, fair background and typical developments that kept the plot in a decent progression.
Yet Nick Chinlund delivers a decent role as Jake, as he delivers validity to the cast. You might remember him from "The Chronicles of Riddick" as Toombs, the ill-fated bounty hunter.
Then there's Erin Karpluk, (Claire) Barry Corbin (Haas) and Don S. Davis of Stargate fame, as the doofy brained Colonel.
Don Davis (RIP) shows the depth of his talent. He isn't the main character, but one of a few secondary roles. No, it's not a mind boggling, soul wrenching role he delivers. Instead, he delivers a seemingly half-brained doof of a character. One we would actually expect from a Saturday night Sci-Fi movie. He delivers superbly in that fashion and I mean it. After watching him for many years on Stargate, this was a great variation of character. I found him fun to watch, knowing he was striving for this affect. I wish a heart attack didn't take him from us last July,('08) but it is what it is.
On top of all this, Sci-Fi is not known for delivering fantastic effects but the dragon was pretty decent.
In all, maybe it's because I've come to expect less then nothing from these movies that this one seemed so much better than most.
It was a fun 2 hours for TV for me for once. Thanks Sci-Fi for the surprise. Really! I didn't want to give this flick a 5. It was much better than that and I feel my "6" is a very strong "6".
How does it all end after the Wyvern goes nuts eating everyone? Well, that would be a spoiler that I won't give away. It's not a bad resolution. That's all I'll say!
