Pandora's Clock (1996)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is good made-for-TV thriller, where a professor contracts a deadly virus before he boards a plane with over 200 passengers, endangering the lives of everybody on board. To make things worst, the plane can't land in any country for fear of spreading the virus to the human population, and a secret U.S. government plan to shoot down the plane complicates things even more.Eric Laneuville did a pretty good job in directing this movie, grabbing your attention from start to finish as the plot quickly identifies the story's main issue, the Doomsday Virus, which Professor Ernest Helms (Michael Winters) contracts from a thief after filming a documentary. The issue is then expanded after Helms boards a plane with over 200 people on board, threatening to spread the virus. All these plot elements and twists in determining the fate of the plane passengers and the government's secret plan to deal with the issue make this a very exciting TV movie that will give you an edge-of-your-seat experience.The acting was pretty good for the most part and the characters were engaging; ***spoiler ahead, but does not give away ending*** just didn't like the part of the screaming mother who didn't heed to the military's warnings about leaving the plane. That scene put a damper on an otherwise suspenseful movie. ***spoiler ends*** It is a good way to spend three hours or so before the television when you have nothing else to watch. Even the title, Pandora's Clock, is an attention grabber - something that is suitable and mysterious for this doomsday thriller.Grade B

Sometimes, Lady Luck smiles on me. I had originally made -- and copied over -- a VHS tape of this wonderful TV presentation. I was heartbroken when I realized what I had done since I had been unable to obtain a copy of it anywhere else.Recently, I subscribed to digital cable, and while searching through upcoming movies, there to my surprise was a scheduled broadcast of the movie. This time, however, I made a copy of it to DVD so there's no chance of repeating my mistake.I finally got to watch it again after eight years, and it was just as exciting and tense as when I first saw it. There is a little bit of prelude to this story in that my first contact with "Pandora's Clock" came with a live reading of the book on public radio. I just happened to tune in to the broadcasting station on my way home for lunch, and from the first installment, I was hooked. Each day, I waited with anticipation for the next chapter to be read.When I learned a few months later that the book was going to be broadcast on TV as a movie, I made sure to clear my schedule for that event.First of all, I'd like to say that the movie was very true to the book, contrary to what another reviewer had said. That, in itself, is a rare achievement for TV movies.Secondly, I agree with others about the casting. I could not imagine a better choice for Captain Holland than Richard Dean Anderson. Literally, the movie could have crashed and burned without a proper cast for this pivotal role. Anderson has never been better, and it is a shame that we have not seen more of him. In fact, all of the cast members did a superb job.My only complaint with the movie -- and the book -- was the interjection of the "terrorist plot" to arm a private business jet with air-to-air missiles and have its pilot stalk and shoot down the stricken plane. Basically, we are talking about less than 36 hours to orchestrate and execute a plan like this one, and folks, that is just not realistic at all given all the players involved. Also not realistic was how little the airliner was affected by having first one, then two of its engines blown off.That beef aside, I enjoyed the building suspense and found to be very believable how the reactions of foreign governments were portrayed in the film, as well as our own.If you have an opportunity to see this movie, do so by all means.

Based on the book, this movie comes up short because it changes some important things from the book. It doesn't make sense why they made the changes, the events in the book were more interesting. I have to say that the casting was pretty good though. Having Richard Dean Anderson play James Holland was a great choice. Its been awhile since i saw Daphne Zuniga and so it was nice seeing her again. I would have preferred another actress other than Jane Leeves to play Rachel, but I guess she did a decent job.Overall, the movie is quite entertaining. If you've never read the book, I think you'll enjoy it. For those of us who have read the book, the ending is disappointing.

The passengers and the crew are in danger when they find out that a dangerous virus is in the airplane.They can't land because the virus must stay inside of the airplane.Some people are ready to shoot the plane down.Richard "MacGyver"Dean Anderson plays the captain James Holland in this thrilling TV movie.He does a great job in his part.There are also Daphne Zuniga you may remember from Melrose Place and Jane Leeves from Frasier.They all do a good job.Pandora's Clock keeps the suspense on all the time.Sure it's not a masterpiece, you should avoid this if you're expecting it to be one.But it is worth seeing if you like these kind of things.If you do I'm sure you won't get disappointed.