having never read the comic, I didn't really notice all the liberties they took with the 10 year old story... for those that care, this is probably about as faithful an adaption as the 1st Punisher movie (you know, the Dolph Lundgren version we try not to think about), although probably more enjoyable... Richard Roundtree, of course, was great... Emmanuelle Vaugier did a pretty good job, although I must confess, I initially mistook her for Erica Cerra from Eureka, not that that's a bad thing for either girls - plus it's even funnier, as they're both listed as being from Vancouver (hey, I was tired)... I would agree that certain military angles get tired, but it seemed pretty minimal, all things considered... The villain became pretty predictable (possibly the fault of a natural inclination to dismiss his insinuation of Roundtree as the true villain), but not too detrimental to the film... probably rent or watch it on television before making any final decisions...

This is a reasonable TV pilot. I would even watch the series if only the SciFi channel would hire a military consultant to sufficiently cultivate the illusion of realism.Here are my military complaints: (1) The uniforms do not match the depicted branch of service. (2) The mixed-gender assault element in the beginning of the film is unbelievable. (3) The Aliens-style crab-walk-with-a-rifle does not pass even school-children's idea of tactical muster.The protagonist is believable in other respects, not to mention physically attractive without crossing the 1950's Amazon Action Heroine threshold. The directing seemed inspired, the casting excellent, and the acting well above the level demanded by the mediocre script!Ich_Yama's SciFi-meter:(BBB: 1 primary character)(BEM: None)(World: Present/near-future)(Preference: Conspiracy theorists)

This is the first show I've ever seen Emmanuelle Vaugier in, and she's not half bad, as an actress, or as eye candy. The basic plot line seems to be, she's infected by a virus when she and her Army Special Ops team stumble onto a biolab camouflaged as an illegal drug factory. This virus is usually 100% fatal, but accelerates her body's healing abilities. She finds this out when she is the only survivor of an ambush as her team tries to evacuate the lab.Naturally, Dark Forces in government and crime want to analyze her healing abilities, and create a force of unkillable warriors. For the remainder of the flick (pilot?), she's on the run, trying to figure out who's wearing the White Hats and Black Hats. She forms an alliance with a good-looking (naturally) thief and his buddies, and eventually figures out which way is up.It is a pleasure to see Richard Roundtree again, and part of his excellence is, he is equally convincing as both good guy and bad guy (sorry, you'll have to watch the film to see which he turns out to be). Hopefully, the TV series, if it comes, will leave out some of the sappier sister/sister interactions, one of this film's weak points.Good escapist Saturday afternoon stuff, about what you expect from SciFi's better original flicks.

Reasonable plot, sufficient suspense and misdirection. The premise is believable in a science fiction way. There are no fake monsters. There are no incredibly stupid moves by the heroine ineptly designed to create artificial tension, an amateurish plot technique that seems to be rampant even in network (e.g., "24") programs. Good role for great old Richard (Shaft) Roundtree. No really awful acting. Attractive heroine. There were no parts that were so slow or boring that I skipped ahead, and I would watch this again in a year or so. It is head and shoulders above most Sci Fi Channel fare. Clearly, I was pretty impressed.No, it's not Emmy caliber, but it is so much better than expected, I really can't understand what "ambrazos" is whining about in his review.