I've noticed more than a few valid
complaints about how there are no really decent superheroine movies and I agreed. Most are given skimpy outfits, one liners
that would make Spidey groan and a love interest that is not merely farfetched
but over exaggerated. No real depth
into a backstory or explanation on how they came to be. Several characters have been overlooked. Vampirella for example is a powerful,
capable woman that happens to be a vampire with a great mental capacity and
physical strength. Granted her outfit
looks like dental floss but nevertheless badass gal. Dynamite Comics however has a character that
essence was more or less captured on a Syfy Channel TV Movie.
So make a munchie run, grab me a
Mexi-Coke and let’s sit in. This is
Painkiller Jane.
Spoilers hurt so good…
The crux of the character is sound but her background and
profession was altered. So from being a
hard hitting cop we alter Jane (Emmanuelle Vaugier of Saw II, House of the
Dead 2, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Unearthed and Far Cry) into a Spec Ops
Captain in charge of her unit: Painkiller.
What would be a major heroine processing and distribution center on
intel turns out to be some sort of biological lab, patients are infected and
soon Jane and her men too receive side-effects.
Desperate to vacate the Captain and men haul ass out only to run into
about 20 men armed with Ak-47s and Hazmat suits. Jane and her boys valiantly fight them but
are cut to ribbons and left bleeding on the alley street. The End…or is it?
5 days later Jane awakes in a military hospital, her wound
dramatically healed leaving faint tissue scarring that should be the result of
weeks of healing not days. Her
commanding officer Colonel Watts (Richard Roundtree of Shaft, Outlaws, Seven,
Vegas Vampires, Desperate Housewives and Heroes) feels they need to do
more testing for the fact she was the only one in her unit to come out alive. Doctor Graham Knight (Tate Donovan of Love Potion No.
9, Partners, Hercules, Friends, The O.C. and Damages) establishes a
rapport with Jane and gains her trust with his promise to fix whatever
occurred. Jane notices other aspects of
herself beyond her healing such as: heighten state of awareness to her
surroundings, dexterity, speed, strength, to process information at an accelerated
level and analytical thinking on a scale that rivals gifted intelligence.
While slightly reveling in her new found
abilities, Jane also knows the military will use her as a weapon, escapes
during a military transport to a safer location and without killing or even
injuring her captors. Doctor Knight may
be the only man to help her but can anything be made to assist her? Will she want to give up this new abilities
and what of Timmy trapped in the well?
TV director Sanford
Bookstaver (The Chronicle, Fastlane, The O.C., Bones, and House M.D.)
tackles a comic book character devised by Joe
Quesada (The Ray, Batman: Sword of Azrael, Daredevil and Ash) and Jimmy Palmiotti (Punisher, Ghost Rider, The Nam,
Daredevil and Ash) and frankly as a fan of the comic itself I though
Vaugier’s portrayal was spot on. Tough
as nails when the bullets start flying but emotional when the danger has
subsided, trying to figure out her next move or if she in fact even has a next
move. Okay a lot of TV movies are
hammier than Shatner’s $h%* My Dad Says
but overall my only complaint is the story moved too fast and didn’t allow for
some real development but hell it was two hours so guessing a mini-series arc
was the way to go. Say now, isn’t there
a Painkiller Jane series starring Kristanna Loken? Hmm…I wonder.
No comments:
Post a Comment