Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)

48% of users liked it
(1,359 ratings)

Edward James Olmos directs this feature-length drama that tells the story of the Peabody-winning series -- from the perspective of the Cylons. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan finds man's creations plotting to destroy their makers, but when their genocidal scheme leaves survivors. Now, two Cylons must… More Edward James Olmos directs this feature-length drama that tells the story of the Peabody-winning series -- from the perspective of the Cylons. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan finds man's creations plotting to destroy their makers, but when their genocidal scheme leaves survivors. Now, two Cylons must try to eliminate the remnants of humanity, while Adama (Olmos) and his fleet struggle to survive. From the nuclear devastation that began the miniseries to Sharon's (Grace Park) attempt to kill her commander, all the show's biggest moments are seen from the enemy's point of view. The film also stars Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan, Dean Stockwell, Michael Trucco, and Aaron Douglas. ~ Kimber Myers, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed By: Edward James Olmos
Written By: Jane Espenson
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Oct 27, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Oct 27, 2009

Critic Reviews

Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
I found the movie to be a piece of brilliant writing because it managed to retrofit a neat little story arc into an existing series.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
[S]till sorta fun anyway, even if it doesn't actually delve into the planny plannishness of the Cylons: as an ultimate clip episode, as a very fan-fiction-y look at events of the series from a new perspective...
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
... neither sequel nor prequel to show but an imaginative bookend, a retelling of the saga in digest form from the Cylon perspective.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
A labor of love...so it's appropriate that the film should also be about love, the spanner in the works that allows humanity to triumph over machinery. [Blu-ray]

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Featured Audience Ratings

Ken S

Underwhelming, but mostly meh
Lewis C

If The Plan is the last of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica that we'll ever see, does it complete the series in a bang, or a whimper? I'd say somewhere between the two. Where Razor was a fun side-story that added some welcome, but unessential details to the Battlestar… More
If The Plan is the last of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica that we'll ever see, does it complete the series in a bang, or a whimper? I'd say somewhere between the two. Where Razor was a fun side-story that added some welcome, but unessential details to the Battlestar Galactica cannon, The Plan is really nothing more than a retelling of the majority of the story, from the Cylon's point of view. Specifically, the points of view of two Cavil's and two Simon's. We get a few answers during the movie that explain some minor, niggling questions, and those were pretty cool. But everything else is either just a review of events that were driven by the Cavil's, outside of our knowledge, a few scenes that more fully integrate the Final Five into the earlier parts of the series, or a look at the experiences that the two Simon's had with the humans that they were close to. One's and Four's are among my least favorite Cylon models, so I can't say that I was exactly thrilled that they were the focus of the majority of the story. But I did feel like I knew more about the Cylons and the mythology of the series after I watched it, so it was worthwhile for me. I'm not going to complain about any new BSG, and getting to see some of my favorite characters one last time was worth the price of admission, by itself. Just look at it as a long recap episode with some never before seen footage, and you won't be disappointed. Razor was better, but The Plan serves its purpose somewhat well, and its a bittersweet final entry for anyone who's a fan of one of the best TV shows in years.
Drew S

Generally, Battlestar Galactica's off-series output doesn't tend to be all that strong. Though The Plan is wise to focus on Cavil, one of the show's most interesting unexplored characters, he's stranded amidst a bunch of exposition and plot retreading. This movie… More
Generally, Battlestar Galactica's off-series output doesn't tend to be all that strong. Though The Plan is wise to focus on Cavil, one of the show's most interesting unexplored characters, he's stranded amidst a bunch of exposition and plot retreading. This movie basically amounts to a bunch of sinister Cylon cackling and a decent thematic arc about how circumstance shapes a person (or cyborg, as it were); marginally compelling if you're a big fan of the show's excellent writing, but not so much if you're in it for the space explosions or high drama. Another pleasant surprise is the movie's choice to flesh out Simon, most commonly known as That Black Cylon Who Doesn't Do Anything, and Rick Worthy's sharp performance leaves you feeling a little disappointed that he wasn't more prominent in the series. There are a few great character moments to be found in here, and again, you're not going to go wrong with Cavil, but this is unabashedly a fringe retelling of the plot communicated through several of Galactica's little-seen characters. Massive disappointments: no new Starbuck; no Roslin at all; about two minutes of Ellen, Adama, Tigh and Tyrol; extensive focus on boring Anders; and a frustratingly common use of archival footage to fill in the gaps for viewers who haven't watched the first two seasons in a while. About a third of this movie is taken directly from the series itself, partially to keep fans in the loop but likely because this didn't have much of a budget. Concurrently, there aren't any world-shattering revelations for fans of BSG found in The Plan, but it's an entertaining movie nonetheless and an extra two hours spent with some of the most sharply written characters in science fiction.
Walter M

For those unfamiliar with the new and mostly improved "Battlestar Galactica," the feature "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan," written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos, is not a good place to start as its sole purpose is to fill continuity holes in… More
For those unfamiliar with the new and mostly improved "Battlestar Galactica," the feature "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan," written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos, is not a good place to start as its sole purpose is to fill continuity holes in the first two seasons while introducing a couple of minor characters and giving more time for individual Cylon models.(Seen in retrospect, this would be as good as it would get for these characters which is strange in the wake of the genocide.) Oddly enough, there are questions left unanswered. For example, who did leave that note for Adama(Edward James Olmos) and what is the deal with Starbuck's(Katee Sackhoff) so-called destiny? So, this is not exactly essential for avid fans, either. However, Dean Stockwell does make it worth watching all by himself and Tricia Helfer reminds us all how good while playing multiple characters. "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan" is told not from the humans' point of view, but from that of Brother Cavil(Dean Stockwell), splitting his time between the human resistance on Caprica led by Sam Anders(Michael Trucco) and the Cylon terrorist cell on board Galactica. The central point of focus is the Cylon failure to completely wipe out humanity. While there are a couple of times when they come off as the artificial beings who cannot shoot straight, it actually follows from Cavil's sadism and the fact that it is much harder for a rational being to hate somebody after getting to know them. Welcome to the human race.
The S

After the TV series had finished came this gem of a film which tells the story from the Cylon perspective and provides us with genuine new insight into what makes the machines tick. Portraying incidents we're already familiar with from a completely different angle is a very… More
After the TV series had finished came this gem of a film which tells the story from the Cylon perspective and provides us with genuine new insight into what makes the machines tick. Portraying incidents we're already familiar with from a completely different angle is a very clever idea and a real eye opener. By the end of the film I found myself understanding the occasionally genocidal and often schizophrenic Cylons to the point of feeling some sympathy for them - the film's closing moments followed by the haunting song "Apocalypse" are nothing short of beautiful and I'm left pondering how much irony was intended in this movie's title.
Sean S

If only the series had ended with this instead of the lame let's be the ancestors of present society crap. Still an interesting look at the cylon side of things that makes the show a bit more coherent.