Line #24 Film/PainkillerJane


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/painkiller_jane_tv_film.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedCarbon Before being into cars, Nikki]] was into bikes.]]
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4	A 2005 MadeForTVMovie by Creator/{{Syfy}}, very loosely based on the comic book of the same name.
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6	Jane Elizabeth Browning, a female US Special Forces soldier, is sent to Chechnya with the Painkiller Unit to shut down a drug lab. At the site, they find it's creating a biochemical weapon instead, to which they're exposed. While attempting to retreat, they're attacked by armed men in hazmat suits, who kill them all -- except for Jane, naturally, who then wakes up in a military facility, finding that her multiple gunshot wounds are healed after only a few days. The military are of course fascinated by this, Jane's superior officer Colonel Ian Watts keeping her there for testing. A psychiatrist, Dr. Graham Knight, also attempts to assess Jane, though she rebuffs this. It becomes clear that the military has no intention of letting Jane go, and after she's transferred to Alaska for even more tests, Jane escapes instead in the company of a thief, Nick Pierce. Taking shelter with him and his two companions, Jane determines to reveal what happened and why to give her such extraordinary abilities.
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8	This film was meant to start a series, but [[Series/PainkillerJane the one]] Sci Fi Channel produced ended up going with a different plot.
9	----
10	!!This film features examples of:
11	* ActionGirl: Jane is a US Special Forces soldier, first seen on a covert mission into Chechnya. She continues to show her skills throughout the film, aided by then having a HealingFactor too.
12	* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: In the original comic (and [[Series/PainkillerJane TV series]]), Jane was a police officer when she's changed. Here, she's a Special Forces soldier.
13	* AdaptationNameChange: Jane's last name changes from Vasko to Browning in this movie.
14	* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Graham/Insley]], who initially comes off as a nice, sympathetic [[spoiler:psychiatrist]], turns out to be Erfan all along, who gave Jane her enhanced abilities via a genetic modification, which killed her team when they were exposed.
15	* DeathFakedForYou: [[spoiler:At the end, Jane's death is faked by Watts, giving her a completely new identity, with even a gravestone he visits to show her supposed resting place.]]
16	* EvilutionaryBiologist: Erfan enhances humans through genetic modification, saying they'll achieve a higher stage of evolution in doing so.
17	* GasMaskMooks: A group of men in hazmat suits gun down Jane and her team in the opener. The gas masks are justified since they were exposed to a biochemical weapon.
18	* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: Jane's enhanced abilities turn out to be a result of genetic modification, which Erfan also gave other people (including, the ending implies, himself).
19	* GoalOrientedEvolution: Erfan claims that Jane is part of the "next stage of human evolution" along with others he enhanced like her, plus himself.
20	* GoodIsNotNice: Watts holds Jane against her will for testing and makes her justifiably afraid she'll never be free, so she escapes. It seems like he may be the villain briefly due to Graham's assertions. However, in the end he turns out to be good nonetheless, just heavy-handed about finding out what's happened with her.
21	* HealingFactor: Jane gets one which allows her to heal from injuries within days like it's been years, even pushing a bullet out of her body.
22	* HyperAwareness: Jane gains this ability from her enhancement, suddenly growing aware of minute details that she didn't pick up before.
23	* ImportantHaircut: About midway through the film, Jane cuts her hair short and dyes it bright red, embracing her new abilities while going against the whole military who she served to find out how they occurred.
24	* ParentalAbandonment: Jane's parents are mentioned to have both died in her teens.
25	* PilotMovie: This film was meant to be one of a series. While one [[Series/PainkillerJane did occur]], it has a very different plot.
26	* PromotionToParent: Due to their parents' deaths, Jane's older sister Carla raised her.
27	* SequelHook: [[spoiler:The film ends with the reveal that Erfan is alive, selling his substance to East Asian men, and it's implied that he's enhanced himself, with a clear indication for future storylines. This never happened, however, as the series was completely different.]]
28	* SherlockScan: Jane does these many times in the film after gaining [[HyperAwareness enhanced attention to detail]] and [[SuperSenses superior eyesight]] along with her HealingFactor, picking up things which would escape others.
29	* SuperSenses: Jane's eyesight becomes much keener, even telescopic, due to her enhancement. She's shown being able to see things in great detail a long distance off. Along with this, her hearing is similarly improved.
30	* SuperStrength: Among the enhancements she receives, Jane gains great strength, allowing her to break out of handcuffs with ease.
31	* TakingTheBullet: Jane leaps in front of Watts when gunmen attack them near the end, getting hit by one bullet meant for him. While he is hit, it's OnlyAFleshWound, which spares him from worse.
32	* TheyWouldCutYouUp: Jane clearly fears, if not vivisection, then that she'll be held by the military indefinitely with endless tests when they transfer her to Alaska. Instead, she escapes and goes on the run.
33	* TooDumbToLive: Though he's aware of Jane's enhanced strength, since he caused her to have it, Erfan just cuffs her when she's captured. Naturally, she easily breaks free and ends up jumping from a helicopter on top of him. [[spoiler:He survives, though, being implied to have been enhanced as well.]]
34	* TheVoiceless: It's never said that Squeak cannot speak, but he doesn't utter a word in the film.

Context Film / PainkillerJane