Virtual Revolution

"The year is 2047. A century of technological revolution. The revolution did happen, just not really the way people thought it would."

Apparently there's one thing that'll never change, according to the movie "Virtual Revolution" which takes place in the near future.. And that's the attitude of the political establishment towards the citizens. I concluded that after Dina said the following: "If the politicians want to keep things the way they are, it's because they benefit from it". That's also the most wise thing Dina (Jane Badler) had to tell, because the rest was just irrelevant drivel. But that's the only thing that annoyed me in this rather ambitious science fiction.

The makers have gathered a lot of impressions from other famous SF films. It's obvious they've re-watched "Blade Runner" several times to create a similar atmosphere. Paris from 2047 looks dark and deserted. An utopian city with lots of neon lighting. A big city with sky high futuristic buildings with small spaceships navigating in between them. Believe me, this film has the same appearance as "Blade Runner".

Only Paris seems to be sparsely populated. And this is because the majority of the population stay at home as they are continuously connected to virtual worlds called "verses". Nash (Mike Dopud) is a private detective employed by a multinational who developed and own these virtual worlds. The moment users are being murdered in these virtual worlds, he's sent out to investigate who's behind it. Turns out there's an underground movement of a group of hackers with one main goal : give the connected back their freedom.

"Virtual Revolution" alternately shows images from the real world and the virtual worlds. Honestly, I have to admit that the idea of walking around in such a virtual world sounds incredibly fascinating. Fragging in a Quake-like world or being a firmly muscled adventurer and defeating dragons in a world that resembles Skyrim. I'm sure you'll find me in such a comfy dentist's chair with headphones after a while. And trust me, I will have a swelling around my belly button as well. It all looks interesting. Certainly when you realize, just like Nash discovered to his surprise in a mirror, that you can transform into any desired individual of any gender you want.

Although this is a low-budget SciFi funded by crowdfunding and also the debut of Guy-Roger Duvert as a director, this movie looks impressive and slick. Maybe the story itself isn't groundbreaking and the introduction of a half-dressed virtual heroine waking up in the middle of a lesbian scene, feels like a rather cheap trick. For the rest it's admirable what they've put together. There were certain moments you could compare it with similar Hollywood films with a budget ten times bigger.

But what surprised me the most is the denouement. No predictable end like most blockbusters. It even contains an important message. A message about human liberties and choices that one can make as an individual. Oh well, no big prizes will be won with this movie. But if you come across it somewhere on your VOD service, I would give it a chance. I recommend it and you won't regret it.

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On the surface Virtual Revolution looks enticing.

Regrettably, the not too shabby special effects and reasonable cast, can't make up for this films conspicuous shortcomings. This flicks biggest flaw is its lack of imagination and originality. Virtual Revolution comes across as a rather basic knock off of films like Blade Runner and any other dystopian, futurist, sci fi, you care to name. Why on earth can't film makers look past older films and come up with some new, fresh ideas, of their own?

Virtual Revolution's cause is not helped by rather uninspiring narrative and scripting either. I found the characters bland and uninteresting, with no real depth or substance to them.

The result is a film that's alright for those who have no point of comparison. Unfortunately for veteran viewers like myself, who have had exposure to superb films like Blade Runner, this one pales into insignificance. A five out of ten from me.

Good plot, good dialog, saves the movie from the obvious low budget. Music suits the movie theme. Composed by the director even. Some visual effects catch your eye for not being "Hollywood standard". I've seen worse visual effects with way more budget. Still impressive piece of work with actors doing their best within what they've given. For a low budget scifi flick I'm more than entertained. The storyline was easy to follow and some minor distractions were saved by lively dialogue (my mother language is not English so I don't pay much detail to subtle nyances in dialogue). Very enjoyable scifi flick to pass the time with a nice thought provoking plot.

First, in an effort to be positive: There are so many things in this film done amazingly well - especially considering the budget. The cinematography was quite good, the production design and props were - again, for the money - amazing. Costume department had a strong showing. Well done. The special effects were not groundbreaking, but for groundbreaking special effects, it seems you have to employ 1,000 VFX artists. (You ever count the names in the VFX section of the credits of a blockbuster? That's a small city right there.) In any event, the effects were good enough to not be a distraction.

The creative aspects of this film, sadly, did not live up to the technical achievements. I understand that this film is strongly influenced by Blade Runner, Inception, The Matrix, perhaps the book Ready Player One (which Spielberg has made into a film). No issues there. However, if you're going to play in that space, the characters have to be grounded, they have to pull you into the story. The dialogue has to be believable to the ear. The actors have to sell that world to the audience. This did not happen, as other reviewers have mentioned.

However, if you are starting out as a filmmaker, this is a great film to watch. You get to see that impressive visuals can be achieved with a modest budget ... and think about how much better it could have been if the writing had been a step up.

Definitely worth watching, from that perspective.

Ever wonder what Blade Runner would have been like if it had been an action film with a plot a hundred times less imaginative? Watch 2047: Virtual Revolution and you'll know.

Six stars for decent technical execution.