DNA

1997 "The Jungle is Alive!"
3.7| 1h37m| en| More Info
Released: 07 March 1997 Released
Producted By: Interlight
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A mad scientist's DNA experiment on the bones of a mysterious jungle creature brings the carnivorous beast to life, and only his former assistant Ash Mattley and CIA operative Claire Sommers can stop it.

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Leofwine_draca This below average monster movie is about as original as a forger's art gallery. Freely copying from many, other, better films, the only reason I can think that someone would enjoy this is if they haven't seen any of the other films which it references, sorry, I mean steals from. INDIANA JONES, the first two in the ALIEN series, JURASSIC PARK, and PREDATOR are the inspirations here, with the film owing most to PREDATOR.I had no problems with the cast in this film. Mark Dacascos (SABOTAGE) looks the part of an action hero although he is pretty bland and emotionless and not much of an actor, but then neither are Schwarzenegger or Van Damme and their films do well. Jurgen Prochnow (IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS) serves his role as respected-actor-turning-to-role-in-awful-film, just like Michael Caine did before him in ON DEADLY GROUND. Prochnow is a stereotypical ruthless scientist and he chews the scenery with aplomb. The rest of the cast are interchangeable, the female lead does absolutely nothing except carry around lots of baggage and help Dacascos occasionally, and everyone else is just cannon fodder.The special effects of the monster range from being quite good (some CGI shots are used, and these are the most effective) to the poor man in a monster suit, where ALIEN is the most obvious influence. There are lots of explosions and a few fight scenes in the film too, including a hilariously unrealistic back projection of a helicopter crash which is at a totally different scale to the actors in front of it. You'll never see any effect quite so bad as this.I would have enjoyed this film more if it hadn't been such a rip off, like when the alien turns invisible as it runs through the trees. The end sequences, where Dacascos strips off and makes traps for the alien in the jungle, and then jumps off a waterfall, and also hides in mud to avoid detection, are directly ripped from PREDATOR, a much better monster on the loose film, and comparisons are pointless as this is nowhere near as good. Still, if you're a fan of cheesy movies then I guess you could do worse, but the outright rip-offs on view here just left a nasty taste in my mouth.
arfdawg-1 As a picture, it's below a B pic. It would be like the 4th pic in an all day screening. Horrible The special effects are laughable. They actually use toy helicopters and pretend they are real!The Plot Deep in the heart of the jungle in North Borneo a group of scientists excavate the bones of a creature buried among the ruins of ancient and forgotten civilization. The expedition is lead by Dr. Carl Wessinger. He discovers how to extract DNA from the bones. They only need an enzyme to recreate the creature. Wessinger asks the help of Ash Mattley. Ash had done research on enzymes. He is double-crossed and two years later Claire Sommers, who works for the CIA, asks Ash for help after a number of mutilated bodies are found. Claire believes Wessinger is behind this because her 'company' has no contact anymore with the lab in the jungle. Wessinger who recreated the creature, wants to sell it to the highest bidder as a war machine, and it is on the loose in the jungle, killing everybody.
ma-cortes The film starts in Sarawak , a province of North of Borneo where an idealistic doctor named Ash (Mark Dacascos of Double dragon). He mistakenly reveals his DNA theories to an evil scientific (Jurgen Prochnow , Das Boat) who utilizes on illegal genetic experiments , blending beetle and alien DNA . As a nasty scientist's DNA experiment on the bones of a mysterious jungle creature brings the carnivorous beast to life . Two years later , there appear various bodies dead and wounded ; one mutant , a giant insect-like specie with super powers , lurks in the lush forest from into perilous jungles , waiting for prey . The weird creature begins attacking one by one . Meantime , Ash along with a beautiful doctor( Robin McKee) are surrounded and both of whom set out to track it down.This is a semi-remake to ¨Predator¨, told in terms of jungle warfare with an over seven-foot-tall monster on the loose . It's a brutal , exciting and violent Sci-Fi thriller with gory action and little logic . So we ought sit through the creature dispatch enemies one by one before the ending showdown comes , leaving the utter mechanics of the thing to keep our interest buzzing . The final confrontation is particularly exciting stuff , even though it makes no great sense . The result is thoroughly unpleasant but undeniably thrilling action movie . Acceptable special effects and special make-up by , nowadays famous , : Robert Kurtzman , Greg Nicotero , Howard Berger . Adequate cinematography by Gerry Lively and nice musical score fitting to action by Christopher Stone . The motion picture was regularly directed by William Mesa , he's usually visual effects supervisor (Dark Water , Deep blue sea) and occasionally cinema director . Rating : Passable and entertaining.
Li-1 * 1/2 out of ****Off the top of my head, I cannot recall a movie that is so blatant in its bid to steal ideas and scenes from other motion pictures. With DNA, I see each of the three Indiana Jones films, Jurassic Park, Alien, and especially Predator during the climactic sequence, which is a virtual re-make of the John Mctiernan classic. Taking ideas from other films is harmless, but almost re-creating scenes entirely is usually unforgiveable.Mark Dacascos stars as Ash, a doctor in Sarawak who's having trouble treating the sick with his understaffed and undersupplied clinic. Along comes Dr. Wessinger (Jurgen Prochnow), who claims to have the knowledge to cure millions of sick people, the source being a specific kind of beetle in the jungle. But once they head out, Wessinger steals the beetles, attempts to kill Ash, and uses the DNA from a fossil to create the "perfect killing machine." Unsurprisingly, it's up to Ash and a female CIA agent (Robin Mckee) to stop the beast.DNA is a bad movie, but it's certainly not unbearable. The acting is actually quite decent, some of the special effects aren't half-bad, and the locations and sets are rather convincing. Dacascos makes for a dashing hero and Robin Mckee is a very attractive woman who looks alluring trudging through the jungle (she gets a frustratingly brief bra and panties shot). But in the end, any quality emphasized in the film is for naught. DNA is pure schlock, ripping off a movie every five minutes to pass its running time. The Predator parallels at the end are hilarious: Dacascos sets up almost identical traps and even makes a huge leap into a river to escape the creature. DNA also features what has to be the worst helicopter crash I've seen on film, period, a scene so hilariously awful, you're guaranteed to rewind the scene and see it again.