Originally introduced as a miniseries for the SyFy Channel, Ascension is now available on DVD.  The movie is set against stimulating and enormous elements, on which the story plays more with the human approach to drama.

The story looks great for a miniseries, offering a spacecraft built in the 60s. The attention to detail is extraordinary and draws the viewers into the experience.  The direction allows the actors to deliver stellar work alongside notable talent such as Tricia Helfer, Gil Bellows, Brian Van Holt, Andrea Roth, Brandon P. Bell, and Brad Carter. They all work together and keep the plot moving forward with memorable performances.

The CGI is well done, though a few scenes look amateurish in exterior shots of the spacecraft.  Given that the SyFy Channel produced the movie, the special effects are not that bad.

The storyline is what wins the movie for me. In 1963, in the grip of the Cold War, we guarded against our future survival by launching a huge interstellar ship called the U.S.S. Ascension. With 600 or more people aboard to guarantee our survival, the ship is a little over 50 years out on a 100-year mission. Threatening the crew is an unprecedented domestic murder.

The movie is promoted as “Mad Men in Space,” and I agree it is the best way to describe it. The twists and turns in the story are a little too much like a soap opera, but it keeps you on your toes with the plot moving along nicely.

All in all, I was surprised how good Ascension actually is for a low-grade cable show. I really recommend it.  There is certainly a lot of entertainment value.