I probably need to rewatch Planetfall. I liked it as I was watching it, and I absolutely loved the concept — the spaghetti western as a sci-fi flick — but something just didn’t click with me that pushed me over the edge into “obsessive territory” about it. It should have been a fun movie, kind of like a really good Sci-Fi Channel Pictures Original that you catch late-night Friday night, but I just couldn’t get as into it as I wanted to.

The plot is Leone approved: a military transport crashes on a warring planet, their cargo being the hot commodity drug known as Psylenol. Bounty hunters, warlords and other factions all vie for the precious treasure. Deals are brokered, twists are had.

The special effects, especially the computer generated city and landscapes are incredible for a low-budget picture and the actors are all passably great. The main problem has to do with the script. There seems to be too much fat left on, with long, boring scenes threatening to ruin all the world that the very fast faced, exciting action sequences worked so hard to build. At 90 minutes long, it makes Planetfall feel twice that at times.

Gianni Mezzanotte (also known as Michael J. Heagle) has a great talent for the fantastic and making it believable on a small budget—I’d actually love to see this guy with a couple of million at his disposal. All he needs is a script that will allow him to move at the pace he so obviously needs. Planetfall is definitely worth a viewing, but I’m not sure how many after that. Like I said, I need to rewatch it myself.