Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
Set in the 22nd century, when a battered salvage ship sends out a distress signal, the seasoned crew of the rescue hospital ship Nova-17 responds. What they find is a black hole--that threatens to destroy both ships--and a mysterious survivor whose body quickly mutates into a monstrous and deadly form.
Supernova (2000) is a notoriously troubled production — famously disowned by director Walter Hill, recut by the studio, and given a perfunctory release. The plot is a derivative mashup of Alien and Event Horizon with little originality or coherence, hampered by extensive reshoots and editorial interference. The acting from a capable cast (James Spader, Angela Bassett, Robin Tunney) is largely wasted on thin, underdeveloped characters. Cinematography has some passable production design and decent zero-gravity visual ideas, earning a slight above-average nod. Novelty is low — the film recycles familiar deep-space horror tropes without a distinctive voice or vision of its own. The ending is weak and unsatisfying, feeling rushed and incoherent as a result of the troubled production history.