Science fiction cinema can benefit from remaking classic movies, even when the originals don't belong to the genre of science fiction. The best example is Outland, a remarkable SF thriller inspired by the classic western High Noon. However, there are times when remaking such non-SF classics as SF films might do more harm than good or at least require much more imagination or talent than we usually get in Hollywood these days. One such example is Lifepod, a 1993 science fiction drama based on Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 classic war drama Lifeboat and directed by Ron Silver.
The plot begins at Christmas 2169 A.D. when the interplanetary passenger ship traveling from Venus to Earth explodes. Only a couple of passengers and crew members manage to survive by getting to a lifepod. As days go by, the small spacecraft, packed with various sorts of people, becomes the place of great tensions. Survivors are crammed, supplies of food, water, and air dwindle, while the small craft helplessly drifts in the vast confines of space, without serious hope of reaching rescuers. However, the greatest dangers for the survivors lie within the pod itself. It turns out that the disaster was caused by sabotage and that the saboteur might be among the survivors.
At first, the idea to replace the ocean with outer space in the new version of Lifeboat didn't look that bad. The setting of a small spaceship might be limited, but Ridley Scott in Alien proved that even such an environment can be put to good use and contribute to strong drama. Unfortunately, famous actor Ron Silver lacked Ridley Scott's talent, and Lifepod looks more like a stage play than a science fiction film. Instead of an exciting depiction of difficulties and tough ethical choices that await people in such a precarious position, this film presents a set of cliched characters and a rather unconvincing "whodunit". "Lifepod" also fails to convince us that it actually takes place in outer space – special effects are poor, and the protagonists are forced to experience (and survive) temperature shifts that belong more to science fiction parodies like Spaceballs or Airplane II than serious SF films. The final nail in the coffin of this film is the decision to use one of the characters as narrators, thus spoiling any surprise at the end of the film. Ron Silver, Robert Loggia, CCH Pounder, and a couple of other good character actors try to overcome the limitations of the script, but their efforts are in vain. "Lifepod" is not likely to stick in viewers' memory.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on November 18th, 2002)
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