The Void (2001 Video) User Reviews

abuse of science thriller marginally OK, not worth looking for though

[FieCrier · 5/10 · 2 January 2005]

There's no black hole sucking down a city street as depicted on the video box cover, so let's dismiss that from the start. There's something sort of like that in the floor of a laboratory.

As it starts, a particle accelerator lab is doing an experiment that its chief does not approve of, but which the physicist played by Malcolm McDowell has somehow pulled rank and gotten through - though he is 5,000 miles away. Lucky for him he wasn't there, too, since everybody dies.

Years later, he's up to the same thing, expecting it to work this time (he's actually on site). The daughter of the chief who died in the previous experiment hopes to find proof of what happened, and learns it's about to happen again, only worse.

It's not a bad movie, though overlong. I thought on its apparent budget it did make good use of special effects. Not worth seeking out, though, unless you're a particular fan of any of the lead actors.

The Void was devoid of goodness and should be avoided (spoilers)

[jerronspencer · 4/10 · 28 September 2004]

The void here was in the story. Decent cinematography and nice locations give this film a much-needed boost. I love both Paul and Tapping, but this was not their best work.

****SPOILER****

An engineer (Paul) and a physicist (Tapping), both instructors at a local university, must stop a mad scientist (McDowell) from performing an experiment which is likely to destroy the whole world. The experiment was performed once, and the world didn't end, but this time...look out. I know what you're thinking: 'Malcolm McDowell as the bad guy? Get out!' (and did you know his daddy was a damned dirty ape?)

The script was not bad and the acting and dialog was fairly good, this film just didn't feel right somehow. Maybe it was the inane plot twists?

Avoid The Void.

[stormruston · 4/10 · 17 March 2005]

I would like to see this idea or movie redone with a budget and some decent special effects.

Lets start on a positive note..Adrian Paul and Malcom McDowell are as always very charismatic and take there rolls pretty seriously.

The story is cool...endless energy but at what cost or risk.

The fact that there is some "hardball players" but no real evil characters is sort of a nice change.Just people doing whatever it takes to accomplish what they believe in. So that is the gist of the movie without telling you what it is about.

The effects a few and far between and this movie does not cut in as a drama...so I do not recommend it in-spite of some decent acting.

Not so bad

[Angel-Ireul · 17 August 2004]

Okay, its got no budget, that said. Its pretty dang impressive. The chemistry between Amanda Tapping and Adrian Paul is endearing and believable. Their scenes together are utterly believable, and okay yeah the black hole doesn't actually appear until the last ten minutes or so of the flick and it's pretty silly but hey its a low budget flick, I mean if you pay attention there's only like three locations. That said, its a lot of fun, well worth renting or buying if its under $10. Plus for any Adrian Paul fans its well worth it as he has numerous entertaining one liners. So don't go into it expecting Armageddon and you're good to go. And Amanda Tapping has a great line, "I guess that's what you get when you build a relationship on sex and tuna fish sandwiches".

Stay Away - Far Away - or it will suck your brains out!!!

[Big Dave-2 · 1/10 · 28 June 2002]

Without a doubt, one of the most unsatisfying movies I have seen in a very long time. No wonder it never made it in the theatres. The actors have nothing to do given the atrocious script. What could have been a good idea turns into a romp. The worst part is having started a black hole that will do something, the writers decide not to even bother with a conclusion. The conclusion we are left with is as if the story had never happened. It's a good job I watched it on my VCR so I could fast forward through nearly 90% of it.

(calm lady computer voice) Warning, bad movie detected. Warning, bad movie detected.

[vfrickey · 1/10 · 14 June 2004]

The key to a successful screenplay is creating willing suspension of disbelief. When a screenplay refers to the US Atomic Energy Commission (a government agency which was disestablished over 30 years ago when the US Department of Energy was created) as though it were still with us, that destroys willing suspension of disbelief.

So does the movie's main premise that the bad guys are making black holes by colliding protons and anti-protons at high speed "to turn energy into matter." Collide matter into antimatter and you get an annihilation reaction, and the collective mass of the matter and antimatter becomes energy (apart from the possible creation of some neutrinos, possibly some pair-production events). Just the opposite of what the movie is telling us. (And the movie's premise isn't even as plausible as the far-fetched anxiety over the CERN Large Hadron Collider.)

This is high school physics information we're talking about here! The writers could have taken an undergraduate physics student out for pizza and gotten the true facts for the price of the meal - or just used their good friend Google.

Worse, the dialogue is predictable and the movie just creeps along in that made-for-TV-hack science fiction way. The characters are neither memorable nor very sympathetic. Malcolm McDowell, playing the bad guy-in-chief, is a BORING bad guy with none of the intensity he brought to every other film of his I've seen. Adrian Paul (of The Highlander TV series and other cheap SF movies, Dead Men Can't Dance, among others) is a self-parody as a physicist, complete with a suit made from car seat- cover fabric and glasses swiped from the set of Revenge of the Nerds.

Amanda Tapping (Stargate SG-1) is hemmed in by a horrible script in her role as the helpless heroine whose nuclear physicist dad dies, bringing her into danger. They went all the way back to the 1950s for that hackneyed plot device, the "murdered good scientist's vulnerable daughter who must be rescued by the male lead". And the trip wasn't worth it. They didn't even play it for laughs.

The producers did demonstrate the power of a dead script to subdue every bit of acting ability in the cast of a film. Adrian Paul has had a run of bad luck in this regard - first "Dead Men Can't Dance," then this. I hope some better scripts come his way, because he was very good in the Highlander television series.

Avoid this movie as you would a rabid dog. Walk across the street from it when you see it. Find something else to do besides watch it. It's a worthy bookend to that other Adrian Paul-starring turkey, "Dead Men Can't Dance." They need to be used to keep uneven tables from wobbling at the video store, or their DVDs recycled as targets at a skeet range - maybe used as part of a mobile in a kindergarten art class. Just don't play the things.

PLEASE don't watch this movie

[osirisgothra · 1/10 · 14 October 2013]

This is the worst movie EVER... just looking at the cover, and then watching the film, there's no black hole devouring cities as the cover would have you believe, no fancy special effects... in fact, the only suspenseful part is at the VERY END.. for like 10 minutes, and that's it... the rest is just boring drama leading up to the climax, if you can even call it a climax... the damn hole doesn't get any bigger than a foot or two before cheesy computer graphics are done to show an obvious 'model view' from afar. I NEVER write reviews but i just felt like I had to on this one, PLEASE don't watch it, it is a COMPLETE waste of time (unless you are trying to throw away your precious time, in which case, go for it--just bring a vomit bag, you'll need it for the end part).

Terribly Boring

[danzig138-668-939218 · 1/10 · 27 October 2014]

I'm a big fan of both Amanda Tapping and Adrian Paul, but together they couldn't change the fact this is the second most boring movie I have ever watched in my 41 years.

Nothing happens. Nothing.

There is no action, there is no interesting dialogue, no interesting characters, nothing. They could have read the phone book in tandem and that would have been better than this.

I can only assume that these actors took this job because they really needed the money, or were doing a favor for a friend (and in that case, I bet they regret it now).

Strange Movie Credits

[debill-84850 · 4/10 · 9 December 2020]

This is the only movie I've ever seen where the main two characters are introduced at the beginning of the movie, the next six characters in order of importance are never listed and the remaining actors are listed in the credits at the end of the movie as if they were the stars of the movie.

Not great. OK if your very bored.

[accountcrapper · 4/10 · 16 August 2010]

This is not great. There is some science, some running around, a little romance and it is all very predictibull. The CGI is OK but looks pretty cheap. The sound is serviceable. The lighting and cinematography for the most part consists of bland offices and bright service areas. The acting is good TV acting in the way you do not believe these people are really anything other than actors getting paid. The general idea of the film is not great. It is basically a film speculating on media fears about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN creating a mini black hole and destroying the earth. All the characters are paper thin so it is very difficult to get any real drama out of the story. It was cheapish but I think it could have easily been done a lot better. At one point the disaster of a black hole exploding was explained as being like adding too much soap to the washing machine followed by "We've all done that." I don't know call me a hard reviewer but I think they could have tried harder - Overall I give it a 4.

Formulaic and unremarkable

[Doc Serizawa · 2/10 · 4 January 2004]

The Void is a standard, formulaic movie that everybody has seen before. Some scientist, general, etc. wants to do something dangerous, the heroes try to stop them. The heroes sneak around; there is a cover up and conspiracy. The black whole element of the movie can be substituted with any other vaguely understood scientific principle- in no way is it essential to the plot that it has to be black holes.

The acting, by the two somewhat known stars (Adrian Paul, Amanda Tapping) is in no way embarrassing (ok- maybe a little, when they are tied to chairs), just unremarkable as everything else in the movie. Skip this one unless you are really bored.

an intelligent and fun little film

[kaylenns · 8/10 · 22 August 2003]

A friend of mine picked this up on a whim in the bargain box at a local video store, upon seeing the two stars' names together. We decided to watch it and skewer it, keeping expectations with the IMDb rating of (at the time) 3.7 that it had. Instead, we were pleasantly surprised at the

a) consistent and correct science mentioned

b) evident chemistry between the two leads

c) several bits of fun dialog (both actors have a talent for understated comedy)

d) redemption of the arch-villians at the end (unexpected!)

e) the refreshing lack of the scientists-turned-superheroes motif usually found in these movies

f) passable SFX

g) the sexual tension despite the fact that it was never unresolved

It's not a stunner of a movie, by any means, but for a fun and refreshingly intelligent little diversion, it's definitely worth watching. I thought the second sex scene was unnecessary to the plot or the characterizations, but that was my only quibble. Otherwise, settle in and have a good time watching two fun actors from two different and strong sci-fi/fantasy shows play together in a new universe. Very enjoyable! :)

Mostly forgettable

[KateAnderson · 7/10 · 20 April 2002]

The only reason I watched this film was to see Amanda Tapping. I'm a huge fan of her on Stargate SG-1 and in some ways, she's playing much the same character. The plot line moves along too slowly for my taste and the acting is, at best, mediocre. I've seen worse movies, but this wasn't does rate very high with me.

Reservations

[wgunnelsiii · 4/10 · 15 February 2007]

I watched this movie only because I was falling in love with Miss Tapping on STARGATE SG-1.

The only part in which I thought she was as pretty as on the series was when she's in the bathtub and Mr. Paul kisses her on the shoulder. One assumes her to be nude then. Unfortunately, she remained half-naked--in increasingly sexual situations--for the remainder of the film. What a waste of the rose of sci-fi!

Why did Eva have to be a civilian scientist rather than a military one like Samantha Carter? At the end, she was escaping through a tunnel while her superiors mistakenly thought the cloud of gas had killed her. When American military personnel die in action, a tune called "taps" is played. The resulting inadvertent pun on the actress's name would have caused us to laugh over her instead of cheering.

Excellent performance from Amanda

[kamil-8 · 8/10 · 5 December 2002]

I basically watched this movie for Amanda Tapping. I'm a huge fan of her. And I wasn't disappointed. I agree with some of the other comments that the storyline was disappointing, but what Amanda did with her character was quite amazing especially considering what she's been given. While her character in some ways reminded me of her Stargate SG-1 character, she gave her a completely different behaviour and much more softness - surpassed Adrian Paul and Malcolm MacDowell by far. If you're a fan of her, rent/buy it now. At least that's my suggestion.

It was a good idea...

[bbbl67 · 1 December 2002]

...but it was poorly fleshed out. The writers of the movie obviously had a technical background, because they were pretty close to reality about black hole physics. And the idea about what could possibly happen if someone created a black hole right on earth, is a very fascinating question. Unfortunately, using this idea as the basis for a movie plot by itself, doesn't seem to be enough, so they threw in a romance, a bunch of murders, etc., etc.

I'd love to see this idea resurrected in some other, higher-budget movie, one day. But then in such a movie they may get the scientific principles wrong, but come up with better romances and political murders.

Watchable

[silver_sparks2000 · 6/10 · 26 April 2002]

This movie was enjoyable, if you basically ignored all the giant holes in the plot. Pretty good for a Canadian movie made up of primarily Canadian actors. I watched this mostly because Amanda Tapping was in it as the lead role - I love her in Stargate SG-1 and was looking forward to seeing her as a different role in different scenarios. Instead, I was disappointed to find she played almost the exact same character, minus the military status, dealing with an improbable out-of-control black hole, exactly like in the Stargate episode A Matter of Time. The ending was also rather improbable - more holes - but it was one of those bad, enjoyable movies.

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzz

[Brandy-28 · 26 May 2003]

Oh, huh, sorry you woke me up.

This movie sucked on all levels. If you went by the cover - you were turned down, if you went by the ideas - you were turned down, and if you went by the science - you were turned down.

Great, make a movie about black holes and then don't really show one until the final minutes of the movie and then it's nothing but a whole in the wall sucking up everything in the room.

If this movie had a bigger budget, maybe it would of been a lot more fun. Ms. Tapping was excellent, Adrian Paul was certainly very cute and funny in this movie. He had a lot of little one liners that I thought were just funny.

Other than those two, the black hole effects were yawnnnnsish. I saw a better black hole in the movie black hole with Max Von Snydow.

The best movie Adrian has made since Endgame!

[hpt · 9/10 · 5 November 2002]

I was so excited to see The Void on TV in Canada. I loved seeing Adrian play a normal guy in extraordinary circumstances. He and Amanda Tapping had great chemistry. The special effects were very convincing. Overall, a movie that might have done well on the Big Screen!

Hallmark romance with a tad of sci-fi.

[Bernie4444 · 6/10 · 21 April 2024]

O.k. Maybe it is a standard disaster film. However, it has a Hallmark overtone. It even has Hallmark-style background music.

Prof. Steven Price (Adrian Paul) is being used in more ways than one buy vixen, Prof. Eva Soderstrom (Amanda Tapping). While pilfering data from a research facility, Amanda finds that the facility run by the autocratic Dr. Thomas Abernathy (Malcolm McDowell) is about to "void" the earth.

If it were not for flat screens and cell phones you would think this was a fifty's sci-fi. Oh yes, they throw in cuddling scenes with bodies in the au natural. There is a "hole" lot of sucking. But is there a solution?

Not bad for an obviously low budget production.

[alvoss04 · 14 November 2004]

I watched this movie only because Amanda Tapping was cast in it. Although she did show great acting skill and proved beyond a doubt that she is NOT a bimbo, I was disappointed by the obvious use of a body double for the brief nude scenes. I hope Amanda will get an opportunity to star in a higher budget movie soon and that she will not be so shy about nudity. From a scientific standpoint, this was a plausible movie. From a point of reality it is a bit foolish. For example, when they are both tied to chairs and expecting to be executed, the dialogue and behavior seemed unreal. Amanda's character showed conviction and perseverance to show the data error, but then surrendered so easily when captured. Just not consistent behavior for the character. This movie is a must see for all Star gate fans, as the movie does prove Amanda's acting skills.

Interesting ideas. Amanda Tapping's performance

[gleekknight741 · 10/10 · 21 November 2004]

Okay I have to admit that I got out this movie because Amanda Tapping plays the main character.

I didn't have high hopes for this movie but I really did enjoy it. Its a type of movie to watch in the middle of the holidays. The idea of the movie was great but it just didn't lift off with a huge climax and amaze me.

But with that I have to say the the acting was fabulous! Amanda Tapping is such a marvelous actress and she did a great job. The character was kind of like Samantha Carter (from Stargate Sg1) but she gave this character a new personality. Great job!

And Adrian Paul is also a great actor and he worked really well with Amanda for they must both be funny people in real life ( I know Amanda is) and his character has a great sense of humour and feels like a real person

over all i liked it and is a movie that i suggest people who like the main actors to watch for they did a great job!

Comes close to the real world scenario with the RHIC

[xsgerry · 24 August 2003]

This film addresses a real concern of sorts, questions which were brought up about the Heavy Relatavistic Ion Collider which used a particle accellerator to smash gold atoms together in order to study exotic quarks. It was theorized that only a one in a billion trillion squillion chance of creating a particle-sized singularity (infinite volume in zero mass) that creates black holes, gravitational wells and event horizons. So much for media scares. Why actually watched 10 minutes of the film was because I like Amanda Tapping. I then watched another ten minutes because all of a sudden she was apparently geting tastefully nude. After another ten minutes I turned off again. I think it may have been a body double, but who cares. Amanda Tapping is gorgeous, no matter whose breasts were on the screen. The film? Ah. Well, if it was made with a big budget and heavyweight hollywood actors, say, Harrison Ford and Susan Sarandon, it would be considered worthy, though provoking material. A shame a proper, real science story has been let down by poor budgeting, and the fact that Amanda Tapping is marvellous, but not well known enough for film work. On the other hand, nice breasts.

Couldn't keep my eyes off the screen

[nobody_special_77081_1 · 9/10 · 4 August 2005]

I happened to enjoy the movie. I am a AP fan and enjoy whatever he does, whether some would say it was sleeper or great. I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen. The love scene was tactful. The editing was very good. The dialog and story line was good. It could be very true of what the story line involved and what the movie was all about. Someone out there could be working on a system to create a void, you never know what the science departments are doing until it is over or a problem does arrive and the world is told the somewhat truth, so don't doubt the art of science. It may nip you in the rear. I enjoy the movie every time I view it and see new events every time.

A Good Study Break

[tuathaan75 · 24 October 2002]

I went out to the video store to rent a movie - any movie - featuring Amanda Tapping (I'm sort of a fan from the Stargate series). I found this one. It's not a bad movie, especially if you enjoy Ms. Tapping's work. My roomate commented that "they needed a bigger budget" and I agree - some of the effects were a little cheap. Considering, however, that the actors are not HUGE stars and that it seems to be a lower budget film, it was very interesting. The premise about a black hole was fascinating to me (though my roomate, the astrophysics major, seems to think it sounds a little unsound - she hasn't watched it, though) and it was fun to watch Ms. Tapping in another role. Granted, it seemed like a reincarnation of Sam Carter from Stargate - still beautiful and brainy but without the guns and aliens - but all in all it was interesting to see and worth the money I paid to rent the DVD. The Void reminded me of an extended episode of Andromeda/Stargate placed in an alternate universe without the aliens. Or the stargate. Or a lot of guns. But the same "feel" to the show. Sounds odd, I know. I won't list The Void as one of my top five movies but I will say that it was very entertaining and a great study break.