The last likely hero stationed from Mars finds himself in the middle of a war on Earth in this fun sci-fi film from the team of Joe Bland and Andrew Balek.

On a space colony from Mars, Silas is the son of Colonial leader Cyrus. Silas tends to be a bit young minded and is always remined of his manner and actions by the robot Spark. However, Silas has a chance to redeem himself when he is given a mission to recon Earth. However, the colony is attacked by the Exiles, a human race who were forced out of both Earth and Mars and seek revenge. Silas is able to escape along with Spark and a few fellow Colonials and crash land on Earth.

There, Silas meets Zoey and Thomas, members of the Resistance. The Resistance are also in a war with the Exiles. At first, they think Silas is an Exile but soon learn he is a Colonial. As Silas has never learned combat training of the sorts, Zoey recommends that Thomas seek Zeke, a mysterious Resistance fighter who has faced the Exiles before. Meanwhile, the Exiles have become aware of Silas’ mission and send in some of their most dangerous forces to Earth to wipe out Silas and the Resistance. Who will win the battle for Earth?

Earlier this year, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a fun sci-fi adventure in Garo Setian’s Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar, which was a wild throwback to the 70s and 80’s sci-fi B-movies. We have another one of those in the form of this film from Joe Bland and Andrew Balek. While Space Wars had the cocky hero and his badass daughter, this one goes a different route with a reluctant hero in the form of our protagonist Silas, who is seen as immature and must find the will to help save Earth.

Greg Kriek is great in the role of Silas. The South African actor has an amazing range of roles, and he proves he can pull off any role. Here, he is the reluctant hero Silas, who we see going from an immature affluent son of a Colonial leader to the hero Earth needs in the war against the Exiles. Even when he comes to Earth, he finds himself with no experience in the world of combat. Lassie’s Jon Provost brings some hilarity to the role of Spark, the AI robot who must keep Silas level and grounded.

The film also has two total tough people on the side of good, who will go to great lengths to make the Earth safe. They are resistance members Zoey, played by Jamie Bernadette, and Zeke, played by Sean Kanan. Zoey comes off as arrogant and stubborn and is definitely a tough cookie to crack. She even finds herself cautious about Silas until he proves himself to say who he is and has a comic foil in B.A. Tobin’s Thomas. As for Sean Kanan’s Zeke, he is a tough cookie with a robotic arm due to a battle with the Exiles that left him incapacitated. Of course, in a bit of predictability, after training Silas, Zeke finds himself in a rematch against the one responsible for the loss of his arm, Exiles henchwoman Raven, played by a wonderfully evil Allie Lindsey.

The space battle scenes are quite fun to watch as well and quite frankly, I am hoping like Space Wars, this becomes the beginning of a new franchise. Something not too serious like Star Wars, but a fun adventure that will continue the alliance of the Colonials and the Resistance against the Exiles. If this does become the start of some new adventures, count me in.

Colonials is another fun throwback to the 70s and 80s sci-fi adventures where a sequel needs to be done as this is a wild ride at a war between a new alliance and the exiled race hellbent on revenge. A terrific cast including Greg Kriek, Jamie Bernadette, and Sean Kanan helps drive the film and it would fun to see these three on a follow-up.

WFG RATING: B+

Epic Pictures presents a Bland Productions film. Directors: Joe Bland and Andrew Balek. Producers: Joe Bland and Michelle Kanan. Writers: Joe Bland and Cyrus Cheek. Cinematography: Joe Bland, Nate McLean, and  Meredith Washburn. Editing: Joe Bland.

Cast: Greg Kriek, Sean Kanan, Daniel Roebuck, Jamie Bernadette, B.A. Tobin, Mike Ferguson, Louise Barnes, Timothy E. Goodwin, Allie Lindsey, Kate De Paz, Jeff M. Hill, Eric Broser.