NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

ThatMOVIENut "On March 21, 1963, Alcatraz officially closed. All the prisoners were transferred off the island. Only, that's not what happened. Not at all." The team behind LOST instead offers a time traveling twist on Alcatraz' final inmates, and how a government taskforce must find them all 302 of them. At least, for 13 episodes.Honestly not awful nor technically incompetent, 'Alcatraz' is guilty more of complacency: despite the production team's background and being released during the run of 'Fringe', it doesn't embrace its high concept of Alcatraz as a hub for mad science, instead using it as background dressing for what is ostensibly yet another cop/agent procedural. The prisoners (dubbed 63s) come back the same age as in 1963, but nothing else. No extra powers, no mutations or even real side effects from whatever was going on. Basically, they're just your typical criminal of the week from any 'CSIs', 'Law and Orders'' or 'NCIS'', just with a slight time travel bend. And that rather rigid stockness also transcends to the main characters: the tough cop girl, the lovable nerd, the growly boss etc.Plus, opting for the LOST method of storytelling with a really slow burn mystery and mere hint-crumbs dropped sparsely doesn't work as well on a procedural which is inherently about solving problems/crimes and means the two part finale has to fill in a lot of gaps, but as you'd expect, only opening up another set of questions. It just feels like the writers were of the mindset that the audience had gotten used to this, and therefore, would stick around for the three or four seasons needed to resolve the enigma of the 63s. Frankly, in a market as competitive as TV, a generous audience is hard to come by, even for big name properties and creators.This is a shame because really, 'Alcatraz'is actually a perfectly watchable show. Good production values, especially the amazing recreation of the insides of Alcatraz, a thrilling soundtrack by Michael Giacchino with a kickass opening featuring narration from Sam Neil, and well, the cast are fairly solid. Garcia, Nagra and Neil do well as you'd expect, and though a lot of people complained about Jones in the title role, I don't think she did a bad job. More she was handicapped by the limits of the material, but I thought she injected some much needed spritely-ness into her character.I even commend some attempts at factoring in elements of 60s culture, like an episode dealing with a black cook who may have been sent to the Rock purely on race grounds, or an autistic savant who manages to improve via occupational therapy. But its ultimately the lack of that extra spark that lets the show down. If there was ever a show that needed to go bigger, be more willing to be a little nutty, it's 'Alcatraz'. Had they just gone for it and not apologized, this could've made for a fun companion piece to 'Fringe', but as is, is little more than another procedural with a faint sci-flavouring.

SnoopyStyle In 1963, all the prisoners and guards mysteriously disappear from Alcatraz. In the present, they start resurfacing and a secret agency is tasked with re-capturing them. Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) leads the group with technical help from Dr. Lucy Banerjee (Parminder Nagra). He recruits police detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) and Alcatraz history expert Dr. Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia).The premise isn't quite nailed down fast enough. The show lighting is too dark. Every time there seemed to have signs of the show taking off. It takes a twist or we take a detour and we lose all the momentum. JJ Abrams puts his name on yet another show. It had some promise. The concept is fine but needed more development. Sarah Jones is a cutie but she's doing an angry act here. She never smiles and act extremely intense at all times. Jorge Garcia is injected in here but completely wasted.

mformoviesandmore What do you get if you mix a mildly interesting concept, a moderate script, banal dialogue, and discount actors?The answer is: Probably just one season.There is a secret underground room - with cells. A government agents - who is not what he seems.A young cop - who has a family connection to events.There is a geek.There is - no reason to keep going on.Probably no worse than watching CSI:mytown - unless you like your stories wrapped up in each episode.

jetset_2002 Yes, i give it one star. A broken car with a really expensive paint job is still just a broken car.I don't think i have ever been as disappointed by a show before. Its been widely marketed as "the new lost", however this show doesn't even come close to the atmosphere and gripping mystery of the first couple of Lost seasons before it, IMO, spun out of control.As a sci-fi nerd, one of the coolest things about "people from he past wake up in the future" themes is how they react to and interact with the new and undoubtedly strange world they find themselves in. We see nothing of this in here. One of the criminals, having spent roughly 2 hours in the present time, told some guy to "put his phone away" referring to his cell phone. I think that says it all. Whats next, they go on twitter in an internet café and brag about their crimes? The female cop lead looks like shes 18 years old and is completely un-likable. The fat guy from lost adds some comic relief, however although he is supposed to be some genius doctor of criminology, in the show he just scripted as the fat guy from lost.I think my major gripe with the show is the lack of present-meets-past. The criminals act like they have been traveling 5 years in time, not 45.I stopped caring after 5 episodes.