Buffy Anne Summers, aka

I am frequently appalled by what manages to become a movie. After having given it the occasional thought, I’ve begun to conclude that it is at least partly due to the fact that too many in the business of making movies have never studied how the best stories usually work.

Now that the studio system is as dead as the ancient pharaohs and most actors are captains of their own careers, I suspect there really ought to be more emphasis on teaching actors more about the art of storytelling. If Marsters had a better sense of that, he likely would have never agreed to this script. Either that, or whatever he originally found compelling about the script never made it into the actual movie, and contractual obligations, or some sense of loyalty, compelled him to speak no evil of it despite.

High Plains Invaders had no significant character arcs, no moral dilemmas, no self-revelations, no inspired dialog, and was composed entirely of nearly dispassionate and seemingly burned-out characters, most of whom had very little (except for the most obvious) at stake.

If, as he said in the video clip posted elsewhere on the site, Marsters really believed this movie was better than even the worst of Buffy, he has an utter lack of appreciation for what Joss Whedon and his crew actually accomplished on Buffy, and he is in serious need of having his head examined.

(But since I wasted two hours of my time watching it — even if one of my motivations for enduring it was to be able to comment on it for this blog — I probably need my head examined as well.)

No, it wasn’t any worse than a lot of other made-for-SyFy-channel movies, but it wasn’t any better either — and given James Marsters’ acting ability and his impeccable sense of delivery, High Plains Invaders was a monumental waste.

If you missed it, count yourself fortunate. If it is rebroadcast and you somehow manage to miss it a second time, count yourself among the truly blessed.

Technorati Tags: film, flick, invaders, James, Marsters, movie, pop-culture, scifi, SyFy, television, western

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