Without Warning (1994)

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Are they just random asteroids? Or are they something more? It's a 1990s twist on War of the Worlds, this time, reported through the lens of the TV camera. As the story unfolds, we come to realize these asteroids are more than just hunks of rock. 20 years later, it's surprising how well Without Warning holds up. The acting, and enacting, are convincing enough to lock you into the story, and the presentation is done so much like real network newscasting that you occasionally have to pinch yourself and remind yourself this isn't actual event coverage. The story itself has plenty of plot twists and unexpected developments that keep things interesting. It was definitely entertaining, exciting, and pretty convincing as a docudrama, and I can see how somebody tuning in midway through could have been fooled by it for awhile. The movie's a good diversion for anybody who enjoys speculative fiction.There, I'll stop, and allow those who haven't seen it yet to look away. Spoilers and a bit of nitpicking ahead:The story unfolds interestingly, but there are places in this movie where I'm unclear where they're going... and I'm not so sure they are either. There are many clear references to Biblical prophesy, including speaking in tongues, Armageddon, and, clearly (in the scene where the entire inhabitants of "Faith, Wyoming" disappear off the face of the earth), "the rapture". But in this case, it's not God, but unseen aliens, who are performing the miracles. What are they suggesting? That God is going to fulfill Biblical prophesy by sending aliens to earth...in the form of asteroids? Another puzzling assertion, first suggested by a scientist who broke away from NASA to speak the truth of the situation to reporters, and reinforced by Sander V in the final words of the movie, is that the aliens were ticked with the earthlings, and we brought destruction upon ourselves. Why? Because, after the aliens said "howdy" by dropping three big asteroid fragments on us, the military stepped in and blew up the next one before it could impact the north pole. The aliens' next move was to counter-attack against our three most-powerful cities, and when that failed, to obliterate the entire planet. That's like throwing a rock through somebody's window, and when the residents board up the window, blowing up their house. Cummon! :-)

Now, in my defense, before i go on, i have to say that on the night in question (last night,) I was at home alone in my small room suffering a cold and had a small fever. I had also taken some cold medication and hadn't actually taken any notice of the title as I was watching movies back to back just trying to get over the cold. In addition, the lousy plan that my hotel had locked me down to didn't even afford me one news channel so that I couldn't verify what I was seeing. I started watching it and it went to the news flash portion. I must say that I was almost sucked in from then on. A few things I couldn't believe entirely but obviously I did in the end, as by the time they came up to the 9 minute deadline I'd put on my boots and hightailed it up to my local bar which was only 3 doors away and informed my mates. And didn't I cop it when I finally got to see that it wasn't even being broadcast on CNN or BBC. HAR HAR. I am going to pay dearly for that for some time. Although I was so convincing in my explanations of what was about to happen, the impending doom, that a couple of the guys started mentioning they wouldn't even have time to say goodbye to their children. I gotta say, Im also laughing as I write this as I am usually the sciatic. It will remain with me forever and although yes! I looked the jackass, its also something I doubt I will ever experience again. Im happy to have that. If you are reading this then its already too late. (Har har, thats what my mates kept saying over the beers.) You cannot possibly experience the same emotions. Phew! So glad it wasn't real. hehe.

The film starts off in a parallel fashion to the famous Orson Wells radio drama of 1938; opening with "ordinary programming," which is then cut in upon by a brief news bulletin that reports of meteors had struck the Earth, in three countries: France, China, and the USA. After that, this story diverges from the War of the Worlds, but bears some similarities.It was a fun idea to mix actors and actual newscasters: Sander Vanocur is the anchorman following the rapidly unfolding story, and handles the increasing level of tension in the script pretty well. Bree Walker also succeeds in blending her journalistic talent with drama. The mystery is effectively spooky, and this was, after all, like the radio play, an effort to say "Boo!" on Halloween. The interviews with people speculating on what was going on were just what you would expect if such a scenario was real. The interview with Arthur C. Clarke was intelligent, even fact-finding. The newscasters advancing on the sites of the meteor impacts was a good touch. Loud whines from the craters, burned survivors speaking in strange tongues, and the disappearance of two air force pilots: some eerily cool stuff. My favorite is the Faith, Wyoming sequence. This scene, was masterful in its simplicity. The narration by the newscaster describing the bizarre and inexplicable events there was a highlight of the sinister tone of the movie's events.The movie starts to run out of gas in the latter stages, resorting to some clichés. This may be owing to the fact it had done such an immense buildup in its realistic news cast depictions, that it had to resolve the story in the bombastic way it does. There is some dialouge that nobody would say in the context of what transpires.Even with the flaws, a good premise, skillfully executed. A fun and deliciously eerie movie.

I saw this pretty late at night, and it draws you in so much. The plot twists and turns in an amazing story that mirrors a real-situation, so much that I thought it was a real news broadcast too. Only the appearance of Q from Star Trek, and references to 1994 gave the game away.The end sequence, from the destruction of the 3 meteors onwards was as tense as many of the scenes in films like Scream. It also showed man's darker side, and gave many lessons for the future.It wouldn't work on the big screen, but on the small screen it is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. And that's saying a lot for a film of such small stature!