Final Encounter on DVD

We’d never heard of this movie before the DVD showed up at our door, but we’re glad we had the chance to see it.

Also known as “For the Cause,” Final Encounter stars Dean Cain as General Murran, leader of a futuristic military on a far distant world. His side has been at war with the people of a different part of the planet for ninety nine years and he – apparently following his famous father’s footsteps – has come up with a plan to end the war once and for all, to end the fighting while both sides still survive.

So he puts together and leads a team of commandos to infiltrate the enemy’s city and, he tells his troops, force them to the negotiating table. It’s a long and perilous journey and along the way there’s more than enough attrition to keep action movie fans happy.

There’s also a lot more to the General and his plan than meets the eye. While the General often comes across as incapable of melting butter in his mouth, at other times he’s tough as nails – and ultimately his plan turns out to be very much different than he’s told his troops.

It’s a pretty neat sci fi story, with interesting science fictiony concepts (the “witches” spring immediately to mind as an example: women who use what appears to be a combination of mental powers and technology to do battle – and give an opportunity for some nifty CG effects). It’s also quite low budget and this shows in some of the sets.

The cast is quite good. Cain is believable as the General haunted by his past and determined to assure his people’s future; co-star Thomas Ian Griffith (whose part isn’t as big as some actors who didn’t receive his billing) is convincing as a jaded soldier who tries to mentor some of the youngsters. Also on hand are Jodi Bianca Wise as one of the so-called witches (a term of derision), Justin Whalin, Trae Thomas, and Michelle Krusiec.

The film was shot in Bulgaria and the locations are lovely. This has little to do with the story, of course, but we never have a problem with pretty places.

Sure, there are some plot holes, but on the whole this is a good story that deserves to be seen. We’re left wondering things like why these two sides are at war in the first place, and why the war has dragged on for so long, but we wonder that about some peoples on today’s Earth as well, so choose not to dump excessively on the writers for not fleshing out something that, in the end, doesn’t really matter to your enjoyment of the movie.

The DVD is pretty good, though there are no extras included to sweeten the deal. The picture is presented in anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible) and is sharp and colorful. Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, kind of. The sound quality is fine, but there isn’t a lot of surround in evidence.

Final Encounter, from Dimension Home Video
98 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
Starring Dean Cain, Thomas Ian Griffith
Produced by Kia Jam, Danny Lerner, Boaz Davidson,
written by David March Douglas and Christopher Salazar, Directed by David and Tim Douglas

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