Survival Code (2014)

not horrible nor great

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I don't know the full story to this production, and IMDb doesn't pay me enough per review to do a forensic investigation of each title. (Actually, they don't pay me anything per review, but who's counting?) However, based on the provenance of the players (Director mainly does TV work, the star Olsson mainly TV, etc etc) I am going to go out on a limb and say this was intended as a pilot. Not bad. Not bad at all. The Canuck Sci-Fi machine has produced some amazing stuff in the last few years (Eureka remains my fave) and there are some great ideas here with solid execution. Essentially, a sort of futuristic deep-cold LONGMIRE (see my review of the same name). Olsson is astonishing. Somewhere there is a casting director in Hollywood who will notice this and, in my view, great things lie ahead for him. Some uneven performances, notably Karan Oberoi as a Dudley Dooright sort of local cop. The script does not give Oberoi much to work with, the costume dept. gave him a uniform that is always too clean and too pressed for the story, and generally all his scenes tend to break the flow of the production. Nice to see Jon Slan, one of the godfathers of Canadian film, in the hopper. This "film" was nominated for a bunch of Canuck awards, and won a few, There are worse ways to spend a rainy afternoon.

Since I have only got to catch pieces of this show, what I have seen was amazingly plotted and I would very much like to see the US allowed the opportunity to view a series that meets the criteria that most of those in my network look for - escape from the everyday with an adventurous edge. Please talk to our SciFi channel and see if we can't work something out maybe? Any negotiations on behalf of our SCIFI FANS would be well worth the investment! Please BRING THIS TO US! AMAZING CAST and fantastic storyline! Keep it Coming! Characters appear realistic and plots possible. This TV Network should be proud of their acceptance of this work, I very much like to see those things that brush with what could possibly happen in the future. This series receives an A+ for Action, A+ for characterization, A+ for Plot with continuation possibilities and the list could go on and on. This show would be a good competitor in receiving excellent ratings in the US - This is WHAT WE LOOK FOR!

I had brought up Borealis to one of its cast members. Ty Olsson back in November. I had seen a clip of it online. My first thought was wow never seen this movie. Looks intriguing. Plus Ty is a wonderful actor who in my opinion deserves way more recognition. After that, Ty requested fans to start promoting and spreading the word. Borealis finally aired Jan. 11, 2013. To me it was worth the wait. Superb cast, great premise, pacing, characters, scenery. Very interesting. It really has potential. Seeing it go to series would be so awesome. I really hope BellMediaPr, SpaceChannel and SyFy will pick it up. Shows like these need to be recognized and given a chance. I hope they listen to us fans. Because we won't give up. We support the actors and give them much appreciation. I really hope that in due time we will see Borealis's second episode and so on. Thank you.

As a stand alone movie, I can see how "Borealis" may be slightly disappointing. As the pilot for a new series though, it's awesome. Why? It leaves one wanting more. In an all-too-near future, the arctic icecap has melted, opening the way for new trade routes, oil fields, mining operations, and other untapped resources for the international community to squabble over. At the center of it all is Vic's bar. Owned by a former cage fighter and now the customs agent for the Canadian government, the bar is the center of life in an emerging frontier town. Like many sci-fi shows, "Borealis" owes much to the genre of Westerns. The characters include a likable town drunk, a good-hearted prostitute, native Inuit, and a couple characters vying for the role of lawman, including Vic. But, it comes with a definite 21st century spin, including an American archaeologist funded by the Russians, an activist biologist determined to protect and document what remains of the arctic ecosystem, and an enigmatic international diplomat. While the premise relies on climate change, the show doesn't get bogged down in preaching about the global warming we are currently causing. It moves along at a fast pace, with murder, fights and intrigue as nations, corporations and Vic all try to establish dominance in this new frontier. And since it's in the near future, advances in technology are evident, but not distracting or far beyond our current comprehension. What really sets this apart from other Canadian sci-fi and fantasy is the acting and writing. The cast is excellent, and the main characters are entirely believable. Ty Olsson's understated energy really carries the pilot, but I also found myself wanting to see more of and know more about the characters played by Bryan Dick, Michelle Harrison, Greyston Holt and Christine Horne.To me, fiction is most successful when the characters come alive in your mind and you want to continue their stories. In that, "Borealis" completely succeeds. And I sincerely hope that a network such as Space or Syfy feels the same way, and will use this movie as the pilot of a series, as it seems intended to be.