Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

TheLittleSongbird It is a shame because I wanted to. The premise, while not necessarily great, did intrigue me, and oddly enough there were some interesting ideas that if explored well would've come off very nicely. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like it and saw all the episodes to give it a chance, I couldn't get into it. The idea was intriguing, I did like the strong leader character that Rob Stewart played and he played it well and for a show that would end after 22 or so episodes it did end on a good note rather than on an abrupt or cliffhanger one. However, I found myself not caring much from the filming, even within the genre the settings were colourless and drab and the photography lacked focus all too often. The music was generic and didn't add all that much to the show or to any exciting moments, while the writing constantly feels rushed through and trite. The story lines didn't compel me much, there were weaker episodes than others agreed(though that is true of a lot of shows), but for what promise the pilot did have nothing really takes off from it. There were some good ideas here, but sadly they are not expanded upon enough. The pacing was often dull for me. The characters, even with the clichés, did seem as though they did have potential if given a chance, however I never found myself properly caring for them and their motivations and they did feel like props. Apart from Stewart, the actors never looked as though they were connecting with their characters and came across as bland. I am including the lead Kristiana Loken here too, a gorgeous woman playing a grittier sort of character but an actress that would work better in a (softer) supporting role than a lead. Overall, I gave Painkiller Jane a chance and never found myself involved with it. Although the 2005 TV movie had a lot of problems I did find myself preferring it over the series. 3/10 Bethany Cox

astro_alyss MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS As a person who'd read and greatly enjoyed the Painkiller Jane comic series, I was quite excited about this show. Sure, the comics themselves are trashy, a touch cliché – mainly a triumph of style over content – but hey, it's like Transformers, nobody watches it for the plot, do they? I was ready and prepared for a bit of shiny, mindless fun, but what emerged was generally a great disappointment.Don't get me wrong, the reason I gave this a 4 rating is because some of the episodes are quite entertaining, but the whole thing is dragged down by mediocre acting talent, cardboard cut-out character development and a truly lamentable script. It's obvious that the budget is low too, but crummy special effects can often be forgiven if a show is well written. The plot contains only the vaguest references to the stories in the comics, something that surprised me given that Jane's co-creator Jimmy Palmiotti is producing and even directs episode 13.The script mostly sounds like it was hastily scrawled on the back of a napkin by teenagers who are too lazy to do research and too immature to realise they're NOT being deep and meaningful. Jane's back story and the cause of her powers are changed (there were some discrepancies in the comics but the show changes it all for the worse, in my opinion) and none of the cool visual elements that made the comic so exciting are present at all – Jane's blood-red hair and skimpy wardrobe are gone, as are her endless supply of bandages, and her Batman-style quest for revenge against criminals is replaced by a sprawling, ill-conceived season arc about 'Neuros' – loosely-defined genetic mutants who can do "dangerous things with their minds".These Neuros are clearly an excuse for the writers to do anything they want in each episode and offer very little in the way of explanation, and given that it's a show about a woman with mysterious regenerative capabilities, there's precious little opportunity given for Jane to demonstrate her talents, especially early on in the season. Kristanna Loken is definitely a saving grace for the show, she's the best actor in the ensemble and brings a wonderful androgyny to the role that is sadly very under developed, especially as Jane came out as bisexual in the comics. Again though, the obvious emotional torture that made comic book Jane so engaging is heavily watered down and becomes nothing more than a way for Loken to deliver a closing Desperate Housewives-style sum up of the 'issues' explored in each episode.Overall, unless you've got a lot of time on your hands like I did at the time, it's probably one to avoid. Lovers of the comics will most likely be sorely disappointed, as I wouldn't say that it's even true its most basic elements. As a standalone TV series, there are episodes that almost work, so if you're desperate to try some out I'd got for 8, 10 or 14 as a taster.

teppo-2 Painkiller Jane is a show that is plagued with... well, mediocrity. It's not a bad show, but there's really nothing that stands out either - unless you want to count Kristanna Loken's cleavage, which gets ample presentation, to the point where it's an obvious attempt to keep people interested via sex appeal. Obviously Loken is pleasing to the eye in general, but they should've paid as much attention to the rest of the series as they did on capitalizing on her good looks.So, as said, nothing really stands out as "great". First off, the neuros. Call 'em what you will, but a potato is still a potato, and these guys are just like the ones you see in, say, Heroes or X-Men. Basically identical powers, genes to blame, and so on. Obviously not overly original - though I suppose this stems from the comic this show is based on, but I've never read the comic so I don't know how faithful the show is to it.Then there's the main characters - the usual "freak-hunter" squad. Sadly, the team personalities are pretty much as uninspired as the neuros are. There's the sexy tough chick (well, two for the first half of the series). Then there's the kind of egoistic and annoying "ohmygod I'm so smart and soooo gooood at what I do" techie geek that you see in just about every damn series, or so it feels at least. Don't forget the "muscle" of the group either, a brawny guy whose function is pretty much just the combat side of things. And of course he has to throw sexist comments around all the time, just like you'd expect. The roster is rounded out by the usual reclusive, not-great-with-people doctor and the ex-special forces team leader.Aside from the uninspired character templates there's the acting. Well, it's also on the mediocre region. It rarely makes you cringe, but just as rarely shines. This is true for all cast members.The writing continues the standard-fare trend, with not many gems to be found. There are several rather weak episodes, many more so than really good ones. It feels they forgot the main premise altogether for a majority of the season, only returning to it at the last four or so episodes. That's generally not a good thing, as they could've kept things much more interesting by giving us more than just separated incidents with random neuros.The bottom line: Not bad, but not exactly good. It really does summarize the series as a whole. It's something to keep you occupied in the lack of something better. At least for my part, I didn't feel I wasted time watching it. It was sufficiently enjoyable to prevent that feeling. But certainly it could've been better if the makers had put some extra effort into it.Despite not being so great, I wouldn't have minded seeing a second season. Perhaps they would've focused more on the real bad guys instead of just the "symptom". But it's not surprising that show got stopped, so this is all we'll get.

Lyceus It's a shame Sci Fi Channel decided to cancel "Painkiller Jane". It was a good show, with nice plots and a whole universe still to explore. Jane Vasco, played by Kristanna Loken, was a good heroine, with a fast healing ability, but "human" and imperfect. I like heroes to have dark points too, and Jane did so she was more interesting. The other characters could have been developed more, but just one season didn't leave them a lot of time.I liked the pilot and the show became more interesting in later episodes, specially when they fought a Neuro who could see the future and Jane tried to save three of her team partners. One thing I didn't expect was Maureen's death. Despite she wasn't as important as Jane, she was interesting and I wish she had survived and stayed in the show. The second season of the show was worse, and the clips episode was really, really boring. However, "Jane 113" was shocking, and after that, we had the Hungary episodes, which were different and interesting. The last episode joined the Hungary episode with the plot we could see in "Jane 113" and was very nice. The way the show ended was perfect for at least one more season, and I would've certainly enjoyed more "Painkiller Jane" episodes.