I have seen this film at the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Festival. Atomic Eden was clearly one of the festival highlights among the audience. I enjoyed watching it very much, even so it was no horror. The film is fast-paced, action packed with a great story and some of the best martial arts scenes I've seen in a long time.
Basically the story can be described as a mix between Predator (the first one) and Assault on Precint 13, just without any creature. You can clearly tell, that first time director Nico Sentner must be a huge fan of John Carpenter's early work as well as of the action classics from the 80's and 90's.
At the end of WWII the Nazis created a secret weapon so powerful, in case if Hitler lost the war, the fuehrer will push the button and destroy the whole world. However this Doomsday Device is lost and forgotten during the war, sleeping somewhere hidden in bunker system underneath Chernobyl. Present Day: a group of 8 mercenaries is being recruited from all over the world. Everyone of them is an expert in his or her field. They are hired to take out a mysterious cargo from the underground of Chernobyl. It doesn't take long after they have arrived on site before they get attacked by an army of 800 men and it becomes an Alamo scenario with 8 fighting against 800 to save mankind.
Each of the mercenary characters is very unique and likable. My favorite characters are DARWIN - the Texan (played by an amazing new comer named Everett Ray Aponte), HEINRICH - the Priest and David - the fighter. The last one delivers the most amazing Martial Arts you can imagine. I wouldn't be surprised if Mike Möller, the guy who played David the fighter will become the next big thing in the genre. Very much like Scott Adkins or Michael J. White. He can easily be compared to fighters like Tony Jaa. But also, all the other action with gunfights, shoot-outs and explosions are well done with no crappy CGI, which gives the film a lovely "Old School Action" feeling. I haven't seen Fred Williamson for ages in a good leading action role. STOKER the leader was his first memorable starring role in an action flick since Original Gansters or From Dusk till Dawn back in the day. He did good in Atomic Eden and delivers a prove that at 77 he can still kick ass and kill the bad guys while smoking a cigar. Just the whole chemistry between Fred and Mike is worth watching the film. Lorenzo Lamas is co-starring as the main villain at the end but his role can be described more as an extended cameo. The rest of the lead cast ranges from good to decent. Except for the Japanese actress Hazuki Kato, even so, she looks extremely gorgeous and she can also fight Martial Arts well enough, her acting is only mediocre. But that doesn't stop producers from casting her in action films. I have seen her so far in bigger roles in FALCON RISING with Michael J. White, BALLISTICA with Paul Logan & Martin Kove as well as of course in ATOMIC EDEN. It seems to me that nobody cares if the hot girl in an action flick can act or not. Maybe its just me.
In the end, I must say, I was very much entertained the whole way through the film and I hope to see more films like that being made by the director.
Basically the story can be described as a mix between Predator (the first one) and Assault on Precint 13, just without any creature. You can clearly tell, that first time director Nico Sentner must be a huge fan of John Carpenter's early work as well as of the action classics from the 80's and 90's.
At the end of WWII the Nazis created a secret weapon so powerful, in case if Hitler lost the war, the fuehrer will push the button and destroy the whole world. However this Doomsday Device is lost and forgotten during the war, sleeping somewhere hidden in bunker system underneath Chernobyl. Present Day: a group of 8 mercenaries is being recruited from all over the world. Everyone of them is an expert in his or her field. They are hired to take out a mysterious cargo from the underground of Chernobyl. It doesn't take long after they have arrived on site before they get attacked by an army of 800 men and it becomes an Alamo scenario with 8 fighting against 800 to save mankind.
Each of the mercenary characters is very unique and likable. My favorite characters are DARWIN - the Texan (played by an amazing new comer named Everett Ray Aponte), HEINRICH - the Priest and David - the fighter. The last one delivers the most amazing Martial Arts you can imagine. I wouldn't be surprised if Mike Möller, the guy who played David the fighter will become the next big thing in the genre. Very much like Scott Adkins or Michael J. White. He can easily be compared to fighters like Tony Jaa. But also, all the other action with gunfights, shoot-outs and explosions are well done with no crappy CGI, which gives the film a lovely "Old School Action" feeling. I haven't seen Fred Williamson for ages in a good leading action role. STOKER the leader was his first memorable starring role in an action flick since Original Gansters or From Dusk till Dawn back in the day. He did good in Atomic Eden and delivers a prove that at 77 he can still kick ass and kill the bad guys while smoking a cigar. Just the whole chemistry between Fred and Mike is worth watching the film. Lorenzo Lamas is co-starring as the main villain at the end but his role can be described more as an extended cameo. The rest of the lead cast ranges from good to decent. Except for the Japanese actress Hazuki Kato, even so, she looks extremely gorgeous and she can also fight Martial Arts well enough, her acting is only mediocre. But that doesn't stop producers from casting her in action films. I have seen her so far in bigger roles in FALCON RISING with Michael J. White, BALLISTICA with Paul Logan & Martin Kove as well as of course in ATOMIC EDEN. It seems to me that nobody cares if the hot girl in an action flick can act or not. Maybe its just me.
In the end, I must say, I was very much entertained the whole way through the film and I hope to see more films like that being made by the director.