Review of Millennium

Millennium (1989)
One of the few real "B-movies" of the '80s--and a good one.
22 October 2003
There seems to be some dispute here as to whether this is a good movie or not, and it all depends on what you expect going into it. If you go see (or rent) a sci-fi movie based on an obscure short story directed by the man who had Bo Derek battling a whale in "Orca" twelve years earlier, you have to expect some campiness. Just sit back and enjoy it. The premise of the story is actually quite good, with a little environmental message slipped in. In execution, the people behind this movie must have known that they did not have the budget for a special effects-laden thrill ride, so they decided to take the stylistic approach of making it with one eyebrow raised, a bittersweet melodrama that happens to have a few plane crashes and laser beams. It's "The Goodbye Girl" with time travel. How else do you explain the smarmy robot's flat line delivery, Cheryl Ladd's hairdo, the flight attendants' costumes? Camp, camp, camp. But at the same time, the "paradox" concept gives the mind something to chew. I think director Michael Anderson knew exactly what he was doing. Had this film been marketed differently, it would have easily recouped its budget. I think it's right up there with 1982's "Q"!
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