Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

one-nine-eighty Maybe the book this was based on is better, maybe it's just as dire as this straight to TV movie which in reality should have gone straight in the bin. An astronaut dies and reawakens under water on a mysterious planet. It's not actually that mysterious as it looks Earth like still and the atmosphere is evidently breathable. After breaking free of his binding and swimming for safety he finds a capsule on the beach which has all the clothing he needs to survive on the baron landscape, a few cotton clothes which when unfolded make nice trousers and a shirt. He turns around to face the sea and all of a sudden a wave of people are swimming for shore too. They each have a capsule of clothing too. Disturbingly the clothes all fit the people perfectly and they aren't all the standard shape and cut, some of the woman manage to find capsules with skirts in, some of them have strapless tops in them. I noticed none of the capsules have underwear in them but all the people somehow have flesh coloured pants and bras. It becomes evident that people from all ages of Earth's like are on the beach together, people from the American civil war, Neanderthal's from the stone age, modern people… it's a who's who of people who lived and died on earth - including an alien who died on Earth in the future. This is not heaven nor Hell, it's like a purgatory where anyone who died on earth eventually goes. It seems Earth is no longer, these people are the surviving children of Earth and they have been reborn on Riverworld. This fresh crop of people are soon hunted down and trapped by existing inhabitants on Riverworld. The premise of the film from here is that the Astronaut leads a revolt to rescue the people who then set about travelling the river on a big boat looking for adventure and answers. I really can't say many good things about this. Perhaps the novel by Philip Jose Farmer was really good but this film adaptation, directed by Kari Skogland really isn't. The film was filmed in New Zealand and this was about the only saving grace as it offered lush landscapes and backdrops. The acting was wooden and laughable, the effects were poor, and the flow of the film was bad. Like the universal but unique clothing no answers to why everyone speaks a universal language is explored, nobody seems really to care that much that they are all dead but still alive - I'd want to celebrate that. The ending was left wide open, presumably for a TV series branch off or a follow up film but I really hope nothing comes of it. As this was made super cheap and broadcast on the Sy-Fy channel I can't see much coming of the open ending. I'm giving this 1 out of 10 and I'm thankful that I won't have to watch this ever again.

leonidus1956 Absolutely one of the worst book-to-film adaptations I have ever seen. Alex Proyas has been involved in some works ( Dark City, The Crow ) that I really enjoyed but this was awful...there was so much potential in the novels and perhaps even the attempt to condense them into a 2 hour movie was doomed to fail but, seriously, horses ?!?!? There were no animals (other than fish and worms) mentioned in the books but the addition of horses obviously dramatically changed the dynamics of the human societies that evolved after the "resurrections" and not in ways that are even remotely faithful to Mr. Farmers original vision. I always admired the concept of the Riverworld both from the point of view of the author, being able to script interactions between all my favorite characters from all of human history, as well as the pure joy of reading these works and unraveling the mysteries of the Riverworld.

xredgarnetx RIVERWORLD is the collective title of a series of short stories and novels about life along the banks of, and on and in, a vast river where everyone who was ever born is reborn and watched over -- and occasionally manipulated by -- unseen aliens. PJ Farmer wrote some fascinating stuff in the first two or three books and then worked the theme to death, continuing on when he should have stopped. The first book in the series, TO YOUR SCATTERED BODIES GO, is a classic and readily available in most major bookstores. The rest of the series is is no longer completely available, more's the pity. I used to own the complete collection in paperback. Next to ER Burrough's JOHN CARTER OF MARS series, the first book of which (A PRINCESS OF MARS) also is readily available and another series I also used to own in paperback, RIVERWORLD is the greatest sci-fi collection you can possibly own. Suffice it to say, the Sci-Fi Channel's adaptation of the first book or two is an abortion, and bears little resemblance to the source material. The main character, the legendary adventurer Sir Richard Burton, is missing as are several other key historic figures. The lead here becomes a typical American hero who does not exist in the books, played by Tom Berenger-lookalike Brad Johnson, who has trouble acting his way out of any paper bag he may encounter along the river. Mark Twain is on hand, but he is not the Mark Twain of the books. The magic and mystery of Farmer's novels is completely missing. Read the first three books, if you can find them, and skip this atrocity.

grastell I laughed when I came across this at Amazon. This wasn't a movie and I don't believe it was ever intended to be one. This is a series pilot aired by the SciFi channel but not picked up. It might had made a decent series compared to the drivel normally aired. But there's one thing I've learned about the folks at USA networks. They wouldn't know quality if it dropped on their heads. While this may not be considered top line material it's at least original.So what we have here is what I believe to be the first episode of a series designed to rush through the story and get the characters on the boat so the series could be about their travelsBut we'll never know.