Beyond the Edge

Like a lot of sci-fi films, there are many genre landmarks that won't be named in order to be fair to 'Mission 8', although the genre has seen its fair share of stinkers, especially the low-budget ones. Have no bias towards films with low budgets, actually there are good ones out there that manage to intrigue and entertain regardless of flaws. The concept was a good one.

'Mission 8' is not among the worst films of the genre, SyFy and The Asylum's efforts will never be topped in terms of badness, and nowhere near among the worst films ever. There are a few alright points, though nothing comes off brilliantly. 'Mission 8' is still not a good film though at all, or at least to me, for the reasons described previously here. The problems are many and they override what 'Mission 8' succeeds (a little) in. It is not a case of watching the film with the intent to hate it, far from the truth. Actually wanted it to be halfway decent.

The acting could have been much worse than it actually was (though there is still not anything exceptional or awards worthy), with Casper Van Dien and Adrienne Barbeau trying their best and hardly being charisma free. Some of the music appeals and doesn't feel discordant or too much of a dirge (at the same time it's somewhat unmemorable and parts are intrusive).

In terms of the story, on the most part that is one of 'Mission 8's' biggest problems but it does pick up a little towards the end when it gets more eventful and intriguing.

However, the story takes far too long to get off the ground. Much of the film is very dull and has very little story to sustain the relatively short running time, no matter how much extraneous padding there was. There is nothing tense or suspenseful in 'Mission 8' and it is too ridiculous to get any fun and too muddled and cheesy to take it seriously.

Similarly, too much of it gets rather vague so the film fails to make sense frequently. The ending in particular is one of the biggest head-scratchers for any of my recent film viewings. There were a few nice ideas here in 'Mission 8', explored nowhere near enough. There is nobody to endear to, let alone root for, with such flimsy character development and so many irritating and barely logical decision making. The production values are drab and rushed-looking with afterthought-like effects.

Overall, not unwatchable but messy. 3/10 Bethany Cox