"BSG: Blood & Chrome"

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD & CHROME ***
-created by michael taylor and david eich
2012
Set ten years after CAPRICA and forty before BSG, the story follows the first military mission of William Adama, in the first war against the cylons. As an over-achieving recruit, Adama is chagrined to be assigned a "milk run", far from the action. There are a myriad of secrets and misdirections about to be exposed, though. The film is visually breathtaking, and the action breakneck. Perhaps more attention to character might have been a good thing...with the exception of Adama, one doesn't care greatly about anyone. Eich was the co-creator of the BSG re-boot, but character may have been more the realm of his partner Ronald Moore. Or it may just be that the chemistry doesn't quite pop. The story itself is a winner - an overeager young pilot (Luke Pasqualino) partnered with a cynical veteran on his last mission (Ben Cotton), transporting a mysterious, alluring passenger (Lili Bordan). You can see Adama thinking with his little head, not the big one...but Lili comes off flat, like a brilliant foreign actress who is out of her element speaking english. Nonetheless, there's not a production flaw in this gem, and franchise fans will find great satisfaction. There are hat-tips to the classic: for that reason alone, an evening of this and RAZOR would be a lovely ride.