Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Chatverock Takes itself way too seriously

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Matthew Kresal Pandora's Clock is among the best thrillers you will ever read and this is one of the best thrillers you will ever see. A highly faithful adaptation of John J. Nance's novel ,which had a frightfully real scenario in the novel,is made even more so here. Despite being made for TV, this is first rate entertainment. The cast is great and slips into characters from the novel so well that you would think they were reading the novel. Richard Dean Anderson steps way outside the shadow of Macgyver and gives the best performance of his career to date. Jane Leeves is great her role as an ambassador's assistant in a role that proves she can be a fine dramatic actor. Daphne Zuniga is great as Dr. Sanders and despite the character being a man in the book, it works incredibly well. Robert Loggia, Edward Herrmann, Robert Guillaume, and the rest of the supporting cast are top notch and fit their novel counterparts tot he letter.There are changes to the story of course (including and a slight change in the ending) but those changes are for the better when compared with the novel. The plot is realistic and very see to believe in the way its presented making this the best airplane set movie since the original Airport movie. The production values are high and though the special effects might look as good as they did a decade or so ago, they work fine. Sets are great, especially CIA HQ and the Oval Office showing that the filmmakers spent a lot of time to make this work.It doesn't matter if you see this first and read then read the novel or vice versa. Just do both and you won't regret losing four hours to this film and however long it takes to read the novel. This will leave you breathless.

Dr-RJP Sometimes, Lady Luck smiles on me. I had originally made -- and copied over -- a VHS tape of this wonderful TV presentation. I was heartbroken when I realized what I had done since I had been unable to obtain a copy of it anywhere else.Recently, I subscribed to digital cable, and while searching through upcoming movies, there to my surprise was a scheduled broadcast of the movie. This time, however, I made a copy of it to DVD so there's no chance of repeating my mistake.I finally got to watch it again after eight years, and it was just as exciting and tense as when I first saw it. There is a little bit of prelude to this story in that my first contact with "Pandora's Clock" came with a live reading of the book on public radio. I just happened to tune in to the broadcasting station on my way home for lunch, and from the first installment, I was hooked. Each day, I waited with anticipation for the next chapter to be read.When I learned a few months later that the book was going to be broadcast on TV as a movie, I made sure to clear my schedule for that event.First of all, I'd like to say that the movie was very true to the book, contrary to what another reviewer had said. That, in itself, is a rare achievement for TV movies.Secondly, I agree with others about the casting. I could not imagine a better choice for Captain Holland than Richard Dean Anderson. Literally, the movie could have crashed and burned without a proper cast for this pivotal role. Anderson has never been better, and it is a shame that we have not seen more of him. In fact, all of the cast members did a superb job.My only complaint with the movie -- and the book -- was the interjection of the "terrorist plot" to arm a private business jet with air-to-air missiles and have its pilot stalk and shoot down the stricken plane. Basically, we are talking about less than 36 hours to orchestrate and execute a plan like this one, and folks, that is just not realistic at all given all the players involved. Also not realistic was how little the airliner was affected by having first one, then two of its engines blown off.That beef aside, I enjoyed the building suspense and found to be very believable how the reactions of foreign governments were portrayed in the film, as well as our own.If you have an opportunity to see this movie, do so by all means.

RLARKT199 On a recent trip to Hong Kong,i was able to purchase a DVD copy of this good film. The DVD region code was for all regions. So i have no problem playing this DVD in Canada. This film has an excellent cast and plenty of action to keep the viewer glued to the television set. Filmed in Germany,it starts out with a laboratory experimenting with illegal virus from Russia. One of the laboratory employee's gets infected,leaves the laboratory,attempts to steal a car,causing the driver,after a fight,to get infected. He boards the plane,possibly infecting other passengers. Britain,Canada,all other European countries refuse to let the plane land in their countries. Now the C.I.A. gets involved,a cover-up is in the plans,it is suggested the plane be blown up,killing everyone on it. A doctor,working with the C.I.A. discovers the plot,which keeps this film going till the end. I am quite surprise this film in not available on DVD here in Canada or the U.S.A. People who have the internet could probably purchase the DVD from one of the Hong Kong DVD online shops.On 12/feb/2008,this DVD was supposed to be released on DVD in Canada and the U.S.A. Well,it never happened,no explanation was given,all web sites I tried to order it from,stated,out of release,on order. Two of the web-sites I ordered it from,cancel the order,as for Amazon,I canceled the order.

comquest I began watching a replay of this TV movie on a Sunday afternoon, thinking it was just another dumb airplane disaster flick. I was wrong."Pandora's Clock" is an intelligent political thriller that is far beyond the quality of most TV movies. It could just as easily have made its debut on the big screen.The cast is excellent, including veteran actors Richard Dean Anderson, Edward Herrmann, Robert Guillaume, and Robert Loggia. Daphne Zuniga turns in one of her best performances as a medical specialist working for the CIA, and Frasier's Jane Leeves is also very good. The dialogue is well-written and the story is compelling throughout. In fact, the final hour is so filled with plot twists and suspense that you can't leave your seat for a second. If you get a chance to see this movie, invest the time -- nearly four hours. You will be richly rewarded!