Painkiller Jane (film)
Encyclopedia
Painkiller Jane is a made-for-television movie based on the comic book character
of the same name. It was first broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel
in December 2005. The 2-hour film stars Emmanuelle Vaugier
as the titular heroine. The film differs significantly from the story of the comic book character.
The movie was a backdoor pilot for a possible television series, which was eventually approved. The Painkiller Jane TV series
appears to be a "reboot
" of the TV-movie, discarding the film's backstory and starting anew.
. After attempting to retreat, the entire unit is ambushed and executed by a group of armed men in protective hazmat suit
s. One member of the unit, Captain Jane Browning (Emmanuelle Vaugier
), not only survives the execution, but recovers from the viral infection, and develops an abnormally rapid healing factor
, increased dexterity, speed, strength, enhanced senses, mental abilities and a photographic memory. Her eyes enlarge to take in and process information at a hyper-normal rate, and her mind reorganizes what she has seen into analytical logic, such as plotting out a chess game and recognizing patterns in the type of a magazine article.
She is taken to a US Army laboratory where scientists are trying to learn what happened so they can create an army of super-soldiers. The lead scientist who is helping to find out why she survived and changed when the others died is Dr. Graham Knight. She is told by Col. Ian Watts, her mentor, that the virus was created by a biochemical terrorist named Peter Erfan who has a genius IQ. As the US Army is transferring her to another base in Alaska, Knight passes her a note saying that they are never going to let her go. Jane escapes in an effort to find Peter Erfan and gain revenge on him for murdering her team. She goes to the university for help from Dr. Knight, but finds that Dr. Knight is not the man who was working with her at the army base.
As she confronts the person she knew as Doctor Knight at his hotel, he reveals that he is Captain Lucas Hensley and is with military intelligence. He is undercover and investigating her superior officer, Col. Ian Watts. Hensley tells her that Watts created Erfan and used him as the perfect cover. Since Erfan didn't exist then he couldn't be caught. Hensley asks Jane to help catch him. She goes to confront Watts herself, but as she does so, they are both shot by an unknown assassin. As she is trying to contain the bleeding on Watts, some of her blood falls into his wound and mixes with his blood. It is implied that this may have allowed the colonel to recover from being shot.
She goes after the shooter and he leads her to Lucas Hensley. Hensley admits that he is in fact Peter Erfan and has a vial of liquid which he has extracted from Jane. As he is talking with her the assassin starts to move in on her and she shoots him. Erfan refers to her as the new Eve
, as something in her body altered the virus and then the virus changed her. This is why she survived but the rest of her unit did not. Erfan has been able to recreate this modified virus and already gave it to the assassin. As he is talking with her the assassin that was shot gets up and rips off a power box on the wall and hits Jane in the head with it.
The next scene Erfan has her handcuffed in a helicopter and is taking her away. She breaks out of the handcuffs and starts fighting with Erfan. Shots are fired into the console of the helicopter and the assassin, who is piloting, loses control of the helicopter. This causes Erfan and Jane to fall out of the helicopter and they wrestle with each other while falling toward the water below. The next scene sees Col. Watts in a graveyard where he is standing over her tombstone. He then goes to the docks and gets on a boat. There he meets Jane and gives her a new identity and money. She sails off in the boat.
The final scene sees a group of Asian gentlemen walking into a laboratory and meet with Lucas Hensley who apparently survived the fall unharmed. He holds a vial of green fluid, the genetic material for the enhancement virus in solution. The implication is that Erfan took the serum himself, in order to survive the impact with river and he will soon be creating an army of superhumans for the unnamed Asian business partner.
Painkiller Jane
Painkiller Jane is a fictional character, a comic book heroine created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada for Event Comics in 1995. Originally a five-issue mini-series, the character went on to star in numerous crossover titles with the likes of the Punisher, Vampirella, and Hellboy. Recently, the...
of the same name. It was first broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in December 2005. The 2-hour film stars Emmanuelle Vaugier
Emmanuelle Vaugier
Emmanuelle Vaugier is a Canadian film actress, singer, songwriter and television actress who has had recurring roles as Detective Jessica Angell on CSI: NY, Mia on Two and a Half Men, Dr. Helen Bryce on Smallville, and FBI Special Agent Emma Barnes on Human Target...
as the titular heroine. The film differs significantly from the story of the comic book character.
The movie was a backdoor pilot for a possible television series, which was eventually approved. The Painkiller Jane TV series
Painkiller Jane (TV series)
Painkiller Jane was an American-Canadian science fiction and action television series based on the comic book character of the same name. Airing on the Sci Fi Channel in the US starting April 13, 2007 and Global in Canada, it starred Kristanna Loken as the titular character...
appears to be a "reboot
Reboot (continuity)
The verb reboot, in media dealing with serial fiction, means to discard much or even all previous continuity in the series and start anew with fresh ideas...
" of the TV-movie, discarding the film's backstory and starting anew.
Cast
- Emmanuelle VaugierEmmanuelle VaugierEmmanuelle Vaugier is a Canadian film actress, singer, songwriter and television actress who has had recurring roles as Detective Jessica Angell on CSI: NY, Mia on Two and a Half Men, Dr. Helen Bryce on Smallville, and FBI Special Agent Emma Barnes on Human Target...
as Capt. Jane Elizabeth Browning/Painkiller Jane - The show's protagonist - Eric DaneEric DaneEric Dane is an American actor. After appearing in television roles throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he became known for playing Dr...
as Nick Pierce - Richard RoundtreeRichard RoundtreeRichard Roundtree is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa .-Personal life:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Richard Roundtree graduated from...
as Colonel Ian Watts - Jane's supervising officer - Nels Lennarson as Agent Thorpe
- Richard Harmon as Squeak
- Tate DonovanTate DonovanTate Buckley Donovan is an American actor. He is known for his role in the FX drama Damages, as Tom Shayes, and for his role as Jimmy Cooper in the American teen drama television series The O.C....
as Dr. Graham Knight/Lucas Insley - Venus TerzoVenus TerzoVenus Terzo is a Canadian actress best noted for her role as Detective Angela Kosmo in Da Vinci's Inquest and its spinoff, Da Vinci's City Hall. She was nominated in 2002 for the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role in that same role...
as Carla Browning - Jane's sister
Plot
A Special Forces unit, known as the Painkiller Unit, is exposed to a biochemical weapon while on a mission in Sovetskaia, ChechnyaChechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. After attempting to retreat, the entire unit is ambushed and executed by a group of armed men in protective hazmat suit
Hazmat suit
A hazmat suit is a garment worn as protection from hazardous materials or substances. A hazmat suit is generally combined with breathing apparatus for protection and may be used by firefighters, emergency personnel responding to toxic spills, researchers, specialists cleaning up contaminated...
s. One member of the unit, Captain Jane Browning (Emmanuelle Vaugier
Emmanuelle Vaugier
Emmanuelle Vaugier is a Canadian film actress, singer, songwriter and television actress who has had recurring roles as Detective Jessica Angell on CSI: NY, Mia on Two and a Half Men, Dr. Helen Bryce on Smallville, and FBI Special Agent Emma Barnes on Human Target...
), not only survives the execution, but recovers from the viral infection, and develops an abnormally rapid healing factor
Healing factor
A healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate...
, increased dexterity, speed, strength, enhanced senses, mental abilities and a photographic memory. Her eyes enlarge to take in and process information at a hyper-normal rate, and her mind reorganizes what she has seen into analytical logic, such as plotting out a chess game and recognizing patterns in the type of a magazine article.
She is taken to a US Army laboratory where scientists are trying to learn what happened so they can create an army of super-soldiers. The lead scientist who is helping to find out why she survived and changed when the others died is Dr. Graham Knight. She is told by Col. Ian Watts, her mentor, that the virus was created by a biochemical terrorist named Peter Erfan who has a genius IQ. As the US Army is transferring her to another base in Alaska, Knight passes her a note saying that they are never going to let her go. Jane escapes in an effort to find Peter Erfan and gain revenge on him for murdering her team. She goes to the university for help from Dr. Knight, but finds that Dr. Knight is not the man who was working with her at the army base.
As she confronts the person she knew as Doctor Knight at his hotel, he reveals that he is Captain Lucas Hensley and is with military intelligence. He is undercover and investigating her superior officer, Col. Ian Watts. Hensley tells her that Watts created Erfan and used him as the perfect cover. Since Erfan didn't exist then he couldn't be caught. Hensley asks Jane to help catch him. She goes to confront Watts herself, but as she does so, they are both shot by an unknown assassin. As she is trying to contain the bleeding on Watts, some of her blood falls into his wound and mixes with his blood. It is implied that this may have allowed the colonel to recover from being shot.
She goes after the shooter and he leads her to Lucas Hensley. Hensley admits that he is in fact Peter Erfan and has a vial of liquid which he has extracted from Jane. As he is talking with her the assassin starts to move in on her and she shoots him. Erfan refers to her as the new Eve
Eve (Bible)
Eve was, according to the creation of Abrahamic religions, the first woman created by God...
, as something in her body altered the virus and then the virus changed her. This is why she survived but the rest of her unit did not. Erfan has been able to recreate this modified virus and already gave it to the assassin. As he is talking with her the assassin that was shot gets up and rips off a power box on the wall and hits Jane in the head with it.
The next scene Erfan has her handcuffed in a helicopter and is taking her away. She breaks out of the handcuffs and starts fighting with Erfan. Shots are fired into the console of the helicopter and the assassin, who is piloting, loses control of the helicopter. This causes Erfan and Jane to fall out of the helicopter and they wrestle with each other while falling toward the water below. The next scene sees Col. Watts in a graveyard where he is standing over her tombstone. He then goes to the docks and gets on a boat. There he meets Jane and gives her a new identity and money. She sails off in the boat.
The final scene sees a group of Asian gentlemen walking into a laboratory and meet with Lucas Hensley who apparently survived the fall unharmed. He holds a vial of green fluid, the genetic material for the enhancement virus in solution. The implication is that Erfan took the serum himself, in order to survive the impact with river and he will soon be creating an army of superhumans for the unnamed Asian business partner.