New Eden (1994)

There’s very little to recommend about New Eden, but I ought to try because in spite of its blandness I've always kind of liked it.
Admittedly, the prison-planet setting wasn't a new concept in sci-f, nor the use of an off-worlder as a catalyst for self-imposed limitations to be highlighted, but at least the sparse, white sands of the desert work in favour of the low budget. And while the passiveness of Baldwin’s character exudes mostly blankness in place of quiet hopefulness, Lisa Bonet counteracts it. And finally, the music adds strangeness to even the most banal moment.
What's impossible to defend is the awful sensei/pupil training montage. It's shit no matter how you spin it.

1½ ways of living out of 5