Octopus (2000)

the audience applauded

Overrated and overhyped

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I wanted this to be a good film. I really wanted to be able to log onto IMDb and blow you away with my opinion that 'Octopus' wasn't actually a bad movie. But John Eyres let me down and now I begrudgingly come to you and beg you not to watch this 100 minutes of disappointment. Let me start by telling you that the premise of the movie wasn't actually that bad. If done right, it would've made for a decent monster attack movie. But other than the premise 'Octopus' was a film that just didn't have a clue what genre to put itself into. Post introduction, I found myself watching a spy conspiracy thriller that involved a terrorist blowing up a kid in the US Embassy, a gunfight in the streets and an exploding car. People died, man, and I felt this had somehow turned into a cheap 'Die Hard' and was wondering how the f*** a mutant octopus would fit into the story. The truth is the octopus never really did fit into the story but that might have been more due to the fact we saw it for all of twenty seconds at the end. Which is a shame as the CGI was by no means as awful as it is for most straight to video releases. The terrorist subplot was weak and made the story farcical. The black guy died. Lowery's tough action chick was a mess of sexual stereotypes. The protagonist - I don't even know the guy's name - was a massive wet s***. The octopus was the most realistic element of the plot and, as a supposed monster movie, this film would definitely have improved if there had actually been more monster in it. But I guess that's what 'Octopus 2' gives us. I hope...

I'm talking about Octopus (2000) Directed by John Eyres and Written by Bose Davidson, and Michael Weiss. Spoiler Alert ahead. The movie is a blend of various types of genera: It starts off as a Government agents fighting terrorists, goes on to become a Submarine drama, and turns into a underwater monster, that carries the title of the movie. The terrorist element is re inserted toward the end, as the bad guys plan to blow up a cruise ship,Jay Harrington plays the agent Roy Turner a field statistician put in harms way, as he is to accommodate the ruthless assassin Casper, played by Ravil Isyanov. They are to be transported by submarine, commanded by the brave Captain Shaw, played by David Beecroft, and his disposable crew. Notably the sexy Karen Lowery as Dr Lisa Finch. and Ricco Ross as Brickman the brave first mate.The movie is very watchable, with satisfactory production values, It is filmed in the style of a TV series. Episodic in general. The movie was at it's best, aside from the outdoor terrorist sequences that open the show, when it played the dynamics between the moral agent, and the ruthless killer.The monster takes the starring role, and that's too bad. The creature effects crew, could not figure out how to get it right, The digital effects in this movie failed to achieve what stop motion pictures like, "It came from Beneath the Sea" (1955) achieved, a believable and coherent giant octopus. The big climatic final shots, failed to impress. By the time all the plot elements pulled together at the finale, the movie had stopped being fun. Four out of Ten, bring your popcorn Stars.

After just seeing "Octopus" and enjoying it for what it is, all these ultra-negative reviews are hard to figure out. What were these critics expecting from a Grade B sci-fi flick from 2000? Sure the script and cast only play it semi-straight, but you can tell they had a good time. Sure the special effects reflect the cartooney CGI of that era, but they get the job done. The question is, is "Octopus" entertaining for what it is? Does it deliver the goods, so to speak? Definitely.The first thing that impressed me was that the filmmakers actually came up with a wildly creative and original plot rather than rip-off one of Peter Benchley's stories ("Jaws," "The Beast," etc.), which is what the sequel did, "Octopus 2: River of Fear." The story of "Octopus" starts in Bulgaria, where the film was shot, with some intense action. A love-to-hate terrorist is captured and needs taken to America. The quickest way to do this is via a dishonored submarine captain who's in the area. To escort the terrorist, the US government is forced to use a CIA agent who is really just an analyst and has no experience being ruthless when necessary, like, say, James Bond. Meanwhile the terrorist's organization seeks to abort this transfer by taking over a cruise ship and intersecting the sub at sea. On top of all this is the titular sea creature, mutated to behemoth proportions, which dwells in the 'Devil's Eye' (similar to the 'Bermuda Triangle') and threatens to put the kibosh on both submarine and cruise ship alike.Totally outlandish and larger-than-life? Yes, but the filmmakers and cast play it pretty straight with some lighter aspects and humor thrown in for good measure. The film only turns totally outrageous like "Deep Rising" in the final act but, by then, it's pretty much expected and (for the most part) welcomed.Aside from the highly creative storyline the film impresses with its five main characters: the world-weary captain of the sub, his black first officer, the CIA agent who doesn't want to be James Bond, the sexy blond oceanographer, and the love-to-hate villain. They're all fleshed-out well and are memorable characters. The viewer comes to care for the four protagonists and can't help but root for them. The oceanographer is intelligent & spirited and looks great when she's ultimately forced to take off her skirt (lol).The ending is too over-the-top and ridiculous, but it comes with the territory.The film runs 100 minutes.FINAL WORD: I was expecting a lame low-budget sea-creature-on-the-loose flick and got a low-budget sea-creature-on-the-loose flick with an imaginative story, flashes of intense action, notable characters, likable protagonists and the ultra-alluring Carolyn Lowery.GRADE: B

Of all the bad Hollywood productions this movie makes my top ten list. It's quite surprising that this piece of crap resulted in a movie that got even bought by a German TV station and some sorry desperate wanna bes even dubbed this masterpiece of awfulness. The cast consists of absolute losers and who is this clown who directed this? No need to say more, it's as if George W. Bush or some Scientology fanatic sat in the director's chair. Don't even bother to waste a minute of your time to watch this idiotic piece. Oh, and now IMDb wants me to write at least ten lines in order to get this review published... But I've said everything I got to say....