Manticore (2005)

Just perfect...

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Working on a mission during the Iraq War, a squad of soldiers finds their orders complicated when a vengeful Iraqi insurgent brings a legendary creature to life who begins a rampage of terror across the landscape including the rest of the squad and must find a way to stop it.This one here turned out to be another decent Sci-Fi Channel original feature. One of the best aspects of the film is that it takes place during the recent wars in Iraq, which is quite timely and gives it a topical relevance that few have ever done. It's a refreshing change from so many of their films that were just creatures on the loose. To have some other meaning to their action is a nice idea that scores some points. This makes for some good action scenes with the creature, including the resurrection ceremony in the sacred chamber which results in their resurrection before the eventual rampage against the gathered believers, a really entertaining rampage against the townspeople as it sticks to the shadows leaving decimated bodies along the way, a spirited series of confrontations out in the desert as they slowly realize what they're up against as the brief blurs and quick confrontations offer up some fun times. The scenes early on as the squad battles a team of Iraqis is pretty decent and balances out the creature action as the shadowy creature begins attacking them on the outskirts in some decent surprise attacks makes for a wholly enjoyable time. As it leads into the thrilling action in the second half where the dwindling group confronts the creature in high-energy confrontations, especially the last thirty minutes when the team becomes trapped inside the village and are under constant attack as stalking, killing and more big scenes occur within a small area of the village, which provides it's best action scenes and allows it to really leave with a sense of satisfaction. Coupled with the fine monster design and fine gore with a huge body count and this one turned out to be pretty good. There really wasn't a whole lot wrong with this one, but what's there deserves to be mentioned. That comes from the usual Sci-Fi Channel problems with this one as there's really no instance where it looks like anything other than a really, really bad CGI creation, and that continues throughout the film as the creature utterly fails to convince that it is a living being. There's also the problem of the shaking camera during a lot of scenes where a character was running not being chased by the creature that's really distracting and doesn't serve any purpose other to give the viewer a headache. Speaking of which, trying to figure this one's back-story out be a real challenge. Normally, these are pretty cut and dried affairs, but the need to include several different back-stories into this and tie them all together got a little confusing. Thankfully, it dropped this whenever the creature was on-screen, but otherwise, this didn't make a lot of sense. Otherwise, expect the usual Sci-Fi channel problems with this one.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.

I think it was one of the best monster movies that i've seen in a while. Setting the story in Iraq was a stroke of genius, it all looked genuine. The special effects were great! All the research i have been able to uncover about manticores were present in the movie- AND I sense incredible potential for a sequel. Originally there were TWO manticore- but they are unclear as to what happened to one of them. In the sequel- Halliburton could have captured it- and have it in the states for genetic experimentation. Of course it gets loose somewhere and starts killing everyone. Only Sgt Baxter knows what to do ( and this could be horror franchise for this character) and he is called up by the Army to take it on. The opportunity to bring other Mesopotamian monsters to life is also tempting. The ancient Babylonians had monsters galore dating back to the earliest days of recorded history. Manticore Two could feature a few also.

The same story line has been used many times, and not just on these Sci-Fi channel assembly line quickies. This flick will certainly not alter the course of cinema, but it has its moments and is OK for a viewing when you haven't got anything else to do.Military with enormous fire power in the wilderness somewhere: check. Closing in on enemy troops, but finding a monster instead: check. Obnoxious civilians (represented here by a loudmouth TV journalist): check. Shooting useless guns at the thing: check. Blood, gore, high body count: check. Religious zealot in love with the creature who preaches spiritual legends about it: check. The story lacks originality, but the acting is decent. One glaring problem is the animation and design of the creatures. They just don't look evil or scary enough, and their movements are not 3-dimensional.However, this movie has a few well shot scenes, and the level of action rarely lags. The plot is illogical in places, but the movie can entertain if you turn your brain off.

After watching crap like Raptor Island from the scifi channel, I had shall we say, LOW expectations but was pleasantly surprised. Despite a no name cast with the exception of Jeff Fahey, the acting was solid. In terms of plot, it was REAL DIREVITAVE of James Cameron's Aliens, and a had a few moments from other classic action movies like Predator. But as a low- budget knockoff, it was done quite well. I know a lot about the limitations directors have on low budget action movies. WIth little money or time, its hard to make an action movie that is as slickly made as this movie is... The FX weren't that good however but that's largely the problem of the budget, not the director.