PHOENIX

US, 1995, 95 minutes, Colour.
Stephen Nichols, Brad Dourif, Billy Drago, Denice Duff, Peter Murnik, William Sanderson.
Directed by Troy Cook.

Phoenix is familiar material – androids in outer space, exploitative capitalists in a mining enterprise, the transformation of the androids, the battle against them, the exposure of the corrupt capitalists. This is material from such films as Outland combined with Blade Runner …

The film is fairly conventional in its presentation and undemanding for an audience for space fiction.

Billy Drago, always a villain, executive-produced the film and again plays a villain as does Brad Dourif. Stephen Nichols is the rather straight up and down hero.

Cinematographer Troy Cook co-wrote the screenplay and directed a few action films at this period.

1.The popularity of this space action? Space stations? Mining in space? Corrupt corporations? Ambitious executives? Androids? Military? Confrontations?

2.The settings, the space stations? The special effects for the attacks? The musical score?

3.The title, ashes rising from the dead? New beginnings?

4.The opening, the space station, the staff giving guidance for spacecraft? The military protection? The entry of the androids? Miro and his command? The attack, the explosions and the massacre? Surveillance cameras – and their being played on the television?

5.Kilgore and his management of the PR, board meetings? Smooth talking? The mining company? Its development of androids? Reiger and his being a henchman? Seline and her role, to keep an eye on Mc Clain?

6.The group in prison, the arm games, the cards? Sparking off each other? The guard? The news of their release? Mc Clain as leader? Dillon and his fooling around? Chin and her loyalty? The mission of the group? Reiger and the explanations? To fight the androids?

7.The androids, Miro and his leadership? The capturing of Mc Clain, the explanation? The development of the androids, intelligence, seeing through the deceptions, the attack, their aggressiveness?

8.Mc Clain, the chemical work done on him? Doctor Riley? Mc Clain and his suspicions, confrontations? The discussions with Doctor Riley – and the later confronting him, the explanation of the right brain, left brain activity and the effect on the androids? Their being used in experiments? Kilgore setting up the initial attack?

9.Mc Clain and Seline, her looking after him, the relationship, his rescuing her from the brutal attack? Their night together? The revelation of her surveillance job? Her taking sides at the end, her being wounded, loyal to Mc Clain and his team?

10.Reiger, his command, disliked? Leading the attack on the androids? The failure?

11.The final confrontation, Kilgore and Reiger? Mc Clain and his persuading his team about the truth, laying down their arms with the androids? The combination, the attack on the bosses? Reiger and Kilgore and their deaths?

12.McClain told that he was an android, the insertion of human memories? His coping? His future?

13.The popular ingredients of this kind of story – and its reflection on business ethics in the contemporary world, projected into a space future?