Watch Battlestar Galactica: Razor For Free

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

I happen to like the show very much for how theatrical and intriguing it is, and I knew that Battlestar Galactica: Razor had a lot to live up to. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as the show and it wasn't, however it is better than the other Battlestar Galactica movie The Plan. Razor does have its problems of course, the characters don't have as much depth as they do in the series, the story does have moments where it is rather rushed and contrived despite some very intriguing moments and the dialogue at times does sound as though the writers didn't proof-read to make sure it made sense. Also what questions were left to answer after Season 3 weren't resolved as well as they could have been here. On the other hand, it has some cool-looking costumes and sets and is edited well. The music has many moments of rousing, haunting intensity, the idea was interesting and when it made sense and didn't feel rushed the film was quite thought-provoking as well as with some quirky revelations. The acting is decent enough. Overall, not bad(better than I have heard it made out to be, from what I heard I was expecting horse poop) but mildly disappointing at the same time. 6/10 Bethany Cox

A TV movie that examines plot points long after they are relevant to the actual series. This goes back in time to series 2, and then even further back to the 1st cylon war. The importance of this movie is mostly character based. We also see the difficult decisions that must be made in combat. Many may see Cain as an absolute bitch with no redeeming qualities, but told through the eyes of our new protagonist Jacobsen, we see that war isn't about easy choices. Civilians have to die, orders must be obeyed, and fear and doubt can put everyone at risk. Battlestar Galactica has always been good at balancing its characters and their actions. We have no villains, just differing opinions. The action scenes are exciting, but don't expect to see any major reveals here. It's just a little something extra to understand the world and situations.

This film may have been released after the third series of Battlestar Galactica but it is set shortly before the end of the second series. Pegasus has lost three commanding officers and Admiral Adama has decided to put his son Lee in charge and he in tern must pick a new Executive Officer. In order to improve the moral aboard his ship he doesn't bring somebody over from Galactica; instead he promotes Lt. Kendra Shaw, an officer whose career was closely associated with Admiral Cain. In flash back we see her join Pegasus and learn just what went on aboard that ship from the time of the Cylon attack to the time they find Galactica. This includes Cain killing her XO, a massacre aboard a civilian vessel and how a Cylon Number Six almost caused the ship to be lost before her capture and subsequent torture. This isn't the only story being told; in the present a raptor has gone missing and the search for it leads to a group of Cylons of a type not seen before in this series; they are older models of a type used during the first war, as Sharon informs then; part of a mythical basestar that fled from the other Cylons with the first hybrid Cylon aboard. Admiral Adama determines that it must be destroyed and Starbuck and newly promoted Major Shaw must lead a dangerous mission to rescue the missing personnel and destroy the basestar.To enjoy this film I think it is essential to have watched the series at least as far as the point where Apollo is given command of the Pegasus as there are lots of references to events in the series and no time is wasted introducing characters that viewers of the series will already know. We are though introduced to Kendra Shaw who was played by Stephanie Jacobsen; I think she did really well in the role to the point where I wished she could have become a regular character rather than a one off. The real highlight for people who had enjoyed the classic series as a child was seeing the old style Cylons and their ships… we even get to hear the classic 'By your command' uttered once! This film has far more action than most episodes including space battles against the old Cylons, the attack on the fleet at the start of the war and some close quarters combat. There was also a bit more blood than we usually see; especially when Cain shoots her XO! Talking of Cain it was good to see the excellent Michelle Forbes back in command of Pegasus for one last time.

Having just watched this, and then read some of the comments that have been posted, I suspect that there are a few subtleties that have been overlooked.While most people who have commented on this special episode have recognised the use of flashbacks to "flesh out" things we already know have occurred, the development of the back story of the "Old Cylons" did (I feel) link in with a great deal of what has been hinted at regarding the development of the Cylons, particularly their human-like forms; the ability to "see" the future; and their religion (and may I say, rather than feeling "force fed" by writers, the whole concept of machines developing a religious belief system just like my own scares the *heck* out of me! Do the Cylons *really* believe what they are saying? Is it something they collectively discovered; or did a leader get delusions somewhere and infect them all with a psychosis? Worst of all though, is the question "if the Cylons have a belief system like mine, while the humans have a "multi-god" view, then which side should *I* really be on?". But I digress!) My point is that this issue of (some) Cylons having the belief that they can see the future "because it has all happened before" has been floating around for a long time now. Also I think many people may have missed the hint from this particular episode that the "old" Cylons appear to be the link between Earth and everyone else (in the original series, *** ooh, ooh, spoilers from 30 years ago follow - frak me!*** the Cylons actually made it to Earth - though I can't recall what the outcome was, as by then they had been reduced to parodies of their former menacing selves). It also showed that the Cylons have an aspect of their past that they aren't so proud of either, and the revelation of their treatment of humans made an interesting counter-point to what we saw happening with Pegasus (in both cases, the events are set on vessels "outside" of the mainstream fleet; and in both cases it is hoped that the events can be left on the respective vessels when they are eventually destroyed).So, I don't have a problem at all with the whole "old Cylons" sub-plot, and I very much suspect that this will become very important in Series 4. And in regards to Adama *not* revealing his previous experience to anyone before, perhaps he didn't understand enough of what he saw to be able to say anything (especially since he would have been pre-occupied with rescuing the other survivors).Anyway, how about we all wait for Series 4 and see where it takes us, then see if "Razor" fits in with it or not? Oh, but I can't leave without commenting on one thing - *whose* idea was it to have the main character speak with an Aussie accent? Yes, I know, she *is* an Aussie, but that's not the point - Jamie Bamber is as English as Prince Charles, but *he* can do an American accent, so why do I have to listen to someone who sounds like *I* do? (I mean, Baltar has an English accent because he's a villain, and at least when Lucy Lawless was in it, she did her "Kiwi" accent, which has a minute trace of class about it! Yep, I can just hear those emails already!!!) So, to finish up - there was a lot of story to cover in "Razor", and while quite a bit of it had already been covered, this presented a new context to it all and was all the more thought provoking for it. I don't agree that any of the production efforts were below normal (I thought the special effects were brilliant - but may be others have forgotten that Cylon spaceships can't *really* fly around - and land it - city environments. And although I'm supposedly "grown up" at age 45, *don't* get me started on how *creepy* the Centurions are - them and the new Cybermen are the stars of my worst nightmares!) If you've read this far, thanks for staying with me! For anyone associated with making BSG, thanks for keeping me so entertained for the past few years - and giving me plenty to think about! Oh, and if you plan on sending the Cylons to Australia, please start with Sydney, then Canberra ....