If you are the type of person who takes science fiction films seriously, I recommend moving on to the next review. But if you are one of those people who appreciates a disoriented attempt at the hackneyed story of first contact with space beings, then Cosmic Sin is the ideal choice for a weekend night.

In the year 2031, a group of cadets travel to Mars to establish the first colony on the red planet. Unfortunately, a series of catastrophic and selfish events lead to a stop to the development of a civilization. In the year 2524, a group of rebel soldiers investigate a series of strange events orchestrated by something unknown. Could it be that these extraterrestrial beings want to dominate planet Earth or do they seek revenge for the conquest attempts carried out by humans? All I know is that humans, even after 503 years, show a null capacity to understand what is happening around them and, above all, the consequences of their actions— and the technology of the future is very archaic.

Cosmic Sin seems to have everything we may expect of the future: robots serving shots at your favorite bar, space suits that seem to give more ability to move around, gateways to travel over space at light speed. But it has more disadvantages than points in its favor. It has poorly directed yet entertaining action sequences whenever any happens— even the overuse of a shaky camera doesn’t help to justify it. The special effects and visual graphics are superb for the meager scenery and ambiance it handles— in fact there is an odd attention to detail when it comes to worrying about the little things leaving behind what would make the story believable.

The soundtrack is spectacular with each song used in the most unusual moments found to play them, although the score could be at the same level if it didn’t have so much background noise added for atmosphere of a planet that we don’t even know. The use of vivid colors offset by bright lights leaves a good impact during some scenes but is lost most of the time due to the mishandling of color filters. And the acting is okay— if you’re into cold-stone tougher-than-it-looks reactions.

Cosmic Sin enjoys a good title with a poorly developed plot— it fights an internal war of mind over matter. The amount of action sequences do not compensate for the lack of smart dialogue with characters who claim to be the best but always demonstrate the opposite. As I said at the beginning of this review, if you take your science fiction seriously, this isn’t the double feature you’re looking for.

4 OUT OF 10 ROBOT SHOTS