Without Michael Gross this movie would have been trash, but he makes the movie from the beginning with his presence. The first movie had great characters, the second had good, and some annoying. The third film returned to the same characters, with some added and they were awsome. This film has pretty faceless characters. Although the characters are the ancestors of the originals, we can't realy rout for them since they're not that interesting. And the other guys all get killed in about 5 minutes. Since it's a prequel, it has alot of little inside jokes for fans from the first movie, which is nice. The ending is really a "thank god they didn't screw that up" sort of thing. The Tremors filmmakers handled this better than the Alien/Predator filmmakers when they made Alien Resurrection and AvP, which is sad considering Tremors 2-4 are all video releases, and we get stuck with AR and AvP in theaters. I'd say the best thing about is that Michael Gross's character hates guns, even though we know that Bert is in love with them, so we're sort of frustrated and like "what's going on" throughout the film, but the very last scene was great, and a great ending. The interesting thing about this series is that it sort of gradually makes Bert the hero of the whole thing even though he wasn't the main character in the first 2. I'd really love to see a Tremors 5. This series deserves a sequel more than the say, Alien series (and the alien moveis are my favorite of all time, but Fox, has no clue what their fans want, Stampede Enertainment knows what fans are expecting, and delivers it). This movies isn't perfect, but it's a worthy entry into a cool series.

It seems sometimes that "prequels" result when moviemakers know they have a good franchise, but don't know where to take it. So, let's go back and show people how this all started. This can work, but in the case of the Tremors franchise, this movie is sorely below par. Michael Gross was fun as Bert in the first movie, but ever since, he's managed to become more and more irritating and less enjoyable. His attempts to embody the "perfect gentlemen" from the east in 1890 Nevada fall short of anything but ridiculing his acting and the Gummer franchise. There's not a lot of action in this one, either..too many scenes of the vistas and riding horses. The script also fails to explain why the townspeople feel such an urgent need to have Gummer stay, when he can't shoot the side of a barn and he's about as manly as a cactus plant. Only in the end do we begin to see the shapings of the Gummer character that will result in the artillery-fanatic Bert.
Sara Botsford does a nice job as Christine Lord, but the rest of the cast merely fill the genre-required roles.
A disappointing entry in the TREMORS series, that indicates they should quit while they're still ahead. 3 vs. 1 isn't so bad to rest your laurels on.

1889: Rich guy Hiram Gummer comes to a town called Rejection to see why people stopped mining and making him more money. The cause is those big nasty worms from the other Tremors films. Crazy property wars insure, and so far, the worms are winning. Hiram needs all the help he can get to reclaim the mines, and maybe even save the town of Rejection. The worms look slightly better, even though, the small segment of one being CGI made it look crappy and fake.

The Tremors series is either something one loves or hates; I doubt there is much middle ground. I feel Tremors (the first) is the best, and this prequel is a worthy addition. Staring Michael Gross as Bert's either grandfather or great grandfather was terrific. And so is the women playing what would become the Gross-Reba role in the first movie. As Hiram evolved from the east coast Dandy to a more take charge person, it was done with affection and keeping in character. There are not blow your mind special effects, just competent and fun special effects. This is a movie more about the characters and the unknowns (worms) and their interactions. Black Hand Kelly is a great role in this movie and there is just enough homages to the first movie to make a good link. Perhaps less tongue in cheek and fewer laughable quips, but the pace is brisk and entertaining. I really loved the ending scene. This is a must addition to fans of this franchise, and holds the promise of more movies in this series. Set in the silver mine town of Rejection, Nevada, which becomes Perfection, Nevada in movie #1. If you like sci-fi without the multi million dollar effects, you will like this movie.

It's definitely watchable....which is more then I can say about the same movie in the From Dusk Till Dawn Series; that's what I compare the Tremors sequels and prequels to. None of them are the same quality as the original, or really even close for that matter.

The prequel lacks the star quality that Bacon brought, it lacked the comedy that existed between Bacon and Ward had. In addition, Ward and Bacon had a relationship most people can relate w/. That kind of relationship you have w/a best friend, or w/your brother/sister. There is nothing like that in this movie.

What I did like about this movie is they try and grow the roots by having similar characters that would be the ancestors of the characters in the original Tremors. They did a solid job w/that aspect.

I was disappointed that in the first 25 minutes, 18 people had died from the "Dirt Dragons," but you had yet to see one.

Michael Gross keeps his career moving and his name tied to anything that has anything to do w/the Tremors series. He is an obvious distant relative of his character in the original. He's pretty much useless in the movie; I was hoping he would die (but I knew he wouldn't). Of course, he saves the day at the end.

As a whole, the movie is worth giving a rent if you truly like the series. If you love the series, it is worth buying. As I said watchable, but nowhere near as good as the first one, or even in the same league for that matter.

Grade: C