Premonition (2005 TV Movie) User Reviews

factual errors - dirty bomb

[68461 · 3/10 · 6 October 2005]

Bottomline: The terrorists would have died before they could have walked 5 feet with the radioactive material they stole. Information on the source was Cobalt 60 1100 Ci/g 890 g, alpha, gamma. 1st off Cobalt 60 is a beta gamma emitter. It does not decay by alpha emission. They got the specific radioactivity right (1100 Ci/g)but that's about it. The following data is provided to show that anyone near the suitcase would have died in short order:

1100 Ci/g X 890 g = 979000 Ci X Gamma Constant 1.32 Rm2/hrCi = 1292280 R/hr @ 1 m = 21538 R/min @ 1 m = 359 R/sec @ 1 m all exposure rates unshielded

Maximum survivable exposure is 1000 R (roentgens). Therefore, a 3 second exposure at 1 meter from this source would be lethal. If the carrying case was lined using 1.57" thick lead sheet (unlikely based on the apparent ease of handling demonstrated) the exposure rate would be reduced to 1/10th. With this assumption it would take 30 seconds of exposure at 1 meter to be lethal.

Sources used for sterilization are stored in large pools under stringent access controls which include interlocks, visual and audible alarms and failsafe devices. Postings for the room would not be the jolly rogers and a single radioactive material sign shown. There would be elaborate postings including a "Grave Danger, Very High Radiation Area" and "Danger Radioactive Materials" signs on the door. Signs are yellow with either black or magenta trefoils and lettering, not red and black.

I'm a radiation protection specialist

All-too-familiar tale of a man who can see the future

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 23 May 2015]

A low rent Canadian TV movie that explores the idea of psychic premonitions in much the same way as the likes of THE DEAD ZONE et al. This one brings nothing new to the concept, instead happy to retread old ground in its telling of a man who dies in a car accident, only to be brought back to life with a special talent for foreseeing the future.

Casper Van Dien has always been a likable hero, an actor who I've enjoyed seeing since STARSHIP TROOPERS. He's certainly no great shakes as an actor but he has charisma at least, which counts for something. He's the best thing about this otherwise shoddy film, putting plenty of effort into his leading role and handling himself well in the action stakes.

Sadly, PREMONITION as a whole is spoilt by a script which copies disaster scenarios from other movies - an earthquake, a train crash which virtually reprises the one in DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE - and doesn't have much in the way of originality to it. In addition, the CGI effects of trains, helicopters, and the like are very poor indeed. It's not a terrible film, just a generally lacklustre one.

Terrible 🙈

[jhmoondance · 3/10 · 13 November 2021]

I do not know where to start. Firstly the acting was really wooden n cheesy n pretty much dire.

The special effects were totally abysmal n the shaky cameras on rare action scenes were so off putting.

The plot was n has been done so many times n far more superior than this movie.

There was no suspense even tho there was a great effort to try n produce some. There were no tense moments at all.

The ending was hugely predictable.

I'm afraid I cannot recommend this movie n I gave 3 stars for effort.

pitiful; hopefully only cost $50,000 to produce

[bakerunion · 2/10 · 10 September 2005]

a nuclear terrorist plot behind a back-from-the-dead-visions wrapper; terrible acting with one of those casts consisting of no one you have ever seen before other than the top 2 or 3 folks in the billing; no reality to the actions of the actors in the plot, with the FBI not bothering to follow up on any clues or taking seriously any information given them; the wife limited to a long series of "Oh, Jack.." lines; the kid existing for the sole purpose of being put in danger at just the right moment;a Grade C made-for-2am effort; unlike some bad movies, you realize from the very beginning that this will never start to become interesting; you have to wonder why they bothered with this.

Ho hum.

[rmax304823 · 2/10 · 15 March 2007]

Let's see. "Final Destination," a teen flick about a girl who knows her classmates will die, appeared in 2000. Was her name Cassandra? I forget. Abundant blood-letting with supernatural overtones. The audience must have enjoyed it because in 2003 we were granted admission to "Final Destination 2." Then, in 2006, "Final Destination 3." This is one of those viral ideas that seem to spread by taking over otherwise healthy cells and reproducing their own DNA. Or their own RNA. Or their own $$$.

The year 2004 gave us this one, "Premonition," preceded by a short titled "Premonition" to be followed in 2007 by a film called "Premonition." How to evaluate this? It isn't that it's budget was low. You can do a lot within strictly circumscribed financial limits. It's that every opportunity for originality or any expression of artistry is by-passed in favor of the commercially routine. It's predictable without distinction.

Right off the bat, we know something is wrong. We see a gang of hoods shoot a security guard and deface a meat-packing plant, spraying the walls with chicken blood graffiti -- "MEAT IS MURDER" and whatnot. The police put this down as ecoterrorism. (It's an interesting word, ecoterrorism, with a semantic content equal to what logicians call a null set. The category is empty.) Well, we know darn well that this rough-speaking, violent gang isn't made up of rabid vegetarians because half the Hollywood celebrities are themselves vegetarians. Man, is that a red herring. But don't get me wrong. I eat a lot of vegetables myself. Not that I like the way they taste. I hate it. But I enjoy boiling them alive or eating them while still turgid.

Anyway the gang is pursued by a pair of cops in a car chase. What would a movie be without a car chase. The cops have an accident. One of them is killed and is partner is clinically dead but then revived. Thereafter he has what he calls "visions" of future events, all catastrophes, which he goes about trying to prevent.

The gang members meanwhile find out that the hero survived and set out to kill him because "he knows too much." This makes as much sense as anything else in the film. All the surviving cop knows is what kind of car he was chasing, and he's already described it, and anyway the car was found abandoned and "sanitized" shortly after the raid. So in fact, he doesn't "know too much" at all. He knows nothing that would endanger the gang and their nefarious plans (which have nothing to do with vegetarianism, not even ovo-lacto-vegetarianism). I'll just say that the cop's visions cause him trouble at home and that nobody on the force or in the FBI believe him. The FBI would love to pin all the catastrophes -- the ones he's tried to prevent -- on the cop. Not for any particular reason. They'd just like to do it. The cop at least doesn't have to hand over his gun and his badge as so many suspect cops have to do -- at least not before I switched channels.

The gang members are interesting. They provide a good example of what I meant when I said every opportunity for originality was thrown away. They're all ugly and pure evil. They speak with Russian accents, which is getting pretty tiresome. The chief hood demonstrates what true commitment to the cause looks like. He smiles and pats his oldest and dearest friend on the back, then deliberately shoots him through the head. "See?", he explains to an awestruck observer, "this man was truly devoted -- willing to die for the cause, although he didn't know it." (I'm serious about that last line. I think it's verbatim.) Oh how EASY it would have been to make this a more adult film. Give the villain with the pock-marked face a personality. Give him some aficion. Give him a weakness for macramé or something. Have him be an avid collector of cowrie shells.

And the actors. Next time can we get some who rise above the level of afternoon dramas? I guess the cop is handsome inasmuch as he looks as if he ought to be modeling thousand-dollar sports jackets in the Times Magazine but he's not much of an actor. I thought Catherine Oxenberg would be but she doesn't quite clear the banality bar either. Nor are she and the hero alone. One actor, the guy who has visions like the hero's, speaks as if he's used to doing voice overs for aspirin commercials, though his face is a good one for the screen.

You have to have sympathy for people trying to do a complicated job on a pittance. But why strain and creak to reach for the routine when there may be jewels at your feet?

It's all been done many times before... and better

[Wizard-8 · 31 January 2015]

If you are trying to form an argument against Canadian content laws, using the movie "Premonition" to form your opinion would help greatly. What will quickly strike most viewers is how familiar the core story is, but that is just a minor problem compared to what really sinks the movie. It's written to be a really stupid telling of a familiar story, with characters constantly making idiotic decisions throughout. Also, there are a significant number of plot turns that are either not properly explained, or are not explained at all. All this bad writing probably explains why no one in the cast seems to be trying very hard, with actor Casper Van Dien giving the worst performance of all, a bad performance that generates no sympathy or heart at all. The direction is also hopeless, from letting Van Dien stay unshaven throughout despite being a police officer, to action sequences that lack excitement or comprehension. It also doesn't help that the entire enterprise looks really cheap and cheesy, from the ultra low budget cinematography to some awful special effects (as well as reusing some special effects footage from the superior B movie "Epicenter"). This movie is complete garbage, even for viewers who are especially undemanding with their choice of entertainment.

Trash can Film

[kingdomofshadows · 2/10 · 19 September 2022]

Awful movie and equally awful narrative. The plot had more holes than a watering can. Sorry but Casper the Ghost just doesn't cut it as an actor. I watched this on You Tube and it didn't take me long to see that this was a TV movie.

The special effects didn't help much and the plot went through more cliches than I can remember. All you needed to top it off was a car that wouldn't start and a girl running through the woods who trips over. Do yourself a favour and find another wannabe Nostradamus type plot. I'll give it 6 out of 22 million.

It might sound a bit nasty but I don't think that there was much of an effort made here.

Premonitions of the utmost predictable kind...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 7 November 2020]

Well, the 2005 movie "Premonition" from writer Will Stewart and director Jonas Quastel is built upon a concept that is over-used in Hollywood movie history, and sadly then "Premonition" didn't really manage to cash in on the concept in a very fulfilling or entertaining manner.

The storyline told in "Premonition", as written by Will Stewart was just too mundane, too stereotypical and predictable. And that left nothing up for the audience to get thrilled about. Sure, the movie was adequately enough paced, but the lack of ups and down, or curves for that matter, along the ride made for a rather monotonous movie experience.

The characters in the movie were adequate, albeit somewhat generic, thanks to the writing. And again, the character concepts were things that had been seen before, so there was nothing grand to be experienced here. And that sort of put a dampening restriction upon the cast of actors and actresses.

The special effects in "Premonition", however, were bad. They were laughably bad, and they looked like something that was discarded from a 1990s computer game. It was just atrocious to look at, and such bad special effects just hinders a movie in its progress.

Sure, "Premonition" was watchable, but it was hardly a memorable experience, and ultimately it was a less than mediocre movie as a whole. My rating of director Jonas Quastel's 2005 movie lands on a four out of ten stars.

a made for dvd movie, with an interesting plot

[LetsReviewThat26 · 4/10 · 17 March 2023]

Made for dvd movies. Or sy-fi channel disaster movies are many and they always follow the same thing. A father or mother trying to save their family that are usually a weather presenter or something along that route. Sprinkle on some bad cgi and you have the movie. This one ill give it credit as it is different. In this film jack, played by Casper van dion is a cop that starts having premonitions of things that will happen, disasters he must stop before it is too late. This is a movie that couldve been better is it was a theticle or small studio release. But ill say this. Casper van dion was alright. His a pretty good actor when given the right role. The cgi was bad but the plot was still interesting enough.to keep me watching.

Casper Van Dien In... "The Dead Zone"! oops... I mean "The Psychic"

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 16 August 2005]

"Premonition" or "The Psychic" is a decent thriller. It's basically a variation on "The Dead Zone". Instead of Walken it's Casper Van Dien.

Van Dien plays Jack Barnes, a cop who gets killed in the line of duty. He's brought back to life and now he see visions of disasters. These visions somehow connect to a terrorist group.

Casper puts in a good performance. Everybody else is mediocre. The action scenes are well-filmed, but the special effects are cheesy. The helicopters and explosion at the end of the film looked too fake.

In the end: It's definitely not a bad film, if you watch it with low expectations.

For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Another direct-to-TV, tax write-off film...

[newslogger44 · 2 July 2022]

Certainly, films like Premonition deserve to be panned for their gaping plot holes (often caused by shabby or rushed editing), cheap special effects, and questionable acting by unseasoned players. It's important to remember that such films are deliberately targeted at the less-than-critical juvenile market.

However, these failings can be explained by the fact that many U. S. producers cannot resist the temptation to cut corners and save significant expenses by filming in Canada, due to the favourable dollar exchange rate and tax credits.

As for the actors and crew, they are, if nothing else, glad to be working and every film they're involved in obviously adds to their resumés with the prospect that producers will notice them and hopefully hire them for superior quality films later on.

Plenty of famous actors began their careers as minor bit-characters in television episodes and cheesy, forgettable films, some of which subsequently became cult classics. No one forces them to participate and if such films end up being blasted by critics, well, that's just part of the business. They receive a paycheck regardless. Many actors would rather accept a minor role in a low-budget film than wait tables or sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door and can you blame them?

Furthermore, filming in Canada allows both American and overseas viewers a chance to see different locations other than the usual, overly-familiar U. S. cities and landscapes they've seen countless times before, while giving sharp-eyed Canadian viewers the opportunity to spot familiar giveaways (shown deliberately or otherwise) which clearly prove (despite the overly conspicuous placement of U. S. flags) that the screenplays are not shot south of the border. Watch carefully for those red mailboxes glimpsed in the background, railway identifiers, vehicle license plates, landmarks, and, of course, the additional, supportive role casting of Canadian actors such as Michael Ironside, Helen Shaver, etc.

Read the end-credits all the way to the bottom for extra clues.