First of all, this review doesn't really have any "spoilers" - I could not possibly spoil this film for anyone worse than the makers already have. Although I read the series of novels by Phillip Jose Farmer (the first of which won the Hugo award for best SF novel for 1971) many,many years ago I remember enough to recognize that this film is wholly unfaithful to the books. Basic premises of the novels have changed. The protagonist of the first novel, Sir Richard Burton - an immensely interesting historical figure, has been changed to a villain and the hero is now a modern-day war correspondent named Matt (in an attempt to update the story perhaps?). Unfortunately, I couldn't care less about the new storyline of Matt's struggle to reunite himself with his vacuous blonde girlfriend.
I realize this makes no difference those of you who haven't read the books (you have nothing to compare it to, unless you've had the misfortune to see the 2003 version of Riverworld, which was also friggin' awful). What does matter is that the filmmakers have tried to cram all 5 novels into less than 3 hours of TV, with the result that it's a confusing mess with huge unexplained gaps and blue aliens popping in and out of existence willy-nilly. Also the entire project has that "low-budget Canadian" look to it (yes I am a proud Canadian but let's face it, there's no denying that look of projects filmed entirely in the woods of BC).
P.S. The Riverworld, a rather violent place, has had all the sex and violence Disneyfied - making this film suitable for family viewing, if you don't particularly like your family.
I realize this makes no difference those of you who haven't read the books (you have nothing to compare it to, unless you've had the misfortune to see the 2003 version of Riverworld, which was also friggin' awful). What does matter is that the filmmakers have tried to cram all 5 novels into less than 3 hours of TV, with the result that it's a confusing mess with huge unexplained gaps and blue aliens popping in and out of existence willy-nilly. Also the entire project has that "low-budget Canadian" look to it (yes I am a proud Canadian but let's face it, there's no denying that look of projects filmed entirely in the woods of BC).
P.S. The Riverworld, a rather violent place, has had all the sex and violence Disneyfied - making this film suitable for family viewing, if you don't particularly like your family.