Search - Komodo vs. Cobra on DVD

IN THIS CORNER-KOMODO, IN THIS CORNER-COBRA...

Russell T. Hess, Jr. | lakeland, fl | 08/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well. I have to admit that I am the first one to enjoy a nature runs amok epic. I love big critter movies so when I get 2 big critters I'm in scifi heaven. Is this cheesy? of course, as a cheese lovers pizza. Is it fun...you bettcha! This isn't oscar whoha. This is action, adventure and really bad overacting! But people get ate! Yippee! And lets face it, the final fight sequence is more realistic than Stallone's new Rocky film. Sit back and enjoy. A great way to kill a rainy day."

Sci-Fi Channel does it again

Biff Fearless | Cape Coral, FL USA | 05/25/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Another entry in the Sci-Fi channel's series of giant monster movies. The effects in this one are below average, much inferior to KOMODO. There is the usual techno-babble explanation for the existence of these giant predators, and as usual it makes little if any sense. More of the standard "Don't mess with Mother Nature," and "Anything the armed forces are involved in is evil," the message of almost all sci-fi/horror films Hollywood releases. While I enjoyed this more than Sci-Fi's last "Versus", BOA VS PYTHON, it is small comfort. The movie never really delivers on the build-up as it meanders aimlessly to an unsatisfying ending."

Its ok, ill give it that...

Somekid | America | 12/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well, giving this film as much credit it deserves, i say it gets about a D average. Some acting good, most bad. The CGI on the snake was... well, suprisingly acceptable, but they didn't get the komodo down very well. The feet on the komodo dragon looked so stupid... the toes didn't move at all through the whole thing... but, what do you expect.
But hell, at least the cover looks cool for a DVD collection, i say check this one out if you have a high toleration for bad acting and cgi effects, you just might enjoy it."

"Protecting The Planet From Ruthless Capitalists!"

Robert I. Hedges | 04/21/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

""Komodo Vs. Cobra" is nothing more that badly done CGI reptiles thrashing about with the help of hero Michael Paré and a bunch of preachy environmentalists out to expose yet another horrible conspiracy from the military-industrial complex. Paré, who lethargically turns in his lines here, is an ex-soldier turned fishing boat captain. He agrees to take the whiny media-crazed twentysomethings to a restricted military island near Bora Bora to investigate "Project Carnivore." The self-righteousness of these characters, combined with the extremely low quality of the script and acting made this extraordinarily difficult to endure.

After getting to the island, they find cornstalks two stories high and a mansion that's unoccupied. It's kind of like "Fantasy Island" meets "The Most Dangerous Game." They have no problem trespassing or breaking and entering the home of famed geneticist Dr. Richardson (played, conveniently enough, by Jay Richardson,) but instead of finding him, they find his daughter Dr. Susan Richardson (played in extremely unconvincing fashion by the midriff-baring Michelle Borth,) another scientist. The film revolves around the concepts of capitalism and the US military as evil, but shows this with some stock footage of Israeli Air Force F-4s and F-16s, and a military headquarters occupied by the nefarious overactor General Bradley (Rod McCary.) This headquarters looks like a suburban insurance agent's office, further adding to the incredible authenticity of the film. The military wanted to use the "growth matrix" (discussed in great detail in flashbacks featuring the Richardson team and their fellow scientists) for some bizarre military purpose, under the premise that whatever makes corn grow will also make animals grow. (The actual experiment involved putting animal DNA into corn, which makes it grow ludicrously. Somehow.) So the military has Richardson and company start experimenting on a komodo dragon and a cobra. As a biologist, I can certainly understand the desire to begin tests using the most outlandishly hazardous subject animals that you can find, especially when you have absolutely no idea what's going to happen. Great idea. What could possibly go wrong?

The cast gets chased all over the island and progressively thinned out by the ridiculous looking computer generated reptiles, firing their pistols without effect at them. How much ammunition do they have? An infinite supply, apparently. They will stand for several minutes firing their weapons with little CGI muzzle flashes without changing a clip. Speaking of gunfire, which is generally pretty loud, the film has terrible sound balance: keep the remote control handy for the volume, as speech will be nearly inaudible, so you'll turn it up to hear. When the inevitable explosions come, you will need to scramble to turn the volume down. It's just one more way to annoy you.

It turns out that Paré is also a helicopter pilot from his time in the Airborne (anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the military will know that his professional history is a load of nonsense) and there is a helicopter in the center of the island, which the scientists conveniently located on a rugged mountain as far away from their headquarters as possible. After the Israeli Air Force sinks Paré's boat, and the cobra pops the zodiac with its fangs (in the most laughable and my favorite scene in the film,) they hike to the helicopter, with plenty of time for whiny dialogue, a romantic subplot between Paré and Borth, and loads of pompous bloviating about the evils of the US military, the US government, and capitalism in general for the camera by a media wannabe.

While wading across a river, environmentalist-in-chief Jerry Ryan (the unbearable Ryan McTavish) gets bit by three two-foot long leeches. In a bit of bad news for Ryan, Richardson reveals that anything on the island that transfers DNA from one being to another might become monstrous after being infected by the "DNA matrix." As they approach the helicopter, the evil General orders the island to be bombed (this is not quite so simple a thing to order done in the real world, but I digress) and the Israeli Air Force stock footage commences its attack, with resultant CGI explosions. To distract the komodo from the helicopter Ryan creates a diversion, and the audience cheers as he becomes an appetizer for the cobra. Of course Paré and three female cast members escape and go public with the story, the General is exposed, and the military sets the island on fire, but did they get everything? In a word, no. Of course not, but the closing shot of the forked-tongue zombie is not only gratuitous, but has nothing to do with the rest of the film: nowhere was it hinted that the DNA matrix could turn dead creatures into forked-tongue zombies. Pathetic.

This movie is one of the most ghastly of Michael Paré's career, and that's saying something. I love B-movies, I love camp, but this is utter tripe. It's not good enough to be scary, and features an abysmal script and even worse acting, but neither is it enjoyable as many campy B-movies are (including some of Paré's own films) as it is heavy handed, and tries to be preachy without giving the audience any reason to sympathize with any of the characters or causes.

Apparently when this was made the filmmakers had a huge dose of DNA matrix reserved for experimenting on a turkey: I can think of no other conclusion."