Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

jokermtb-787-720009 I have to say I'm a bit surprised at the negative comments. Sure, the movie had a small budget, but the story line was a nice twist on what would be a dusty story had they followed the original book. I'm familiar with the JV story, but had never read nor seen any films on it. This version is an adaptation and updating of the original. Yeah, the acting was a bit clunky at times, but really, it wasn't that bad. I'd give the writers a bit of credit for trying to pad out their characters a little bit. Most stories of this type, and budget, never bother to do so. Stop trying to take this so seriously, and you'll enjoy this movie. If you want some good, mindless entertainment, you could do far worse.

TheLittleSongbird I saw Mysterious Island as I love the story and have a soft spot for the 1961 film. I was dubious as it was SyFy, whose standard of movies generally are nothing to write home about, however even for SyFy Mysterious Island is an abomination. Other commentators have said that it is very loosely based on the book, and they are right. I wasn't expecting much different on that angle, because from their adaptations of Earthsea and Journey to the Center of the Earth I knew that the only resemblance to the original story was going to be either the title or the characters' names. The problem is that Mysterious Island doesn't just fall down as an adaptation, it falls down on its own merits as well. The story here is very dully paced, and due to lack of any real tension or thrills it is very uninteresting as well. The characters are not as interesting either, a lot of them are clichéd and not much is done to develop them. Even Nemo's back-story is rushed and convoluted, almost as if done in reference. The dialogue is often corny with SyFy, but not in a while have I heard dialogue that was so unbearably so that you have a hard time taking anything seriously. The acting is poor, with a stiff uncharismatic Lochlyn Munro, a pretty but vapid Gina Holden and an all too brief Pruitt Taylor Vince. The production values I have no better news I'm afraid. Not much is done to make them authentic with the furs sometimes looking as though they were actually made of straw, also further undermined by the sights of modern technology like air vents when the mansion was built on an island supposedly without electricity. The special effects are laughable, with the octopus belonging more at home in a cheap video game and the shaggy creatures were as scary as someone dressing up for a Halloween party. All in all, terrible. 1/10 Bethany Cox

clairecsanchez i truly enjoyed this film. i think what you have to keep in mind before you turn it on is, this is a made-for-TV-Syfy movie. you can't over analyze it - i just took it for what it was : an entertaining TV movie on a Saturday night.i'm also not a Verne Purist- i like seeing creative adaptations, so the fact that the movie veered from the original novel didn't bother me a bit. actually i kinda like it, because it meant that i didn't know what was going to happen. i did like that they gave homage to other verne works by including other favorite characters and names - i thought that was an interesting tie in and a great way to work up to a sequel or prequel if that happens.i also was familiar with the fact that this film had a VERY small budget, and honestly, i think they did a heck of a lot with the amount of money they spent. there were a couple cheesy effects, but for the most part they were pretty dang good - i've seen a lot worse from films that had a lot more money.i also like the fact that they added 2 women characters, as i woman, i appreciated that. i think it would be very interesting to update other classic novels, and give people characteristics that weren't initially part of the story - what if captain memo was in a wheelchair? or hebert was gay? or they were all hispanic? i think adding new pieces to the story gives it more layers. i particularly liked the conversations between the girls from modern times and the civil war soldiers, when they were trying to figure out which time period they were from - it really makes you think about how different things are now compared to over 100 years ago. and it provided some comic relief, which is always welcome.overall i really liked this movie, i thought Mark Sheppard did a fantastic job on directing his first film. i wish the Syfy channel had more quality movies like this on their channel. i DVR'd it and will watch it again.

Condolf I watched this movie on the SyFy channel last night and it was every bit as bad as the other movies they air. Having read the book by Jules Verne many decades ago, I was disappointed to see very little of the original plot to exist in this feature. Supposedly, Captain Nemos crew builds this mansion in the middle of an island that has no electricity. Yet, when the characters first enter the house, we can clearly see a modern air vent in the entry way. Also, nowhere in the book did Nemo's crew mutate into shaggy creatures. Nor was there any mention of a time travel machine in the classic. Also, for some unknown reason, the makers of this film decide to give Nemo a static electricity weapon that can not only shoot in a straight line but hit only the villains and not the heroes. The producers should have just saved their money.