Mammoth - Men In Black Take On The Blob
By John Crawford

The previews of Sci Fi Pictures Mammoth didn't do it justice, I was expecting a really serious movie. Viewers are immediately made aware of a less serious, almost comical atmosphere during the opening credits. The "Men In Black" theme at the beginning, combined with "The Outer Limits" music, doesn't give serious scifi fans a warm and fuzzy. But it gets better.

The movie is riddled with little things to take the edge off the seriousness of the theme, which can be good depending on ones mood. They try to parady other scifi themed shows, including "Mars Attacks", "Men In Black", "Jurassic Park", "The Outer Limits", "The Blob", and many things Irwin Allen.

Our main character, Dr. Frank Abernathy (Vincent Ventresca) a paleontologist, is ready to open a new display in his museum. For the last 5 years he's been studying the Mammoth, and now his efforts are going to pay off. But he notices a spot of light through the massive encasement surrounding the 40,000 year old mammoth. Dr. Abernathy drills through and removes the object, but before he could really investigate what it may be, he realizes he is late for his daughters 16th birthday celebration.

On his way, his car stops, and he notices a fireball in the sky. It turns out to be a meteor that hits his museum. The mammoth is unleashed and kills the janitor. The police arrive and declare the museum a crime scene. DAH! like they couldn't tell a big ball of fire hit the building?

Then the men in black show up, Special Agents Powers (Leila Arcieri) and Whitaker (Marcus Lyle Brown). Our man and our woman in black, promptly disclose their jurisdiction as Earth by flashing their ID's (that say NRO?). They say they have 17 hours to save the town, else the US Government will destroy the town itself. Them and the doctor head out to find the Mammoth, Dr. Abernathy believes it was vaporized when the meteor hit. What they find is their daughter, Jack (Summer Glau), at a big party with her boyfriend Squirrelly (Cole Williams), and one angry Mammoth. Special Agent Whitaker buys the farm, but the others escape into the dark night. That leaves Special Agent Powers alone and vulnerable.

They enlist the help of Simon (Tom Skerritt). His relationship to Dr. Abernathy and his daughter is unclear, but he seems to play the part of Jack's grandfather.

About three quarters of the way through movie when the climax is building, Simon, Jack, and Squirrelly have to stop for gas (while running from a 40,000 year old, 18 ton mammoth??). The gas station is along a highway (you can see other moving cars in the background). But the station is closed, Simon breaks the window and turns the power on. Meanwhile Jack and Squirrelly exchange their first kiss. A few minutes later as Squirrelly exits the vehicle to assist, the gas station owner appears weilding a shotgun. Simon promises he has more than compensated them and they will be on their way. But Squirrelly is killed by the mammoth, a tusk through the back. Simon and Jack speed off to safety.

It's not till the end of the movie that we find out the setting is Louisiana. They goad the mammoth to inside an old factory where the Sherriff declares to the workers "The State of Louisiana needs your help." They tried molten steel, but they had no affect. They manage to trap it something like an incinerator, and commence to bombard it with nitrogen. The mammoth is put back on display in the museum, but Simon is another story. He became frozen while capturing the mammoth.

They lead-out for a sequel by mentioning the technology to bring Simon out of suspended animation is many years away. But the men in black have an alterior motive.... The End.

I kinda' hoped that Dr. Abernathy and SA Powers would hook up, but the story only spans 2 days, and they do not. I don't think they should have killed off Squirrelly since he and Jack just started a new phase of their relationship. They could have gotten the same effect if they had shown the gas station owner get wacked.

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