The Division: Agent Origins

Corridor Digital has made multiple small projects, a large number of them inspired by video games, but this is by far their best work. They picked the right actors, worked with two excellent directors, and made a short film that proves that video game movies don't have to suck. While so many things are done right, there are a few shortcomings. Due to the limits of a shorter run-time, plot is occasionally sacrificed for action. This action focus also leads strange things that seem out of place to occur. I only wish that there had been more dialogue and less gunfire. Regardless of these downers, the overall piece is highly entertaining.

As a fan of the game series, I was a little disappointed that this series did not expand further on the already very rich narrative of The Division. However, I can appreciate the cinematography and well framed action shooting it took to put all this together. Taken as a whole, this is a pretty decent addition, even if it is short on narrative.

TOM CLANCY'S THE DIVISION: AGENT ORIGINS - now there's a title to contend with! - is a short, 31 minute action film that seems to have been made purely to sell a video game series made by Ubisoft. I'm no gamer, so I don't know anything about that, but what I can confirm is that this short film is very well made and much better than a lot of full-length action thrillers.

First, the bad stuff: there's no real story here, just a collection of action sequences. The setting is an anarchic New York, where a viral pandemic has laid most of the population low and the streets are filled with murderers and looters. The heroes are a group of 'sleeper' agents who must come together to combat lawlessness.

I have to say that the action sequences in this film are very well achieved. There are hand to hand fight scenes here alongside free running and some violent shoot-outs. The camera-work is very nicely achieved and although the characterisation is nil you still end up admiring the athleticism of the participants. Although in essence this film is little more than a lengthy advert, it's a really entertaining one!

They had the opportunity to give depth to characters that probably do nothing else than shoot people in the game. They did not. The premise is ridiculous as well: a sleeper agency that can be activated only in case of "real" emergencies, meanwhile they live like ordinary citizens. Where is all the training coming from, then?

The feel of the short is interesting, with people trying to fend for themselves, while infected people, escaped convicts and eradication squads are roaming the city. The ultimate purpose of the squad is not clear, though. They just meet somewhere and kill the convicts in a rather unconvincing firefight. What is their ultimate goal? How did they become agents in the first place? For a story title Origins, you get nothing more than a text scroll explaining the thing.

Bottom line: all you have to do is look up game play videos from shooter games and choose the ones that are the most liked by people and put them together in a coherent story. They did none of this. The actors are mediocre, the visuals are almost bad and the budget ridiculously low.

Tom Clancy's titles have found success on both cinema and video game, so there's bound to be tie-in project along the road. However, Agent Origins is more of teaser for a video game rather than a full movie experience, that's not to say it's low in quality. For the short thirty minutes there are multiple facets of action one would expect from famous name, although there's little depth and intricacy here.

This is a simple rendezvous gig for several agents as they gather for one mission. Unfortunately, the backstory of the world, and its viral outbreak theme are not fully fleshed out, its short runtime is mostly used for nifty parkour or shootout. There's no vengeance, patriotism or even greed for motivation, these people just simply meet up and shoot people. It would have been better if the creator had prolonged the action movie to present more than cool military combat sequences, but it is still a visually pleasing work.

There are lots of melee and gunslinging action packed into the short movie, certainly poised with brutal choreography and fast pace. It shows some clever tricks fans of action, especially gamers would appreciated. For most parts it's a solid presentation throughout, with the exception of one or two hiccup in screenplay. The effect for gunshot or explosion can be slightly jarring, but it does convey the right color tone for its premise.

It's quite a missed opportunity to not produce actual back story, in a work called "Agent Origins", but the flashy and stylish shootout is a crowd pleaser, which understandably its original objective; a long snazzy trailer.