Blu-ray Review – The Terminal Man

Joining the race of "thoughtful" sci-fi/fantasy/horror filmmaking is 1974's "The Terminal Man," with Hollywood looking to do something with Michael Crichton's literary offerings after the success of 1971's "The Andromeda Strain." Mike Hodges ("Get Carter," "Flash Gordon") accepts the challenge of the adaptation, with the writer/director tasked with making something cinematic from a book that's largely about scientific study. Hodges tries to transform the page into a visual experience, but the material doesn't exactly welcome tension, finding most of the endeavor static, attempting to find some profundity in the examination of man's tinkering in the ways of computer science. And there's a critical miscasting holding the movie back, with George Segal, a wonderful actor, provided a part he doesn't really know what to do with, forcing Hodges to work around him at times. "The Terminal Man" has the makings for a thriller, but nothing materializes during the run time, resulting in a glacial study of a scientific breakthrough, medical hubris, and the broken genius at the center of it all. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com