The Plan (2009) Reviews

• Disappointing

  mike-ryan4552009-10-19

  I hate to say it, but the Galactica stable are really losing their touch. The story is half stock footage from the series and half filler. OK, we learn some details like HOW Ellen Tigh got out alive - but we knew she did. We see some trivia, like who Caprica Six met just before the raid, but who cares? We see some familiar Cylons in unfamiliar and unexpected places, generally risking throwing off continuity. We don't see the things I really wanted to know. I wanted to see the Cylon worlds. I wanted to see WHY the Cylons chose to attack, and why now. I want to see WHY they chose to infiltrate Earth, and why that way. I want to learn the Cylon choices and motivations and psychology. Oddly, the costume designer was shown in the credits before the writer. I guess the writing is less important than the consulting producer and other illusory titles. Jane Epperson wrote this one, as well as being the executive producer. Ron Moore wasn't in the critical credits. Where was he? Perhaps if he'd spent more time on this than Virtuality he'd have gotten one good product. While the visuals were good, what I feel is the now increasingly tired end of a series. How long will they keep scraping the bottom? I guess as long as they think they can make money at it.

• A great companion piece to the series

  megatom52009-10-19

  First of all let me get one thing straight, this is in no way an original Battlestar Galatica story. Razor had a story that centered around a new character and told a somewhat self-contained story. This is almost the complete opposite; no relevant new characters, no truly new plot lines. This film is essentially a side story of the original two seasons. It deals with the attack on the colonies and the subsequent invasion and pursuit of Galactica from the point of view of the Cylons; not just the original 8 models but also the final five. The main character is actually Brother Cavil, in two different forms one on Caprica and one on-board Galatica. We see that Cavil plays a crucial role in orchestrating the Cylon events on the Galactica, while his Caprica counterpart takes the role of a distant observer to the struggling band of survivors on Caprica. What I really liked about this movie is that it kind of ties everything together. It retreads the old plot lines of the first two seasons, but knowing the revelations to take place it puts everything in a different light. It also explores the intense cruelty and duality of Cavil. Additionally, some of the plot lines that were never quite clear, begin to make sense. (How did Leobin know so much about Kara? Where Valeri's actions intentional?) There are three issue that I can foresee someone having with this. The first being, that some might feel it being a retcon of the first two seasons to connects the events of the fourth. While this might be somewhat true, I don't think it takes anything away from them, and if you liked the fourth season it adds something significant to it. The second issue is that it is a retread. We already know exactly what happens to all these characters. But I don't think that the compelling part of this is what happens so much as why it happens, and what feelings and emotions are fueling the Cylons. The third is that there are basically no space battles to be seen here. There is a great opening sequence where we get a much more in depth look at the destruction of the colonies, but for a show called Battlestar Galatica we might expect some space jockey action. I am not a prude but I must say that after seeing the unrated DVD, there is a bit of gratuitous nudity. Not that I had a problem with it, so to say, but it felt a little out of place, like it was trying to be a little shocking. Maybe it was just trying to give us a taste of what the show would have been like on HBO, i dunno just felt a little tacked on. Overall this is a great companion piece to the series, does not feel entirely necessary but at the same time doesn't feel like it didn't need to be in the first place.

• The motivation of the cylons, why they attacked and why they stopped.

  hagnor2009-10-25

  This movie is an excellent addition to the series. In fact it only covers the events of the first 2 seasons, but now seen from the cylon perspective. It must be said though that it is quite mandatory that you saw at least those 2 seasons, otherwise you won't have a clue what it is all about. Now the spoilers : The movie is a combination of 2 stories, 2 perspectives, and a whole range of subplots as we've come to expect and love in the Battlestar series. The first perspective is from a brother Cavil model (the priest), on board of Galactica who runs the anti-human movement. The other perspective is from another brother Cavil, on the planet Caprica, where he infiltrates the resistance. Both brother Cavils are in essence exactly the same, but it are their different experiences that set them apart. Initially they both hate all humans (and act very much like spoiled children), but gradually things happen that make it change. One becomes better, the other becomes worse. It is all very subtle, and only in the final conversation is everything said in more detail (though still subtle). However the full motivation behind the cylon attack on the colonies, and their sudden change of heart later (proposing the truce), is all there - some other comments here unfortunately fail to spot it and bash the whole movie as a result. The skinjobs attacked out of frustration with their limited human form and the obvious lack of acceptance as human, which caused them to hate their creators. "As long as a human lives there can be no place for cylons". Coupled with that they are also jealous of the real humans, because the cylons can never be anything else than machines. There are more reasons, but like I said it is all very subtle. It helps to think of the cylons as children without much life experience. The change of heart comes from the experiences of the individual skinjobs placed among the humans. To put it cheesy : they learn what it means to love, and that conquers all hatred. E.g. Boomer could not kill Adama because she loved him (which seemed like a plot hole at the time : if you wanted to kill Adama, just put the second bullet in his head instead of his chest. This plot hole is now "filled"). Even the stubborn Cavil who is left on the planet learns the meaning of it. So all in all, a very good movie, that should be watched together with the series.

• Incredibly disappointing

  TheHaguereviewer2013-04-05

  What a piece of crap ladies and gentlemen. I've watched and enjoyed the complete Battlestar Galactica series twice. Nine stars for the series. Zero for this sort of compilation/amalgamation/it doesn't make any sense-sation. It is badly edited, there is no plot, no plan whatsoever and it does not bring anything of value to the saga. They should be ashamed of having released this film. So, if you want more of Galactica and you do not mind watching other characters, you rather spend your time with Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, a chapter in the early life of Bill Adama. In summary: Battlestar Galactica fans, stay away from this movie; people who want to know more about the Battlestar Galactica world, so sorry to tell you that you won't find in this film a tenth of the thrill and expectation that the series creates.

• Sorry but this was WAY below par

  tl122010-02-02

  I was a great fan of the series and bought the DVD's as soon as they were available. This, however, was a real let down. It was almost more like a budget saving "clip show" than a movie. There was nothing new, no revelations, no finally uncovered PLAN. It was just a rehash of everything you knew before. It was nice to see Edward James Olmos direct again and there were some new scenes (heavily mixed with clips). I'm certain there are some great movies that could be made based on the series. Unfortunately this was not one of them.