Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)

Two years since the last episode aired, I’ve finally watched Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. After the webisodes and the 2007 stand alone TV movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor, this is the 2009 direct-to-DVD release. I am/was a big fan of the re-imagined series when it originally aired. I read up on user reviews of each episode, fan comments and speculation, and any spoilers/tidbits regarding upcoming story lines.

The series finale aired in 2009, so I consider it strange that I did not experience a strong compulsion to watch this last installment. Maybe it was the so-so reviews from critics and the fan base. Why didn’t I rush out to watch it immediately? Partly the mediocre reviews, but I think also that each episode was so intense, and with the finale, I reached closure on the overall storyline. It would feel odd to go back and open up that box of drama and suspense. Although I was still ambivalent, “The Plan” slowly moved up the Netflix queue and showed up in our mailbox. I watched it Saturday night.

Edward James Olmos directs “The Plan”, a somewhat interesting (more on that later) revisiting of the mini-series and the first two seasons of the show. Told from the viewpoint of the Cyclons, we revisit the attack on the 12 colonies, specific key events from seasons 1 & 2, and supposedly learn more about the Cylons and their “plan.” I gotta be honest that I didn’t find this direct-to-DVD movie all that exciting. For all the talk over the series’ run about the Cylons and their “plan”, it still seems like the “plan” was to eradicate the human species. There is no other plan. The plan goes awry, as the Galactica and nearly 50K human survivors on a multitude of ships escape genocide.

At this point, you realize that the plan is now FUBAR, and there are human-form Cylons living incognito within the fleet The film features all of the human “skin jobs” as they to regroup and continue to carry out their mission, under the sadistic leadership of Brother Cavill (Dean Stockwell.) Dissension in the ranks among the Cylons grows, as each Cylon begins to question the decision to kill off the survivors, and the humans continue to defy the survival odds. That’s basically where the film ends.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)

I found Battlestar Galactica: The Plan to be mediocre. There were some illuminating behind-the-scenes moments, and it was somewhat interesting to see the Cylons doubting themselves and the initial genocide plan. The best part was the attack on the colonies, but that is just the first 20 minutes. First of all, there is no plan. The only plan the Cylon’s had, as demonstrated by The Plan, was their plan to wipe out all humans. Well, we already knew about that so I’m confused. For four years, we the fans were told about the Cylons and their “plan.” If it was just genocide, didn’t we know that during the 2003 mini-series?

Within the first twenty minutes of the film the destruction of the twelve colonies sequence has played out, which, I might add, is the best part of the film. The visual effects and the entire momentum leading up and during the attack, is really good. But that’s it. The rest is new material spliced with old clips. Overall, unfortunately, the film doesn’t add enough to make this an interesting film.

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