Battlestar Galactica - Razor Reviews

Awful

Like other reviewer, watched this on Sky One. Acting is generally OK, but nothing to write home about. The special effects are nothing special. But, like any sci-fi, it lives or dies on two things.

Relationships. Now this is where I must concede ignorance. Whilst I watched repeats of the old series, I haven't seen much of the remake. A devoted fan might think differently. To me, the characters were stereotypes-their emotions and motives were simple and unimaginative. At times the folk were caricature's of themselves.

Plot. First, what idiot thought they could have events going on in numerous different time slots? It's not that I got confused (the scriptwriters don't have the brains to do confusing). But it was disorientating enough that I lost all interest. Just as I was starting to get involved in a storyline, we'd move off elsewhere. Second, even in a sci-fi universe, events must be 'believable'. And these weren't.

Don't rent this. Certainly, whatever you do, don't even think about buying it. And whatever you do, don't encourage this nonsense! Axed shows like Firefly are so much more deserving.

[Highly rated reviewer]

razor rash

was on sky one last night, didnt really rock my world, dont get me wrong it was ok but its nowhere near the quality the first couple of seasons were,jumps around too much, perhaps the novelty is wearing off for me as i also thought the last season was a bit of a let down.for this bold statement i am sure i will be sent straight to hell while running the gauntlet of die hard fans ready to tear me limb from limb, but for now i can only hope the fourth season which is just around the corner will up the ante

R&D do it again...

For this review im going to assume you know a little about Battlestar Galactica (BSG) and that you've watched up to the end of season 2. Razor tells the story of how the Battlestar Pegasus managed to escape from the attack on the twelve colonies by the cylons from the view point of new character Lt. Kendra Shaw. The movie follows her time under the ruthless and sometimes cruel Adm. Helena Cain up to the point where Lee Adama Takes command and how Kendra deals with effects of the attack and the moral conflicts she encounters from Cain's brutal orders. The episode also reveals a little about the first cylon war and Adm William Adama's viper pilot days.

All in all Razor is not only a visual feast for BSG fans but also a solid movie that delivers some quality story telling plowed together with some good action sequences and chracter development. A must see for all BSG & Scifi fans alike. Very Good.

[Highly rated reviewer]

A Must for BSG fans

This Mini-movie fill's in some further detail on the story of the Pegasus, and it's monstrous cammander Cain (Wonderfully acted). It also gives us some background on the young Adama, and we even get to see the original 'Toaster' Cylons.

There's not much new here, and if you don't know BSG it will be unfathomable, but it's well done, with some great special effects. There's also a neat twist which leads into series 4.

[Highly rated reviewer]

All Battlestar fans read:

This film is now included in season 4 of the current modern version. It's disc 1, Razor with extended highlights.

So.... if you are following this excellent drama through the boxsets... don't rent this on its own... wait untill you rent season 4 :-))))

Hope this helps!

Hopefully not an omen for Season 4

Razor is supposedly a prequel to Season 4 of BSG, and it doesn't bode well for the quality of the upcoming episodes if this is the standard. It is pretty awful.

The show, even at it's best, is not particularly subtle, but at least usually has some idea or pretense of restraint to it. In Razor, you have a young Admiral Adama calling the Cylons a bunch of cocksuckers (apparently they're allowed to swear in prequel times) and then getting so angry that he leaps out of his spaceship in order to punch a Cylon in the face, whilst falling through the upper atmosphere of a planet towards a Cylon Auschwitz.

This pretty much sets the standard of the film. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't a series I liked so much.

It doesn't help that the storyline is pretty incongruous with the rest of the series, and that the actress chosen to play the main character was obviously picked for her good looks rather than her acting ability. She's pretty terrible, but I suppose one boon of her being there is that you can switch off her acting and try to guess her race, as she's quite ambiguous in that regard. For the record I'm guessing Maori-Phillipino-White. Anyway, her character was terribly acted and simply wasn't that interesting anyways. Another tough, no-nonsense macho military woman, which makes her the sixth or so example of that particular archetype in the series thus far.

Chuck in some implied lesbianism for the hell of it, and you have Razor. If you're a fan of the series, you might as well see it, but I couldn't really recommend it to anyone who wasn't previously a fan of the show.

[Highly rated reviewer]

A welcome fix

If you're a Battlestar Gallactica addict - and I am - this feature gives a vital fix while we're waiting for (1) the scriptwriters' strike to end [all power to their elbow, mind you - scriptwriters are the lifeblood of drama] and (2) the final series is available in the UK. This BG offshoot has the same tight writing, deep characterisation and spot on dialogue as the original. And there are significant appearances by the actors we've come to regard as a part of our lives. This sub-plot delivers on intricacy and structure... though I'm damned if, other than the punchline, I can actually remember the story. That's why it gets a four star rating from me rather than my usual slavish five for BG.

very annoyed!

I was expecting this to be a stand alone episode telling us of the Pegasus story following the cylon attack until its finding of the Galactica and the fleet. If only it had been. The story line of BSG Razor places it within the third season with much of the plot made up of flashbacks.

Season three was a bit hit and miss. Some episodes added much to the overall story whilst others were either stand alone and added very little or were reworks of storylines from the previous seasons.

Much of razor's plot should have been incorporated into the third season, it seems absolutely ridiculous to includes major storylines which were completely absent from season three. In many ways Razor raises expectations for the coming fourth season. However the whole thing just seems to be an after thought due to the poor quality of season three. The structure of this and the poor quality of season three has taken alot of the quality away from the re-imagined series.

[Highly rated reviewer]

"By your command"

If you watched the Original series of Battlestar Galactica you'll see some familar ships and faces in this special episode of the 'Re-imagined' series.

This fills in some gaps in season two and gives us some new questions. It takes us right back to the first cylon war, 41 years before this series is set, and establishes a link between past and present.

Without giving too much plot away, we meet a 'lost' tribe of older cylons. These older cylons are based on original series designs and look and sound just like they did. They also fly the old design of cylon raider and use the phrase 'By Your command'. Great if you are a fan of old and new BSG.

We also get a look at Lee Adama's first mission in Command of Battlestar Pegasus and see more of Admiral Cain's time in command of the same ship.

All in all an enjoyable addition to the Battlestar Galactica series, with some interesting revelations about both Cylon mythology and a possible future for the Humans if a certain Character comes to lead them.

One for serious fans.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Cutting Edge

Simply put this film is everything series 3 of Battlestar Galactica should have been. Action, drama, revealing glimpses of the two Cylon wars and a hint of nostalgia to the original series. It doesn't have the in depth character arcs of the series, but if thats what attracts you series 3 has plenty. However Be Warned you have to have understood series one and two or you'll be lost in flashbacks and backstory.