The Dawnseeker is a 2018 sci-fi thriller set in the year 2245 when Earth’s sun threatens to wipe out all of humanity, five hired mercenaries travel to an uncharted planet to collect a rare mineral.
Probably the most impressive thing about Justin Price‘s bombastic new science fiction action film The Dawnseeker is just how seriously the whole crew seems to take it, committed to the endeavor with a rock-faced bravado that is almost comically amusing. That might actually be the point, but it’s a little hard to say. The art of making a bad movie fun is something few in the business do right, and while time is often the single greatest measurement to enjoying a cheesy flick, there are of course a host of cinematic messes that accomplish this just because they go way out of their way to be absurdly bad. The Dawnseeker falls right into this lot.
In a few hundred years, things get bleak for mankind, with our Sun on the fritz leaving life on the Blue Planet on its last legs. Thankfully, a rare element called ‘Stardust’ is discovered that can flip things around, rejuvenating our star. Unfortunately, it’s not so common, quite rare in fact, and thus, a team of ragtag mercenaries head into space to a far away planet to gather it up, but as luck would have it, they crash land on the surface and end up in a battle with others looking to harvest the dust. Worse though, they are not alone, as a creature called the Dawnseeker, a deadly monster with a nasty habit of killing anything it its way, has an agenda all its own.
So yeah, this is meant to be over-the-top, the comic-book-like theme giving it some wobbly legs to stand on, though Price, who also wrote the film, doesn’t quite embrace this opportunity. Instead, he goes for something more sedate, apparently working to make this little film be something akin to the Predator franchise, something its marketing hasn’t overlooked. The problem is, that series understands (or at least did) the value of mixing terrific action with tongue firmly in cheek, thanks mostly to the bulky hyperbolic presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first film … not too mention positioning him afoul a genuinely compelling beast.
Here though, there is no such character to help travel us through the fun, the film putting its weight on Fenix (Franziska Schissler), a woman with all kinds of kickassery under her belt, but absolutely no charisma. There are plenty of others about as fodder for poorly choreographed punch ’em ups, low-grade CGI-enhanced laser shootouts, and more, though it’s all so generic and bland, it’s rare to really feel invested. I wholly appreciate what Price is aiming for, and credit goes to the cast for a game attempt, but clear budget limitations hinder this at nearly every turn, with everything looking like it was wrapped after one take and dialogue that never feels convincing.
I enjoy cheesy action movies, especially sci-fi titles that poke a little fun at themselves or the genre itself. The Dawnseeker certainly feels earnest, the filmmakers honestly trying to cobble together something that feels legit, but this is, unfortunately, joyless, its wildly overdone score drowning out much of the action and its failure to give any of the story real momentum keeping this a Z-movie entry for hardcore diehard fans alone.