It's worth noting that I never did see the first White Noise. I've never considered that an impediment to watching the sequel though. I mean, it's a strategy that has served me well in the past. I never did see Octopus, I skipped right ahead to Octopus 2. And, hell, I went right for the good stuff and straight to Shark Attack 3.Besides, it's Nathan Fillion week, and he was in White Noise 2, not the first one.
Actually, how can I go wrong with this one? It has a link to not just one, but TWO of my favorite science fiction shows. That's right, not only does it star Firefly's Nathan Fillion*, it also features Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff, aka Starbuck**.
Nate's living the good life, until his wife and kid are murdered in a diner one fun day. In his sadness, Nate tries to join them on the flip side by downing a ton of pills. But he's got a friend. A friend who checks in on him and calls an ambulance. Its off to the hospital where Nate gets pulled back away from the light. That his first words to the doctor aren't 'Fuck You' is simply amazing. Actually, maybe they were. That part is never shown. Nope, he just wakes up with Starbuck hovering over him. She's his cheery nurse with purple hair. He must be in California. His doctor wears a Hawaiian shirt and a gold earring. What the fuck kind of hospital did they take him to?
According to the doc, Nate had an NDE, a near death experience. And now he's seeing weird shit. "Auras' and...electrical interference. It turns out that the 'auras' only surround people who are going to die soon. And, well, he starts to think that he should try to save them...I mean, who wouldn't? But...there are...consequences. After 3 days, those he saved will be compelled to kill. What ever will Nate do?
It's weird seeing Starbuck so...cheerful. Obviously, in BSG she's kind of looney tunes..on a good days. I mean, as often as anything she's completely batshit. And in The Last Sentinel she was...a fighter, a warrior...whatever. Here though, she's...happy...and fun to be around. It's a nice character for her to play.
And Nate...you know, after the pilot episode of Firefly, I always wondered what Mal would have been like if Fox hadn't wanted him to be 'lightened up'. If he had stayed that dour character. The less humorous Mal, the less sarcastic Captain. I imagine he'd have been a lot like Abe Dale, our hero here.
If I were ever going to use hella good to describe a movie, now wouldn't be the time. It's a good movie, to be sure. There's a lot of..out there elements to it though. The story is kind of ridiculous, but there is a children's choir doing Rush's The Spirit of Radio, so, you know it has that going for it. Which is nice. The acting is good, the story is surprisingly interesting, despite it's goofiness. What can I say, overall...ding ding! We have a winner.
*There's even a Captain Tightpants reference in the movie.
**It's only fair that if I'm going to refer to Jamie Bamber as Apollo in anything he does, I should do the same for Starbuck.
