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Tremors 4: The Legend Begins [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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PRETTY DECENT AND SURPRISINGLY WATCHABLE
Review date: 2007-10-26 Rating: 8 out of 10

When a small Nevada mine closes due to a freak accident, owner Hiram Gummer, (Michael Gross) arrives in town to check on it and finds the place abandoned. Settling in with Christine Lord, (Sara Botsford) at her hotel, the only remaining miner Juan Pedilla, (Brent Roam) shows him to the closed mine, they find a series of giant creatures hunting underground that has attacked all who have ventured close. Hiring professional gunslinger Black Hand Kelly, (Billy Drago) to assist them, they find that there is a large amount of the creatures are under the ground and waiting for them. Determined to rid the county of the creatures, the citizens take up arms and go out to exterminate them once and for all.

The Good News: This was a lot of fun and a good film. One of the film's greatest parts is that it really manages to set itself apart from the others while also appearing to be a logical continuation. It's really a way of continuing the first one only the setting has changed. By bringing back just the worms and nothing else manages a nostalgia feeling that the first one captured, and by giving them a lot of really great moments that emphasize the mystery and threat they pose. The opening slaughter, the sequence in the barn and the campfire massacre all manage to creep out because of the creatures' presence. They manage to carry their scenes well, and the ability to create some really great scenes from that. There are enough scenes of their effectiveness in hunting that there's enough action for fans of that style. Beyond the aforementioned scenes, there's also a really great finale that is full-on fun. Using the ghost-town as a setting, there's plenty of gun-fighting to be had, and the inclusion of a series of impressive and innovative ideas to combat the creatures. The early-warning system, defense tactics and methods of attack are quite exciting and offer up plenty of fun and monster-smashing. The pellet gun, in particular, is quite effective and brings out some great scenes. The return to the traditional bugs here means that the film has some great effects work, and the monster work is quite capable. The worms are massive, the jaws are frightening and the tentacles are long, snake-like and the dragon horns are back on the face. There's a real great feeling when they're on, and they work well. This here does have a couple of great laughs, mostly coming from the inability of one character to handle firearms. A recurring joke about a character repeatedly losing his hat has some good moments, and there's a little bit of physical action as well. This is a really good entry in the series.

The Bad News: There isn't a whole lot wrong with this one. One of the biggest problems is the fact that the worms themselves are on screen so rarely. They are on-screen only for a few scenes and the finale, and the rest of the time isn't that filled with the worms. This really hinders a lot of the film, especially the middle section, which has very little to get interested beyond what the humans are doing. It could be fun, and it's certainly bearable unlike some other entries, but for those looking for the full-scale war between the two sides will find that this can tend to drag at times. The other major nagging problem is that this really feels like a retread. Everything here is pretty much exactly like the first one only put into a Western setting. It's really obvious as well, and isn't hidden very well. Otherwise, this is a really good movie.

The Final Verdict: With only a few minor details bugging this one, it's a really fun and entertaining entry in the series. While nowhere near the top, it's got enough to make it good enough to be a recommendation for fans of the series of those looking for a good, nonthreatening film.

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Reviews


A another great film in the series.
Review date: 2006-07-18 Rating: 10 out of 10

I really enjoy these films and when i first heard of this film i wasn't sure about it because it is set a long time ago,but it worked well in my opinion.

The story is telling you of the first time the giant worms attacked and of the small town involved and it's people.

If you have seen the first 3 films then you should see this and even if you haven't it's still a good film.

my dear god! number 4!
Review date: 2005-02-24 Rating: 10 out of 10

ok, you really need to have seen at least the first two films for this to even make sense, but it still is a great film and gets the Tremors series back on track, not to be detrimental to number 3 but we all thought they would just keep on inventing new monsters.

the hitman here is just trying to be clint eastwood so bad, it's almost as if he really does feel lucky (punk!), i even saw him in another film the other day and raced to get it!

the acting, as throughout the quadilogy, is superb, the script very interesting, and the idea of going back before the original to see how they first found the Graboids and how Burt inherited his love for guns is both humorous and interesting.

a very good buy, if not a tad strange for the fourth movie to go back before the first.

BUY IT!

The Legend Begins
Review date: 2004-03-28 Rating: 10 out of 10

The film may be called Tremors 4, but this is very much a prequel to the three movies seen thus far and the TV Series. This film is set in 1889 pretty much 100 years before the events in the first film. In this film Hiram Gummer (Michael Gross aka Burt Gummer in the previous movies and series) a rich, high class snob who owns the silver mines. Its here that the Legend begins as whilst mining the workers employed by Hiram stumble upon the origins of the Grapoids, and subsequently begin to disapear. Hiram can't get the local town people of Rejection to help him kill the Grapoids preventing him from mining, so he has to hire a lean guman. Black Hand Kelly arrives in town, collects his fee and then with Hiram sets about taking on the Grapoids.
This is a good film and a vast improvement over the poor series and the very low budget third movie. Michael Gross is on the ball again, playing the Great Grandfather of his better known Character Burt. The film does well to show the change in character of the Gummer's, from snooty businessmen to crazed gun-loving hunters. Also the fact the film moves away from the heavy CGI use seen in the TV Show and 3rd Film and goes back to the Anamatronic Puppet effects seen in the first two films does a lot to make the action more believable and steer it back towards the first movies quality.
The only slight downers with the film would be its slow start and the action seens are a little on the short side. Another thing I didn't like is that with this being a 'Straight to Video' production it has a low budget so the cast is pretty much as cheap as possible, so there is some really bad acting. However it didn't stop me from enjoying this film as I have the others in the series. I can only hope they keep the stories coming and hope for Tremors 5.
If you're a fan of the Tremors films you'll love this one as its better than the other two movies, but is not as good as the first probably due to the bigger budget and the star cast. Its a step back in the right direction however and is certainly a good film to pass a an hour or two.

I know this is gonna be good
Review date: 2004-03-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

Naturaly i havent seen this movie yet but if its anything like the past 3 it is gonna be brilliant

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
August Schellenberg
Brent Roam
Billy Drago
Michael Gross
Sara Botsford

Creators:
Michael Gross (Primary Contributor)
Sara Botsford (Primary Contributor)
S.S. Wilson (Writer)
Brent Maddock (Producer)
Brent Maddock (Writer)
Jon Kuyper (Producer)
Nancy Roberts (Writer)
Ron Underwood (Writer)
Scott Buck (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
EAN: 0025192316326
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: AC-3, Colour, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2004-08-24
Universal product code (UPC): 025192316326
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 101 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2004-01-02
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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