LEPRECHAUN 4: IN SPACE

 

LEPRECHAUN 4: IN SPACE 
D+ 

Here is my history with the LEPRECHAUN films.  I own and occasionally sit down and watch the first three films in the franchise.  I checked out LEPRECHAUN: ORIGINS and hated it. It was awful.  Then being a fan of Mark Holton & wanting to see him in something again, I checked out LEPRECHAUN RETURNS. I liked that.  

I never took the time to check out LEPRECHAUN 4: In Space or LEPRECHAUN 5: In the Hood or LEPRECHAUN 6: Back to the Hood, because I thought they looked stupid. 

Still haven't seen 5 or 6, but I can say that I was correct about part 4....It was stupid. 

For one, there is zero exposition or explanation. How did Leprechaun end up in space? Why is he there?  We don't get answers to these questions.  He's just there. No explanation. 

Secondly, the three previous films established that the leprechaun can only be hurt/stopped with the power of a four leaf clover.  This movie NEVER establishes that.  In fact, they "kill" the Leprechaun THREE different times & of course he keeps coming back. Yet instead of realizing that they can't kill him, not only do they continue to try and kill him, they continue to try and kill him the same way that didn't work three times before!!! 

I have seen worse acting, but not much.  I know the character Gary Siner was playing was meant to be over the top, but this was way too much. His performance made the film feel like one of those cheap late night science shows you find on public access channels at 3 in the morning. 

This film had little plot & the special effects had "low budget" written all over them in capital letters.    

The only saving grace of this entire film of course was Warwick Davis' performance. 

THE REEF

 

THE REEF: D


This film failed to deliver in just about every area. Really the only praise I can give the film is within its location. The scenery was rather beautiful.  That about does it for the praise. 

The acting could have been worse, but it could have been a lot better too.  The moments of simplistic conversation were realistic enough but there was no sense of levity within romance scenes or a since of urgency within scenes of what should have been energetic.  The films pacing was painfully slow to the point of absolute boredom & then when things finally did pick up, the audience was left feeling lackluster from a scene that felt far more dull than it should have. 

The final scene were the man is begging the girl to pull him up onto the rocks so he will not be attacked by the shark. There is no strain in her face. No veins popping out of her arm, head or neck. She doesn't even appear to be squeezing his arm.  It looks as if she isn't even trying to pull him up.   

This movie is a collection of stupid decisions made by characters.  A skipper that seems to have less knowledge of his equipment and the waters than the people he takes out.  Another man after being instructed not to swim fast and splash around in the water, does exactly that, thus causing himself to be the first victim of the shark. It's difficult as an audience member to feel any empathy for the characters when they are the cause of their own demise. 

Lastly, for being praised as a "realistic" shark film, there were many actions made by the shark that are extremely unrealistic for a Great White. Things a Great White would never do, thus giving a false impression of the behavior of such a magnificent creature.   

Since JAWS, the last 46 years have produced a lot of shark films. Some good, some bad.  I'll give you once guess as to where this one lies.