The Case for Unders and Overs

It is impressive to see a New Zealand television gem given the big screen Hollywood treatment. Endowed as it was with special effects generated by Weta and not by TVNZ from the 1980s, the big screen version of Under the Mountain looks like something that could have been made with by the House of Mouse, though it (mercifully) lacks a catchy tie-in theme song by Elton John. But then the big screen version also has to put up with comparison with its much beloved kidult TV series from the pre-Outrageous Fortune era of NZ TV (i.e., fairly naff), and of course with the original source material with people who (unlike me) have actually read the book by Maurice Gee.

Of course, any movie like this suffers from the requirement to play the “Spot the Shortie” game, but then this movie hinges on only a few characters, so the “what nurse/doctor/coffee store assistant was he/she again?” conversations did not last long. Though unfortunately, that was not the end of all discussion, as the giggling discussions and unrestrained shrieks by some ladies in the rows ahead of us for over half the film proved. It was lucky that we were at the back of the theatre and they were at the front, as I think there might have been a dust up otherwise.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra tried to compensate for that obnoxious distraction by being obnoxious itself. The opening scenes of the film are burdened with a loud, ominous and (considering nothing has yet happened) completely inappropriate score that is incredibly annoying. Eventually though, the story does develop to the point where the music actually matches what is going on visually.

As mentioned before, I have never really read the book, so my only point of reference for what the story should be about is the TV series, the details of which I am quite bad at recalling. However, even my shocking memory picks up on some fairly bold changes: the twins are much older; Mr Jones has a decidedly less active role in the twin’s recruitment to his cause; and of course soaring Auckland house prices mean that the Wilberforce’s dilapidated mansion looks like a large eyesore in what is obviously a very affluent lake-side suburb which would, I am sure, have brought down the fury of the local standards committee, led by a gaggle of property value-assuring harridans who would be more terrifying than a horde of slimy aliens bent on world domination 9 days out of 10.

Given the glorious visuals and the story’s history, it’s a shame that the characters are all fairly dull. Sam Neill is Sam Neill only crochety and the twins are passable as heroes as long as you aren't supposed to care about them. Only hormonally charged Ricky is really given a spark of personality (though he does lose his cool beach buggy for an ancient Datsun sunny – poor guy), and the movie loses its humanity whenever he and his long suffering girlfriend aren’t on the screen. Of course, the forces of Wilber, led by an Oliver Driver contemplating Sunrise’s ratings, are loads of slimy, tentacular fun, though again they don’t get a huge amount of screen time and disappear in a fairly uninspired fashion.

Ironically, the post victory shot is perhaps the most interesting of the bunch: Auckland after the volcanic apocalypse. It was a bit of a shame when the film ended with our heroes heading towards that maelstrom rather than showing us what Queen Street would look like under a layer of lava.

Verdict: Under the Mountain is a very pretty movie blessed with beautiful visuals but lumbered with a lack of inspiration and without the naffness of 80s memory to allow me to brush over its faults. 2.5 fairly inactive volcanoes out of 5.

As an aside, for the geeks out there (like me), check out The Middleman currently playing on TV2 at the video friendly time of 3.00pm on Saturdays. Lots of Gilmore Girl like pop cultural references and a silly Sci Fi flavour make this heaps of fun.