1/21/2The original Tremors is one of the best latter-day monster movies, a funny and occasionally frightening flick with imaginative, well-conceived creatures and charming, likeable characters. (Plus Kevin Bacon!) It's a throwback to the '50s subgenre in which isolated desert communities were menaced by various radiation-soaked terrors, but never gets so post-modern that it forgets to tell its own story.
Its cult success has spawned several direct-to-video sequels, as well as a short-lived TV series. The latest is perhaps the inevitable outcome of such an overextended core concept: the Old West prequel. Back to the Future did it, so why not? It actually fits well within the established setting of the previous films, plus it allows the filmmakers to avoid any more nagging questions about the current whereabouts of the characters played by Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward and Reba McEntire.
Unlike Mr. Bacon, Michael Gross still needs the work, so he's back once again, this time playing the ancestor of his popular, gun-loving Burt Gummer. Hiram Gummer owns the local silver mine which has been closed down due to an infestation of dirt-dwelling, carnivorous monsters, and so comes to the town of Rejection to sort things out. The joke--for fans of the series, at least--is that he's an urban dandy who has never touched a firearm. While Gross never makes me believe he is doing anything other than playing a character, he's still fun to watch.
The low budget keeps the use of CGI to a minimum, and I think that works in the film's favor. Full-size mechanical creatures and miniatures keep the Graboids (or "Dirt Dragons", as they're known here) grounded in reality. While the monster attacks are limited in frequency and duration, there are just enough to sustain interest.
One nice bit of casting is Billy Drago as the gunslinging Black Hand Kelly. Drago also played a mean-as-dirt Western thug in the late, lamented TV series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Here he winds up a key component of the Tremors "saga" by sparking the Gummer family's interest in weapons of mass destruction.
All in all, Tremors 4 is an amiable, enjoyable but decidedly minor monster movie.
Ratings Guide |
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| Zero | What the hell were they thinking? Even Ed Wood was more entertaining. |
| 1/2 |
Dear God in Heaven. Probable involvement of Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. |
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Seriously shit. Based upon a Saturday Night Live skit. |
| 1/2 |
Mildly crap. Eddie Murphy made another family comedy. |
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It's not good. It's not bad. It's just there. |
| 1/2 |
Has its moments. A bonus half star for a particularly cool robot or perky breast. |
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Solid entertainment. Exploding robots and/or multiple bare breasts. |
| 1/2 |
As good as most movies can hope to achieve. May include full-frontal nudity. |
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Like Mary Poppins herself, practically perfect in every way. |
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