Terminal Error

There's a massive amount of criticism with this movie . The CGI is terrible ? Yes it is especially the opening scene in the Ukraine . The plot is stupid ? yes it is . Very stupid . It's full of scientific nonsense ? Indeed it is . You'll fall out of seat how ludicrous everything plays out . However none of this would mattered if the film had realised its potential

The problem with the potential is there's a lot of scope for cruel things to happen . Certainly an idea of a super intelligent self aware virus is a good premise which could have ended up as a cross between PULSE and TERMINATOR 2:JUDGEMENT DAY . Unfortunately we once again endure TVM style kitchen sink dramas when we should have been watching lots of people suffering a grisly fate like the occupants of a lift , so the potential is sadly wasted

In the '50s the standard low budget movie monster was some innocent insect enlarged by radiation; today, it's a computer or similar technological device run amuck, often infected with a virus or some such. Neither premise was ever much grounded in science, but at least followed a series of familiar conventions, both with respect to the human and non-human protagonists. "Terminal Error" fits the genre, though, of course, made for the drive-in has succumbed to direct to video or (in this case)made for cable .

That said, this is an ominous enough little film that its ambitious, but ultimately cheesy special effects (thankfully limited to a small screen) and entirely predictable plot don't keep it from being entertaining in the same way those old drive-in films kept you watching.

In brief, a disgruntled employee uses the teenaged son of his ex-boss to infect the company's computers with a virus designed for revenge. Since these computers are widely used as control devices, the area's power grids, elevators, traffic signals, Army missiles are all put in the hands of our evil doer until the virus begins to mutate and turn on humankind in general.

The acting is competent enough, and there is even a bit of witty dialog between the boss and his Stephen Hawking-like associate.

If you don't expect much from this movie and need a monster fix, that's what you'll get, and you probably won't be too disappointed.

Marina Sirtis should fire her agent for getting her in this. Her talent is thoroughly wasted here.

Machines-gone-berserk story that builds upon a goofy premise. This time, a computer virus is downloaded into a sensitive program, in a manner beyond the sublimely ridiculous. The perpetrator of this nasty scheme is a psychotic guy who giggles like a baboon and sweats from his forehead a lot. He's an irate employee who got fired, and his unwitting accomplice is the teen-angst-ridden crybaby son of the guy that did the firing.

Once downloaded, the virus blows up things in Russia, takes over appliances, shoots rockets at cars, plays with traffic signals, talks too much, and does a pitiful impression of Hal 9000 from "2001."

The kid, the dad, the psycho, and Hal 9000 Jr., all get on your nerves pretty early on. There is one character, apparently based on Stephen Hawking, who had the potential to be interesting, but the film does not give him much screen time, nor does it develop the character enough. Marina (as teen-angst's mother) really tries, but she is given very little to do, other than scream or run in terror.

If you turn your brain off for 90 minutes, and just want a good laugh, the film is OK for that. However, if you're looking for a plausible story, this one is just a terminal error.

As Terminal Error unraveled, I couldn't help compare it to 2001: A Space Odyssey (IMDb score 8.3), Colossus: The Forbin Project (IMDb score 7.1), and many others that successfully broach the subject of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Also couldn't help but marvel at how badly Terminal mangled the concept despite having three decades during which the most rudimentary knowledge of internet and computers became common.

For example, given that the highest voltage in computer gear (aside from 120Vac going into the power supply) is usually 12Vdc, exploding rack panels and monitors are ridiculous. There would be no source of the voltage needed to produce the fireworks. The keyboard layouts look like something the props department cooked up, when they could have easily gone to a computer store for real computer keyboards and bought a scrap of believability. By 2000, the idea of one large computer controlling every item in a home or business (let alone, most of a city) had gone out the window. If a door lock needed to be intelligent, it probably had its own microprocessor. Cruise missiles launching vertically from silos on US soil is rubbish. Add cheesy special effects, and a variety of voices the virus employs. There's ample other evidence that those responsible for this movie had been living under a rock, technologically speaking.

We also get an OD of the bratty son who makes us understand why some species eat their young. Michael Nouri's character is totally one-dimensional, while Marina Sirtis just seems she never shed the aura of Counselor Troy from Star Trek TNG.

We ultimately must conclude that, for Terminal Error, "AI" has to mean "Artificial Idiocy." Something this bad doesn't happen naturally.

The art of tension is creating high stakes, and then dancing on the edge of disaster until the climax.

When the audience is cringing at the plethora of ridiculous scenarios spewed onto the screen in front of them, tension is not achieved.

The basic premiss is not too bad. We've seen these virus films before, and the potential is there for a couple of programmer spods to do effective battle with a virus. But you have to truly research the subject, and you might realize computers can't fire guns, sign cheques, take showers... any of which would have not seemed out of place in this dross.

There is little grace in the action. They pull over to have domestic conversations. Insert irregular and obtrusive dialogue. We might as well put a colour coded bar on to denote main and subplots.

All that said, if you are the kind of person who doesn't know how to wind up your sundial, then you'll probably love this film.