hyeristorm
A film that frustratingly never reaches its potential...
If I rate it as an action flick, it's a solid 9/10 because of the excellently choreographed action scenes and shots. Very well-made in that respect.
However if I had to rate it overall, it's a 6.5-7/10. Occasionally it's okay to overlook certain aspects if characters or the world-building really shines. Sadly here, neither does and so it frustratingly never reaches its potential due to the lack of depth overall.
1. The Characters and Acting.
It's a bit hard to gauge whether it was simply bad acting or whether they were given very little to work with. Honestly, I've seen the actors in better roles. The film's setting could've been a great foundation to explore morally grey characters. Instead, we are given forgettable and oddly cliched characters. The female lead ends up being a damsel-in-distress. The male lead is a tortured soul. The antagonists are tough militants.
The attempt to make the leads a little more interesting in the second half falls flat. It just didn't work in the movie's favour to create these plot twists out of the characters' actions because it just highlighted the tonal inconsistency.
2. World-Building
The opening sequence was fantastic, sets the dystopian world very well. And that's all we see of it. It's frustrating how we never see more development because it would've helped us to understand why our characters are doing what they're doing. The visuals are a little jarring, especially when it transitions from the conflict into present day 2029. Although it's not far off from today, it would've helped if things looked more 'dystopian'. Similar to my comments about the characters, the lack of world-building shone a light on the movie's inconsistency in tone.
3. Music and Action
Best parts of the movie. I have no major issues with how the score accompanied the theme. The gunfights/ action scenes were excellent as the choreography/ direction here was fantastic.
4. Story/ Adaptation
I can't comment on how faithful this adaptation has been, although I've read that it's fairly respectful of the original source material (except for the ending). The story was simple and unfortunately the attempt to deepen the plot with a fairytale analogy wasn't executed well. The illustrative aspects of it was stunning, on par with the opening sequence (and I wished they used more of these visuals throughout)
And then there was the ending! It fit the eerie dystopian setting at all...
5. Conclusion
As an action movie, this is fantastic- the sequences and visuals are well-executed. If a little more thought went into exploring the themes, and world-building, then this movie would be brilliant. My score would go higher that a 6.5. However it's a shame that they prioritised action over substance. I'm not asking for a highly philosophical debate, rather it would've been nice just to give us a little bit more. And maybe I would've cared more about our characters and where they eventually ended up.
However if I had to rate it overall, it's a 6.5-7/10. Occasionally it's okay to overlook certain aspects if characters or the world-building really shines. Sadly here, neither does and so it frustratingly never reaches its potential due to the lack of depth overall.
1. The Characters and Acting.
It's a bit hard to gauge whether it was simply bad acting or whether they were given very little to work with. Honestly, I've seen the actors in better roles. The film's setting could've been a great foundation to explore morally grey characters. Instead, we are given forgettable and oddly cliched characters. The female lead ends up being a damsel-in-distress. The male lead is a tortured soul. The antagonists are tough militants.
The attempt to make the leads a little more interesting in the second half falls flat. It just didn't work in the movie's favour to create these plot twists out of the characters' actions because it just highlighted the tonal inconsistency.
2. World-Building
The opening sequence was fantastic, sets the dystopian world very well. And that's all we see of it. It's frustrating how we never see more development because it would've helped us to understand why our characters are doing what they're doing. The visuals are a little jarring, especially when it transitions from the conflict into present day 2029. Although it's not far off from today, it would've helped if things looked more 'dystopian'. Similar to my comments about the characters, the lack of world-building shone a light on the movie's inconsistency in tone.
3. Music and Action
Best parts of the movie. I have no major issues with how the score accompanied the theme. The gunfights/ action scenes were excellent as the choreography/ direction here was fantastic.
4. Story/ Adaptation
I can't comment on how faithful this adaptation has been, although I've read that it's fairly respectful of the original source material (except for the ending). The story was simple and unfortunately the attempt to deepen the plot with a fairytale analogy wasn't executed well. The illustrative aspects of it was stunning, on par with the opening sequence (and I wished they used more of these visuals throughout)
And then there was the ending! It fit the eerie dystopian setting at all...
5. Conclusion
As an action movie, this is fantastic- the sequences and visuals are well-executed. If a little more thought went into exploring the themes, and world-building, then this movie would be brilliant. My score would go higher that a 6.5. However it's a shame that they prioritised action over substance. I'm not asking for a highly philosophical debate, rather it would've been nice just to give us a little bit more. And maybe I would've cared more about our characters and where they eventually ended up.
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