spartan_dh Being an avid Deathlands (book series) reader as well as Outlanders (follow-up series) for weeks I looked forward to seeing this movie when I heard it was coming out on the Sci-Fi Channel.I was sadly disappointed in not only the acting, but the details of the characters, environment, and such low budget it made Mad Max look like an Emmy winner.Let me say I am a detail-oriented person, and I realize Hollywood takes certain liberties, and or can re-write stories that ruin them, but this is not that, it is fully down to people who have no business making movies.I'll list my complaints : 1) The Book Becomes A Movie : they based this movie off of isn't even the 1st in the series, if memory serves, it was the 5th book in the series, so starting out on the wrong foot altogether. Probably to drastically reduce their budget. But a quality company would've found a real budget and made it into a blockbuster starting with the 1st book in the series and made 3, 5, even 10 movies out of the book series.2) The Characters : Spano did an okay job as Ryan Cawdor, his acting though is reminiscent of the early days of William Shatner, which SUCKED.I'm not going to go into detail about all of the actors as it's not their fault.But there are two characters which conflict with their book description, "character" of personality, and or totally are wrong.2b) John Barrymore "J.B." Dix : It's like the script writer and or actor didn't bother reading the book series, because there are numerous complaints on this one.J.B. is not a heavyset and or dumpy man, he's lean, mean, and ready to rock, according to the book series.Neither is he a whiny snotty person, the portrayal makes this man seem a wimp.J.B. is an armorer, a guy who can do almost anything with a gun.And his persona is one of almost total confidence only 2nd to Ryan Cawdor, and he's a very quiet man, too much dialogue for him.Wikipedia : J.B. Dix - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathlands#Main_characters"John Barrymore Dix: J.B. Dix, also known as The Armorer, has been Ryan Cawdor's closest friend and travelling companion since both men worked for and travelled with the Trader. He is a thin, wiry, tough man who wears wire rimmed spectacles and a brown fedora. He is very quiet, never using four words when three will do. He is a living encyclopedia on weapons from pistols to tanks to missiles. He is also an explosives expert and good hand to hand combatant, although only an average shot. He carries a large canvas satchel containing his explosives and other weapons at all times." (Wikipedia's typos aren't my fault, copied and pasted directly)2c) Jak Lauren : He's even leaner than Dix to the point of being like a "wolf", they even describe him like that in the books, and his glasses were overdone to be totally stupid, not to mention the actor was too old."An albino distinguished in the books by his unusual syntax when speaking. Jak was introduced in the third book, Neutron Solstice. He is a young man, in his late teens, and is an extremely capable hunter and warrior. His signature weapon are his leaf bladed throwing knives, of which he has between 8 and 12 hidden on him at all times, and often uses them as thrown weapons or for melee when guns are inappropriate. He comes from the suburb of West Lowellton in Lafayette, Louisiana, where the group first meet him. At the time,he is leading a group of rebels against an extremely sadistic baron known as Tourment. When Ryan and the other's first met him, and saw just how skillful of a fighter and leader he is, they are surprised to find he is only 14 years old."I'm going to stop there as even talking about how bad this movie was makes me want to puke.If the writers, directors, and or anyone connected to this movie had read the books, or hired an enthusiast, or a consultant who knew the book series inside out, it MIGHT have been high enough to grade as a B movie.If they had even read the basic Wikipedia on it, it might have been better.Not to mention they actually forgot a character.I'll leave his name out so if you do your own basic research you will see for yourself.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeathlandsUnfortunately, it doesn't even rate a B rating, and that's bad.

frynnaz I watched and taped this movie because i thought it would be great to spend "time" with Ryan and the others. Unfortunately, the person who did the screenplay can't possibly have read the books and could therefore easily convince someone unfamiliar with them that they're not worthy of reading. First of all, Krysty doesn't get wild-eyed when she calls on the Gaia power and would never show fear before it as she did in the movie when Jabez was going to attack her. Jak is not crazy. In the books, being an albino gives him a crazy look to some people and he has long white hair, adding to the effect. JB is not chubby and doesn't look like a geek. I like Vincent Spano as Ryan. He did a great job, although I'd mention to the writers that I don't remember him ever calling Krysty "baby" or refusing to argue with her. They're a true team, but he's not under her control in any way. As to the other writer's comments about how people wouldn't let themselves be ruled by a crazy baron, I ask you to remember "Baron" Hitler and his sec force, also known as the SS; "Baron" Kruschev and his sec force called, the KGB and let's not forget "Baron" Castro although I don't know the name of his sec force. Fear and intimidation rule well. Everything in Deathlands is not red either. There are places that are quite nice. In short, if you didn't like the movie but think that it may have had some interesting moments, try the books. They've been around a long time and are very popular with a strong following. In the books, you'll also meet Dr. Mildred Wyeth, a 'freezie' and JB's lover, and 'Doc', aka Dr Theophilus Tanner, a time traveler, made crazy by too many experiments by the 'white coats'. When he returns from being kidnapped by his mother, Sharona, you can meet Dean, Ryan's 11 year old son. Hope Ryan kills the bitch when he gets the chance. But i do enjoy the movie just for the fun of being with the group. You have to suspend your disbelief long enough to get past the mistakes. And it should have been longer to do it justice.

khelkhet I have a shelf of Deathlands books. I am missing only -ten- of more than 80 volumes in this series, and I am a fan of it. The last 15 or so books have sucked rocks, but this movie...I was very disappointed. I was -thrilled- to know it had finally been made into a movie, and when Canada's SPACE channel aired it last night (July 22nd, 2005) I stayed up til crazy hours of the morning to watch it.But, they could have put more into making the chars like we knew them. JB wasn't a jolly man, he barely spoke. He and Jak are both described as 'never using two words where one would be enough' in the books. Jak is my favorite char, and while I don't know the actor well enough to know whether or not he did his best, I do think he could have pulled it off had the character been portrayed correctly. I DID like the sick little grin on his face when Ryan and JB asked him if he could handle obtaining a rifle. That just screamed 'Jak'. :> I also liked where Jak was getting angry at being locked up. Jak is often described as being akin to a caged animal when he's locked up, and the glaring red eyes help a lot with that.Krysty has crimson hair and emerald eyes, her brightly colored hair and startling eyes are what make her visibly different. I think they should have invested in some hair dye and -made- the actress look the part. Ryan looked exactly as I would have imagined him to look (except lighter of skin...Men and women very used to the outdoors so much, I would have expected to be tanned. Except Jak, of course) Also...everything was very new looking, including Jak's perfect and unscratched shades. JB looked the part although his face was a little rounder than I pictured him to be.I think they did an okay job of telling the story itself, and for such a small budget it wasn't that bad. I think they could have put more effort into making the characters more consistent with the books. Hair dye can do wonders.Also, someone made a note about how unbelievable it was that four people would set out to change the world. They're out to change the world for themselves, to give themselves a brighter future than they each had before. It's all about a search for hope. I'm not sure I would have started a series of movies (Which I still hope for it to be) with Homeward Bound, though. At least one movie to provide setting and background before going home would have been more interesting and might have attracted new blood as they waited to see more. Homeward Bound seems so finite that it doesn't seem like there is anything left to look forward to.

Perdicus Since when did Jak start speaking in full sentences? Since when did Krysty need her super-strength to beat up Traci Lords? Since when did crappy movies get rave reviews? O.K., nevermind that last one, but the first two still stand.This movie is a travesty to anyone who (like me) is a faithful reader of the "Deathlands" books. The actors mouth familiar words like "fireblast" and the like, but overall they're just going through the motions (and what is with Ryan's "pimp daddy" coat? I ask you!). The early scenes of young Ryan getting his eye gouged out were O.K. (and doubly cringe-inducing for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fans--poor Xander!), but the rest was crap. The red filter over the camera lens was distracting, and a lame attempt to create the "blood red skies" of the Deathlands. You're better off listening to the Judas Priest song of the same name.I know, I shouldn't expect much from a made-for-TV movie, but even with lowered expectations, this movie isn't worth the film it was printed on.