“Anne, you’re going to die.” —Kate
Today’s quick review: Survivor. For 37 years after the destruction of Earth, the inhabitants of the starship Columbus 7 have searched the galaxy for another planet to call home. When a transmission from a wormhole reveals the location of a habitable planet, Captain Hunter (Kevin Sorbo) takes a scout ship to investigate. But when the ship crashes on the planet, it falls to Kate Mitra (Danielle C. Ryan), Hunter’s top student, to salvage the mission.
Survivor is a budget sci-fi action adventure about a human expedition to an alien world. Danielle C. Ryan stars as Kate, a young woman who has trained her entire life for the possibility of landfall. The movie features a reliable sci-fi premise that does a good job of stretching a limited special effects budget. However, between its low production values, generic story, and weak drama, Survivor does not make for a very effective movie.
The issues that hurt Survivor the most have to do with its story and setting. The premise of the story is serviceable, a tale of overcoming adverse conditions to survive on a desolate world. But the details that would normally flesh out the movie are sparse. There’s very little to distinguish the Columbus 7 from any other starship, and the planet they land on does not have any worthwhile mysteries to explore.
The story is similarly shallow. The plot hits the expected beats with only minor variations. The action consists of traversing the rocky terrain near the crash site, fighting in close quarters with the humanoid natives, and having Kate gather up the scattered members of the crew. Survivor does not have a good sense of drama. Kate’s victories come too easily, and the story bends to make her the hero without the subtlety of other movies.
Still, for all of its faults, Survivor has its heart in the right place. The tone strikes a good balance between peril and escapism. The fights are not especially exciting, but they have energy to them. And from the way Survivor embraces its premise and its main characters, it is clear that it is trying to tell the best story it can rather than simply going through the motions. Even if Survivor is not a successful effort, it is an honest one.
Ultimately, there is not much reason to pick Survivor over other science fiction movies. Nothing sets its world apart from other sci-fi settings, and neither its plot nor its action is enough to carry the movie. Fans of the budget side of the genre may get something out of its spirit and its handful of minor quirks, and it manages to be an innocuous enough watch. But it is badly outclassed by its peers, and most viewers should steer clear.
For a more heartfelt science fiction movie with a similar premise, try After Earth. For a darker budget sci-fi movie about a survivor on an alien world, try Dune Drifter. For a sci-fi story of survival with a much richer setting, try Prospect.
[4.0 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3297792/). I give it a 3.5 for an eager spirit with none of the technical skill needed to back it up.