Planet Terror (Planète Terreur) [2-Disc Extended & Unrated Edition]

 

 

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i really had a lot of fun with this one.it's one blood soaked
movie.equal parts action,horror,comedy,science fiction.all the elements
work here.the movie is of course made to look grainy and faded to give
it a more authentic 70's feel,like the Grindhouse features of that
era.i loved the grittiness of it.it takes place in present time,though
there are a lot of elements from the seventies in it.there's a great
ensemble cast in this one,and they pretty much all
play,quirky,damaged,oddball characters.this movie is not for the faint
of heart though.they spared no expense on the blood and guts
factor.there's also a lot of very frequent coarse language.my
expectations were very low going in,and they were shattered.i feel this
is one of the most clever movies made in quite some time.i give Planet
Terror a 5/5

Not that I've seen all his movies, but this is the Rodriguez film that really shines for me. Way better than From Dusk Til Dawn and Sin City in my opinion. This is pure thrills all the way through, complete with old-school scratchiness, a nice missing reel scene, and a great score written by Rodriguez. I love it. Really fresh and original too, along with the Machete trailer which is a whole lot better than the Machete movie. If you're into the whole grindhouse scene or movies like Shaun of the Dead, this is a must-see.

This movie is great and the ones that watch it with me had a blast. Rodriguez had already indulged himself to his heart's content in From Dusk Till Dawn (Dimension Collector's Series) which was also about a group of people fighting off warring vampires in a night club from, as the name indicates, from dusk till dawn, which makes "Planet Terror" an encore exercise of pretty much similar plot, similar format and similar execution. As his other movies like El Mariachi (Special Edition) and Desperado (Special Edition) are themselves (quite stylish) derivatives of the exploitative genre, it is difficult to find any redeeming value in the repetition, even if it is done in zest and playful ribbing, which reduces "Planet Terror" a Cliff Notes' version to "From Dusk till Dawn".

"Planet Terror" features a giant cast of big names, small names, and names a few of us grin fondly at. The most fun, though, comes from the lead characters of Wray and Cherry, handled deftly in regards to pure entertainment by lesser-known Freddy Rodriguez Rose McGowan. Wray seems like an insignificant nice guy who drives a wrecker, but he has a mysterious past and combat skills that are brutally efficient. Cherry is a go-go dancer that used to be involved years ago with Wray and happens to find herself back in his company on the bloody night our story transpires. Watching Wray take charge of the survivors and kick butt all over is fun, doubly so because he is such a likable and unassuming hero. And Cherry, who loses one of her legs early on for the sake of "running" gags and a wonderfully absurd series of action scenes where a machine gun has replaced her leg, is mostly pleasant as a damsel in distress who must become an involuntary mistress of destruction. This movie has so many fantastic moments, subtle touches, and ridiculous humor.

Rodriguez has always handled the cinematography, editing, and music for his pictures-- he coined the phrase "shot, chopped, and scored" for his Renaissance man approach to his pictures. While I have often wished he would find himself an editor, he has always excelled at the shooting and scoring, and not only does he deliver a nuclear explosion of talent for those this time, his editing manages to work superbly in this genre's already choppy format. The film is a visual extravaganza, not only for the gore and make-up artistry (be aware this is one of the biggest gross-outs I have ever seen on screen recently), but for Rodriguez's keen eye for photography on films of this ilk as well as the artificial flaws he implants in the movie to lend authenticity to the idea that this film was meant for another era. Scratches on film, color errors, skipping frames, burn outs on reels as well as a missing reel (a humorous tool Tarantino employs in his offering as well) give "Planet Terror" an atmosphere of cool.

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