Lifepod (1993 TV Movie) User Reviews

Dopey, silly, campy, cheap, and dumb.

[krachtm · 5/10 · 17 September 2011]

I watched this because I figured Robert Loggia and CCH Pounder were pretty cool and could elevate almost anything to a watchable level. Ron Silver is a recognizable name, but I've never really been a big fan of his. The plot sounded pretty decent -- essentially, just a scifi remake of an Hitchcock bit of wartime propaganda by way of Steinbeck.

What I didn't realize was that this was very low budget and given to some really amusing melodrama, with the requisite whooping alarms, shaking camera, and people yelling and panicking. Some of the characters were interesting, and the acting was generally pretty good, but it was really quite full of clichés, such as the fiery revolutionary, the penny-pinching bureaucrat, the feisty pilot, the grief-stricken mother, etc. It's not so much that I hate film archetypes; rather, these weren't really given all that much time to develop into real people and capture your interest. They had somewhat interesting backgrounds that hinted at a familiar, somewhat derivative scifi universe where evil corporations and authoritarian politicians have caused each of the passengers to have at least some degree of motive for sabotaging their ship. Yet we never learn anything about any of the characters beyond which allows him or her to become a red herring. I'm sure that the actors did their best, given the rather two-dimensional writing, but it's somewhat unfortunate that they weren't given more to work with.

If you're a fan of CCH Pounder (and I know that this talented actress must have more fans than just me), you'll be disappointed to know that she doesn't have a prominent role in this movie despite being one of the stars. Robert Loggia has a meatier role, and Ron Silver cast himself in a more supporting role. I really liked Ed Gale's character, a cybernetic mechanic, but his character, too, suffered from a lack of depth.

In the end, this is actually pretty enjoyable as far as mainstream scifi movies go. I would have preferred to have seen more characterization, a faster pace, and a bigger budget (the special effects were quite laughable, unfortunately), but, for a TV movie, I suppose it could have been much worse. There were a few good lines, some good actors, and a decent-enough ending, but everything was so derivative and clichéd that I felt as though I'd seen it all before a hundred times. An extra ten minutes of dialogue and characterization would have probably helped.

It's truly unfortunate that Ron Silver died, but I'm still not a fan.

Space is different than ocean

[chnsahin · 5/10 · 24 September 2019]

The explosion and what has happened afterwards is depicted as if a cruiseliner or a submarine is sinking; with all the shaking pipes, trembling ground etc. Of course I am not an expert but the mechanics behind an explosion in space should somehow be different. Another such point is the holes caused by meteorites on the lifepod. I think it would be impossible to close one of them with bare hands, yet one of the characters was successful enough to close one temporarily and remove her hand afterwards. She should have lost the hand, but managed to survive with just scratches on her hand.

Could have been better

[MovieKen · 5/10 · 5 April 2007]

I just watched this last night, which was just a few days after I saw the original Hitchcock film that it was based on, called Lifeboat. I wanted to see this movie because I was pretty impressed by the original film, and I almost always enjoy sci-fi movies. After having watched Lifepod, though, I'd suggest sticking to the original. It's not that Lifepod is all that bad, but it really isn't all that good, either. Overall, I gave it 5/10 stars because that's about what it deserves. There are plenty of films that are worse, and plenty that are better. Lifepod does some things well, and it does some things poorly.

For what it's worth, I wasn't surprised by anything that happened in the movie, but you may be. I guess it all depends on if you are able to pick up on the clues. You'll know right off if you can.

Honestly, I'm not sure this really should count as a remake. It's more like a new film based on the same material. Everything that the Hitchcock movie did well, this one either didn't do at all, or it did it very poorly. On the other hand, Lifeboat didn't rely on lots of action or highly tense scenes, but Lifepod did. I guess what this means is that if you liked Lifeboat, you probably wouldn't like Lifepod. And vice-versa.

One last thing, neither film is appropriate for the younger kids. They would be bored with Lifeboat, and they would be spooked by the violence and tension in Lifepod.

A good Sci-Fi thriller.

[tgannon · 3 March 1999]

This futuristic adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's classic Lifeboat packs intense action and thrilling suspense into a human drama of courage and heroism. Lifepod features a top-notch cast including Academy Award nominee Robert Loggia and Emmy nominee Ron Silver in the dual roak of star and director. Alone Lifepod drifts helplessly through space light years from the nearest support station. With scarce food water oxygen and communications, nine survivors on this ill-equipped spacecraft fight for their lives. Deadly meteors and asteroids threaten from outside, but the real enemy will come from within. In the dangerously damaged confines of the lifepod, it's come down to survival of the fittest. Supplies are dwindeling, tensions are mounting, and people are dying. Suspicions grow that one of them is responsible for their disastrous predicament. Trapped with a killer, a new battle for survival begins.

REALLY BAD SCIENCE

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 15 May 2019]

While in route from Venus to Earth a space liner carrying 2,000 people blows up due to sabotage. A group of people escape into a poorly equipped space pod and somewhat drift in space, the only part of space that has its own gravity. They were blown there by the force of the exploding spaceship (which made a big bang) in the icy vacuum of space. The escapees wear oxygen masks until debris knocks holes in the shell of the craft, then they come out of them to breath all the air provided by outer space. Even the radiation sickness was unbelievable. The science was incredibly bad.

Now the story behind the story was more interesting and would have made a better movie, had it not been done. Earthcore, is an evil corporation/government group which is most concerned about mining profits over people. Venus has rebels which want to free themselves from Earthcore and their re-education camps. The star ship could have been blown up by Earthcore, so they could blame the rebels and then send in the troops (shades of Gulf of Tonkin).

Everyone on board the lifepod has a motive, so this is supposed to be a who-dun-it. However there is too much else going on to turn this into a Clue game.

Special effects include shaking a camera, computer generated animation, and did I mention shaking a camera?

Low budget sci-fi gem

[ReadingFilm · 7/10 · 29 January 2023]

Far better than I expected, after it began like a Babylon 5 episode. The judge from Ghostbusters 2 is always great. My favorite is "definitely not Keith David" and the little guy. The pixie haired girl is evoking Katherine Waterston in Alien Covenant twenty years earlier. Note a way to present scale with limited means is through eclectic characters. It's a shorthand that goes a long way. Meanwhile I can't remember a single character in Danny Boyle's Sunshine, who are more Silicon Valley techies; I will take these circus freaks instead, even down to the blind mystic.

Ron Silver directing this, the idea you direct a movie and decide to play this character... basically is its ace up its sleeve to just get to his big scenes, and it will read like those blockbusters who cast him.

This is the skill of the movie is it is always finding that one angle to go beyond the mediocre TV movie it is budgeted as, it is always at work painting the process of its failing. When any one angle falters it quickly goes to the next in the bag of tricks. This to me represents inventive filmmaking, for what they all sort of know is a doomed production.

Such as the cinematography. The director understands to do space everyone needs to be sweating and in gritty shadows. A small statement but I swear that is the power of those James Cameron 80s films. I think Interstellar could have learned those old school cinematography conventions read big on screen.

It's cinematic, it's never cheap. The script. The concept of Lifeboat in space is inspired already but this is putting real attempts at science fiction world building and character arcs, and I am like wait, why is this interesting me intellectually too? It's like a good writer's b-sides. Seriously this film punches way above its weight. Even some of the space shots are kind of cool for a 1993 TV movie.

sinks faster than the"Titanic"

[disdressed12 · 1/10 · 31 October 2006]

i tried to sit through this bomb not too long ago.what a disaster .the acting was atrocious.there were some absolutely pathetic action scenes that fell flat as a lead balloon.this was mainly due to the fact that the reactions of the actors just didn't ring true.supposedly a modern reworking of the Hitchcock original "Lifeboat".i think Hictcock would be spinning circles in his grave at the very thought of it.from what i was able to suffer through,there is nothing compelling in this movie.it boasts a few semi big names,but they put no effort into their characters.but,you know,to be fair,it was nobody's fault really.i mean,i'm pretty sure the script blew up in the first explosion. LOL.it is possible that this thing ends up improving as it goes along.but for me,i'm not willing to spend at least three days to find out.so unless you have at least a three day weekend on the horizon,avoid this stinker/ 1/10

Don't bother .....

[merklekranz · 4/10 · 24 October 2018]

Claustrophobic talkathon. Characters are thrown together and then attempt to talk each other to death. It's the well worn crisis of the minute formula. If someone isn't dying, they are talking. It's pretty difficult to maintain interest when most of the conversations are sleep inducing drivel. Crawling around the escape pod with a constantly shaking camera adds nausea to the mix. Make no mistake, this is not "Lifeboat" in outer space. What it is, is a mini budget time waster for the cable networks to endlessly play. Admirers of Ron Silver and Robert Loggia should definitely look elsewhere, as this film gives them nothing to work with. Special mention must be made of the special effects, which are not even of video game caliber. Avoid. - MERK

Low budget sci-fi trash

[ten-thousand-marbles · 2/10 · 4 March 2021]

Eight people on a survival pod. They bicker. Supplies run low. They bicker some more. They're overly dramatic. Poor script. Bad acting. The end. There are two types of sci-fi B movies: it's so bad it good and it's just bad. This one is the later.

quite good and thrilling sci-fi story

[konadv · 8/10 · 11 August 2000]

The story is rather formula: take a bunch of different people and lock them up somewhere, put them in some sort of danger and see what happens (for instance: Night of the living dead, Das Boot, Pitch Black). Nothing new here. But the story unfolds rather nicely, with a neat twist towards the end. The acting is quite good and the atmosphere is tense, dense and thrilling. Major dissapointment are the special f/x, which look like the remains from a 50's cheap sci-fil flick. They add a touch of uncredibility to the all thing. Another letdown is the obligatory happy ending, which seems very out of place here. All in all this is a pretty good movie, which could (and should) have been much better - technically speaking.

Super

[Walle-2 · 9/10 · 9 March 1999]

Ever heard of Alfred Hitchcock´s Lifeboat from 1944? This is the same story only in space. It all begins with a sabotage on big passenger spaceship. It blows up and there are only like 10 survivors who luckily (?) got on the lifepod. And there more trouble begins. They are not able to contact the "starfleet" so they have no one to rescue them. But the most terrifying thing is that they find out that the person who sabotage the passenger ship is someone of them on the lifepod. But who is it? Very thrilling, guaranteed to make you sweat a whole lot. The grade: 9/10

A nifty sci-fi version of Hitchcock's classic thriller "Lifeboat"

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 21 January 2007]

Christmas Eve in 2168 A.D. A motley assortment of nine people are trapped on board a creaky, rusty, antiquated lifepod after the luxury space liner they were on blows up. One of the nine individuals is the deadly saboteur responsible for destroying the ship. Moreover, after a few days they soon begin to run low on both food and water. Ron Silver's strong, capable direction wrings plenty of sweaty and claustrophobic tension from the smart, inspired and compelling script by M. Jay Roach and Pen Densham. The uniformly excellent acting from a bang-up cast rates as another significant asset: Robert Loggia as a gruff, jerky, overbearing business executive, CCH Pounder as the feisty pilot, Adam Storke as an edgy convict, Jessica Tuck as a sassy, snoopy reporter, Silver as an astute blind man, Kelli Williams as a scrappy young woman, Stan Shaw as a tough cook with a broken leg, Lisa Waltz as a distraught woman with a sickly baby, and especially Ed Gale as a fiercely dutiful dwarf "toolie" with a mechanical arm all give fine and convincing performances. The bleakly serious tone, Robert Steadman's sharp cinematography, the nifty special effects, and Mark Mancina's spare, spooky score are up to par as well. A solid, suspenseful and engrossing little winner.

A Who-Dun-it in Space

[The-Sarkologist · 8/10 · 22 July 2013]

I actually think that this is a telemovie - that is a movie made specifically for television, though this is not really a problem - some of the best movies don't ever make it to the big screen (especially in Australia). Some feel that if a movie isn't a movie from the cinema then it must not be any good. The reason for this is that the companies send movies to the cinemas because they think that they will be good, but in the long run many of them flop.

Lifepod is a suspense movie set in space. A luxury liner from Venus explodes when somebody releases a very dangerous mining tool in the reactor, and only one pod escapes. The quality of the pod is very bad as the corporation that maintained the liner believed that they were not needed. Now the seven occupants must get along with each other with minimum food, little chance of rescue, and a saboteur.

This movie becomes more of a who done it as we have seven people and one of them is a saboteur. There is a violent criminal, journalist, tech-op, company director, hot headed woman miner come rebel, and a blind man. Not only do need a suspect, but a reason as to why it happened. We instantly believe, through what we are told, that the rebels are responsible for destroying the ship, but are they? One problem is that we know very little about what it is like at this time, so a small write up would have been nice at the beginning of the movie.

What this movie explores is the paranoia that builds up with the people all crowded together in the pod with a murderer on board. Suspicions instantly fall towards the obvious, while the real perpetrator is continuing to ply his trade. He is very intelligent and trusting, but the way they found out is pretty lame. I will not say any more lest this movie appear on TV again. I liked it.

Watchable.

[board-5 · 11 August 2009]

Ron Silver directed this unfortunately for television film which has some entertaining value that mostly cause the basic script,story line,and acting,I have to say this film was not bad at all,this is a remake,but as stand alone film this is very watchable.

Ron Silver also plays a role in this modern version of an old movie,and he plays really good he's character.

Just that would be good to don't see the(television)sign next to the title,but this film is enough familiar to be entertaining,against our heroes sometimes should be more human,but we know they are rather honest,if we are the same While this film still has the problems of television movies,I rather recommend this like Shrooms.

6/10

one of the best! sci-fi movies ever!

[kingtrekkie · 10/10 · 14 July 2001]

Lifepod is without a doubt by far one of the best science fiction movies of all time it has some of the best acting i've ever seen fantastic! story great cast great special effects and an amazing! plot this movie is a must see for all sci-fi fans a movie this good! should have been up on the big screen long ago.

My review four this film

[wuthrich-04534 · 10/10 · 21 May 2022]

I liked this film a lot also it was based on true events on a disaster film with real people doing there jobs too no end with there stories also this movie had a medical portions of this film and I always thought of the villain blew up spaceship he also disabled other systems on the liner so there would be no other survivors only a single lifepod also tech May-Vine probably had the easiest part in the movie since she was a systems engineer what level it was a mystery also as a parent when she was alive she listened too too coms inside the lifepod and guided the lifepod and she had life insurance like mr the villan had brought up about the cook on board the lifepod also what was great they had evidence too give too the Authority's in the time period so they would no that they could make shure the deaths of the civilians on the lifepod that died weren't in vain also they simulated a comet pathway in space and also there were no children on the lifepod just adults that had life's and they were honest people because this film was old but it was a clean classic and they probably put it deep in the vault and they would bring it out the same way they brought other films reviewed like this one also what was interesting about this film it was low tech and I think if we were too have liners instead of another technology this film could be analyzed and some could develop the technology so we could have trips like in video games over long distance's. Also I would recommend this film not watched bye a younger generation but supported bye parents if watched also I didn't no what a mineral pit is or what was said bye the only qualified doctor on life-pod Rena Janosia also what was earth core beef with earth people I only say that as service on a couple board's in reality. Also it just a movie four it's time too shine like in space.

Good film

[gvczei · 9/10 · 20 October 2021]

Not really a remake but stands on its own as decent sci-fi. There's enough suspense and character development to feel empathy for some characters. Not one crew member gave : they kept fighting to live. I also liked the compassion the crew had for their dying crew mate. The Toolie character was played by a great actor so I would've liked more character development. Good performances and direction overall.