This was not nearly as terrible as I’d heard it was. The marketing was all off on this. It really has nothing to do with a supernova. The story is more about the discovery of an alien object that turns people evil and super strong. Supposedly, this was a very troubled production. The original director, Walter Hill (who directed classics like 48 Hrs and The Warriors) dropped out because MGM cut his budget in half way through and compromised his vision. The film sat on ice for 2 years while MGM tried to figure out what to do, only later begging Francis Ford Coppola (of all people) to supervise a final cut. The final cut was drastically changed from Hill’s vision but nonetheless retains many of the ideas.
The effects aren’t terrible here either. Some of the sets and ship designs are actually quite brilliant and more unique than your typical run-of-the-mill science fiction B-movie. James Spader comes out the best in this. He’s great in every scene and really elevates the whole thing. Wish he had more screen time. The rest of the cast are mostly passable but nothing great.
This film does have the distinction of having one of the worst robots ever put on screen. The robots in Ice Pirates seem more realistic and better thought-out. The story gets lost about halfway through and never really finds its footing again but I still thought it had enough interesting ideas to keep my attention.