Sumuru – A Great B Movie Romp
S.M.P.
When I heard about this project—that they
were making a film version of Sax Rohmer's Sumuru books, I was excited;
it sounded like the project would be a lot of fun.
The first thing I did was check into the
coordinating production company, Tandem Communications; I discovered they'd
been involved with TV shows like Relic Hunter, and Tracker, and
the mini-series Dune, all which supported high production values.
The director of the film is Darrell James
Roodt. He’s directed such award wining films as Sarafina! starring
Whoopie Goldberg, and Cry, the Beloved Country, with James Earl Jones
and Richard Harris. This is his first science fiction film.
Do Productions, who provided the services in
South Africa where Sumuru was filmed, was already known to me as an up
and coming production company run by women that I've heard several good things
about so that was also encouraging.
First and foremost, Sumuru doesn't
have anything at all to do with the books by Sax Rohmer (Fu Man Cho), so don't
bother to go dig them up. But don't worry, the story does have everything a
B-movie-style Sci Fi romp should have: gorgeous actors, a planet ruled by women,
a crashed ship, a religious cult, a giant snake, earthquakes, an evil
villainous and even the obligatory cat fight, but Sumuru also has
moments of friendship and caring, and several plot lines that entwine
throughout. The world created definitely has the flavor of an Edgar Rice
Bourroughs' tale. It's entertaining and has many funny moments. The DVD is
packed with extras, a "making-of," still photos, and a writer's
commentary (which, in the current release is only in German. Sorry.)
I laughed in all the places I was supposed
to, and a few I wasn't, but I enjoyed myself enormously watching the girls
fight over the handsome hero, Adam Wade (Michael Shanks), who also has brains,
and was concerned with saving humanity. I had a great time from beginning to
end.
Most of the acting—except for the standout
performance by Michael Shanks—was uneven, meaning that at times the dialog was
stilted, but in other scenes that featured the same actors the performances
were well done and touching.
The biggest drawback to this film, for me,
was the costuming. I mean, what woman, who ruled her own world, would design
and wear a metal bustier on a desert planet? You would cook. And high heels in
the sand? I'm afraid that ruined the believability for me in those scenes.
The title role of Queen Sumuru is played
Alexandra Kamp; this would be Alexandra's fifth film, besides the sixteen
television appearances she's made including Mary Higgins Clark's, A Crime of
Passion. Ms. Kamp is quite lovely, but I couldn't help but notice that her
scenes with Adam, portrayed by Michael Shanks, were much better than her other
scenes. Maybe as time went on she became more comfortable in the role and with
her opposite lead, but whatever it was, it made for several very nice scenes between
the two of them.
I don't think I can say enough good things
about Michael Shanks—who has brought to life Stargate SG-1's Dr. Daniel
Jackson so brilliantly for the past seven years—therefore I'll quote one of Sumuru's
writers, Torsten Dewi, who said that, "Michael Shanks is leading man
material stuck in a second banana role." I can't disagree with that,
especially now that I've seen Sumuru. Michael Shanks makes this film; he
did an amazing acting job, setting the tone which is lighthearted— and he looks
like he was having fun—he also handled the comedy exceptionally well, but still
took a sincere and genuine approach to the material that showed what a
professional can do if he's willing to make a commitment to a film. His
approach to acting reminds me a lot of Michael Caine in that both actors do
their very best with every role they are asked to play.
This film isn't serious; it doesn't take
itself at all seriously. It isn't meant to be taken with anything but a grain
of salt, and a bucket of popcorn. Yes, it's corny, but if you love old 50's B
movies, if you like films along the lines of Barbaraella, seek out a
copy of this film, you won't regret it.
Alexandra Kamp as Sumuru
Michael Shanks as Adam Wade
Simone Levin as Taxan
Terence Bridgett as Jake Carpenter
Casey B. Dolan as Dove
Now on DVD (Copyright 2003; distributed by
Columbia-TriStar) Currently available in Germany at Amazon.de and soon to be
released on DVD in the US/UK.
Thanks to the lovely Starfox, we have four
pages (over 300!) delicious Sumuru screencaps to share with all of you! The
equally lovely Graculus made the sassy banner for us all to enjoy.
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