The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon (2008)

Memorable, crazy movie

Great Film overall

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

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.

Released to TV in 2008, "Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon" chronicles events in the early 20th century when a team of Smithsonian researchers discover a lost Aztec city in the Grand Canyon guarded by a flying creature; they then go missing. The daughter of the professor who led the expedition (Shannen Doherty) assembles a search & rescue team, which leads them to the lost city and the Aztec "god" Quetzalcoatl. Duncan Fraser plays the father while Michael Shanks, JR Bourne, Heather Doerksen and Toby Berner play members of the rescue team, amongst others.With the SyFy channel you never know what you're gonna get. Their movies can be surprisingly good or even great (like "Sasquatch Mountain" and "The Lost Future"), mediocre (like "Carny" and "Frankenfish") or bottom-of-the-barrel bad (like "Curse of the Snow Demon" and "Bigfoot"). Some people place "Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon" in the last category because of the cheap-looking filmmaking, but if you can overlook this it has several attributes. For one, it was shot in desert regions east of the Cascades in British Columbia (substituting for the Grand Canyon, of course). Say what you want, but quality locations cost money. Secondly, the movie contains high adventure a la survival-in-the-desert, Indiana Jones-like shenanigans and a flying monster. Speaking of which, the CGI creature looks pretty malevolent despite its cartooniness. Then you have a decent cast, a few horrifically gory scenes, potent subtexts and an almost-moving & impressive ending (notice I said "almost"). These positives may not make the movie good, but they redeem it from the "bad" category IMHO, even though the filmmaking is palpably dubious at times.The movie runs 88 minutes and was shot in Cache Creek & Kamloops, British Columbia.GRADE: C

God almighty, this movie had nothing good about it. Wooden acting, stinky script with a plot thinner than grannies undies. I can't believe there were any named actors in this rubbish. With stars of Stargate SG1, Charmed and other top notch offerings, I expected better. In one scene, a particularly smart chappy decides to throw himself against a stone door in order to coax it open, 100 kg against 1,000 plus kg, get the idea? All he was going to do was give himself a head ache, and me into the bargain. SAVE ME! Every cliché was trotted out of the box to give us the impression someone knew what they were doing. Unbelievably, an Aztec pyramid in the Grand Canyon is meant to be credible as well as brief glimpses of a winged bit of nastiness stalking all those who enter. As they bumble through the story, looking for a lost professor and of course the treasure, you really wish it had been you who had been throwing yourself against the stone door, at least you wouldn't remember the experience next day! The lines delivered were as stale as last weeks' milk and nothing, I repeat nothing, was going to get me to the end of this without copious hot chocolate and cookies. There had to be something good to say in this review, because the movie certainly didn't give me much scope to say something pretty and sweet... I know it's science fiction, and I know its meant to entertain, but it fails on all counts. Rotten, don't bother.

It's not art, it's not big budget, but it is fun! Michael Shanks and JR Bourne are excellent in it (and work very well together), as is the supporting cast. Shannon Doherty really should have tried a little harder, especially in terms of remembering that it's a period piece, and that acting involves more than being yourself. This was particularly obvious in her scenes with Michael Shanks, who is a very hardworking actor. He created a well rounded, interesting, and believable period character within the old fashioned adventure style of the movie. His performance has depth that is entirely lacking in hers, sadly. As for complaints about the CGI, people just don't realize exactly how expensive, time consuming, and difficult this can be. Pictures with great CGI use the entire budget of this film, and more, just on that. Considering the budgets given out by Scifi, the CGI wasn't bad at all. This movie was much, much better than anything that Scifi has commissioned before.

I'm sure that most of my enjoyment of The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon was based on the fact that I had sat through the horrible The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor the night before I saw this. That is not to say that The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon is a great picture, or even a very good one, but it is a much more competently made monster movie than most made these days (such as The Mummy 3). The director of 'Grand Canyon' is Farhad Mann, a man whose previous film work I am unfamiliar with. Based on the evidence presented here, I would say if given a proper budget and a better script, he just might be able to deliver a great sci-fi flick. As it is, Mann does what he can with what he is given. The sets and special effects are not top notch, but the editing is well done as opposed to distracting like with the majority of the genre pictures produced these days. Mann keeps the gore to a minimum and keeps the mysterious monster(s) on screen for just the right amount of time. Again, the special effects aren't great, but because of proper direction and editing, it looks pretty good for its budget.I have yet to mention the story. To be honest, there isn't much of one. It's the typical team-of-specialists-explore-where-they-shouldn't't routine. There are no surprises. However, the characters are given a little more depth than the average Sci-Fi Chanel original movie, which is nice. As a result, the acting is better than average as well. Shannen Doherty does a fine job as the female lead though I wish she was given more to do and better dialog to deliver. Her character is sweeter than the characters she has played in the past so for fans like myself looking for her in a different kind of role, this may be worth checking out. The acting from the rest of the cast was decent as well. Personally, I think the two women (Doherty and Heather Doerksen as her assistant) were much stronger than the men here, in terms of performances and character.Despite the disappointing story and low budget feel, I would ultimately recommend The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon to fans of monster movies and/or Shannen Doherty only. Everyone else is advised to stay away. 6/10