The makers of Supernova are apparently counting on the fact that generational turnover renders old formulas fresh again for new audiences. This is the only explanation for a sci-fi thriller that could charitably be called a "homage" to Ridley Scott's trend setting Alien. A medical rescue ship responds to a distress call from a mining colony and finds only one survivor: a strange young man (Peter Facinelli), who comes aboard carrying an even stranger alien artefact. But the plot of this film, which was directed and then disowned by Walter Hill, grows confused as it tries to explain the sinister force that will lead to a star transforming to supernova status, causing a universe-shattering explosion. Some nice sexual tension between James Spader (as the recovering drug-addict co-pilot) and Angela Bassett (as the ship's doctor). Notable mostly, however, for the eerie resemblance, both physical and vocal, between Facinelli and Tom Cruise. --Marshall Fine,