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103 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent plot, gorgeous FX, and an intriguing insight into Season 4, November 12, 2007
"Razor" is a satisfying addition to Battlestar Galactica in what is more a couple extra episodes from Season 2 than a standalone movie. 1 star off for a slightly plodding second plot line and a half star off for an incomplete set of extras on the DVD leaves 3.5 stars, which I round up to 4 stars for both getting to see more of Michelle Forbes as Admiral Cain and one DVD-only scene that gives hints about Season 4.
Razor combines past and present storylines of the Pegasus through focusing on a new character, Pegasus deck officer Kendra Shaw, and how her experiences in the past storyline transformed her into the unfeeling tool of the title that Cain believes is the ideal squared away leader. The past storyline is the better of the two, with the backfill of what happened to the Pegasus until it met up with Galactica providing some riveting scenes. While generally the best forty minutes of the show since Exodus II thanks to a couple of intriguing additions like the background of Gina and Cain, by only developing Fisk's drunken stories and largely neglecting character development outside of Shaw, the writers don't quite get this up to the superb quality of the rest of the Pegasus story arc.
The present storyline is less compelling, set in between "Captain's Hand" and "Lay Down Your Burdens" as Apollo runs his first mission as commander of the Pegasus with some help from his father and Starbuck. Once "Razor" begins focusing on this latter storyline in the second hour things begin to drag somewhat; on the commentary, Ron Moore explains that a good slug of the second plotline was his brainchild for the sake of continuity, and while probably easier to follow than the original script it feels somewhat like the padding it is.
Despite that, Razor is still fun stuff. The season 2 version of Starbuck is a lot more enjoyable to watch, and the interactions between Apollo, Shaw and her make one hope that the writers remember her importance for the final season. Another plus is Michelle Forbes' superb performance, which makes you wish they could somehow bring Cain back. This also has the best special effects of the entire series; having seen them in a theater as well as the DVD, they're just eyepopping. FX wiz Gary Hutzel got a real budget for once and Ron Moore admits that some of his CGI work actually drove parts of the plot rather than the reverse. Considering Moore once said the original Pegasus sets were limited to a corridor, a multi-purpose utility room, the CIC, and Cain's quarters, props to him and his effects guys for figuring out how to make things work around mostly those locations. The DVD is worth buying on this alone.
The majority of the new material is visually stunning but doesn't add much. The "favorite episode" feature reveals "33" as the choice of the wise, another brief feature reveals a bit about the production, Adama and Cain have "formulative experiences" during the first Cylon war (the former having already been shown in the webisodes), Shaw and Apollo have their own pre-war sequence, and Baltar and his dream Six make a brief appearance. None of this adds much to the characters or plot, and weirdly Moore and Taylor refer to some additional footage that didn't make it even into the deleted scenes category during a commentary that is good but essentially similar to the average podcast. Slightly disappointing.
However, what's truly compelling in the new material are the additional Cylon prophecies given to the hybrid, which both flesh that character out as more than "babbling" and provide some tantalizing insights into Season 4 well beyond the spoiler at the end of the movie. Taylor admits its inclusion may be a creation of the home video department, but it's the one must-watch bit of new material that makes the DVD worthwhile on its own. 4 stars.
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46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprise twist at the end, minisodes, season 4 preview, all in the format we love., November 20, 2007
First: Razor.
Razor itself is an episode that serves both as a prequel of what happened to the Pegasus from the attack on the shipyards to her meeting with Galactica through the viewpoint of a new character, Kendra Shaw (and a recap of everything leading up to Lee's command), as well as back story from the first Cylon War told through the viewpoint of a young Bill "Husker" Adama. All of these events serve to foreshadow a surprising revelation at the end that should tie in the cliffhanger of Season 3 with the beginning of Season 4. All of the story lines going on at once work surprisingly well together, though I found myself wincing that none of this had been referenced in the main series for the most part.
Was it worth watching? Oh yes. If nothing else this will tide you over as well as make you anticipate Season 4 even more. I was worried I'd be 'out of it' with such a long delay, but the twist at the end of this DVD makes you wonder what is really going on as Season 4 starts.
Second: The Extras.
Some of these I felt like I had seen, or at least experienced through Moore's podcasts. They basically dealt with the special effects of Battlestar Galactica, with discussions on where they got the look, the camera work, and other things anyone familiar with the series has probably heard by now.
The Webisodes/Minisodes deal specifically with young Bill "Husker" Adama and fill in more of what happened during to and prior to his place in Razor. This was enjoyable, though short, and showed the final battle of the first Cylon War, and the genesis of his dislike for the toasters.
The Deleted Scenes make for a very good backstory of Bill and Lee, and show when Lee first transferred into flight school, and his crossing paths with Kendra albeit briefly.
In all, if you have $20.00 to spare, this entry into the Battlestar series is worth it, though I hesitate to spoil anything about it beyond a general synopsis of the content. I was unsure what they were going for prior to watching, but I have to say that it fills in a lot of the gaps in the story, and ties quite a few things together. No small feat.
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35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Cain Dig It, November 13, 2007
Razor is the type of experience that will remind you why you fell in love with newer iteration of the BSG universe. Superb acting, poignant cut scenes, mostly-seamless special effects, and haunting prophecies. Admiral Cain is completely believable as a hardened and somewhat reckless admiral. And believe it or not, her questionable decisions are adequately rationalized, though still not agreeable.
My only complaints about Razor was the look of the old cylons. I know they're from the original show, but they seemed a bit too shiny in this film - sort of like plastic action figures. Also, the brief scenes with a young Commander Adama were lacking. If you had no problem with this in the webisodes, you'll probably be fine when watching this film.
Great experience, and definitely better plot-wise and CGI-wise that many of the made-for-theater movies I've seen this year.
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