4. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is a well-intentioned spin-off with tall ambitions, aiming to take viewers and fans inside the metallic heads of the Cylons, the series’ notorious robot antagonists. The Plan dared to take an undeniably risky path, attempting to recount the pivotal events of the iconic TV series from a fresh, Cylon-centric viewpoint.
The storytelling was done pretty well. Sci-Fi is often accused of prioritizing special effects over plot, but The Plan yeets that statement right out of the airlock. It presented a richly written narrative, with different angles on some events that offered both clarity and depth, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats through every twist and turn.
There were revelations that no one saw coming and they hit hard. Then there’s the characters – not just some cardboard cut-outs running around in space. They were complex, they were flawed, they were real. And their development throughout the movie was executed with grace. The sense of growth was there, their motivations were clear, and the viewer was made to legitimately understand the characters’ struggles as if they were in their shoes.
It doesn’t hold the charm of the original series or the raw intensity of its movie counterparts, but it’s not bad. It is a flawed yet still intriguing relic in the Battlestar Galactica universe.