Narcopolis

***EDIT

2018-01-21

Okay, I just re-watched this, and I do NOT know what the hell I was smokin' when I originally reviewed this, but quite honestly this film a near masterpiece! Serious 'Hard' Science Fiction, well done, beautifully conceptualized. I cannot understand for the life of me why the average rating for this film is only 4.4 at this moment. This is truly one of THE very best Sci Fi films that I have seen in a very long time. Powerful, effective, and most DEFINITELY engaging!

*******

Clearly, the director and everyone involved poured their hearts into the making of this film. The performances are quite good. It's an interesting touch that the boy and the Mother in the film are in actuality the wife and son of the director. The boy is particularly good in his role, and although not really having much experience in heavy duty acting, he really did an outstanding job, especially in his scenes with his screen Dad.

The cinematography was also very good with some nice shots of futuristic looking buildings from different countries in contrast with some rather stark UK interior shots. Apparently, they had VERY little money to work with, but considering that, I thought they did an EXCELLENT job of putting this movie together. The editing and pacing are good. I particularly liked the sound design. I thought that it fit the scenes really well with a nice mix of Industrial and moody backgrounds that were quite effective.

The director mentions in his commentary that he deliberately left the last act and the ending slightly ambiguous, which is fine. I don't mind ambiguous endings at all, and I felt the film ended on just the right note... Another great example of a similarly themed movie (although having to do with memory) is the excellent French film 'CHRYSALIS' (2007) which I would also HIGHLY recommend for a Futuristic Crime Thriller!

I would keep in mind, though, that if you are expecting a really HUGE, epic Sci Fi Blockbuster (like the Awesome 'BLADE RUNNER' for example) this movie isn't about that. The look, cinematography, and style are very nicely done, but the Sci Fi elements are more downplayed and low-key. So, you might not get quite as worked up as you would for other Science Fiction films that have more effects and action, since this one is more concept and character driven. BUT... with that said, when the Sci Fi part of the story kicks in about half way through, the concept and story are very well thought out and executed, and the film most definitely DOES leave the audience wondering and asking themselves what the hell is going to happen next...

I had originally given the film a '7', but just after rewatching it now just about 3 years later, I most enthusiastically give it a strong '8'

Very highly recommended!

I would have given it 7 stars for the plot and idea, but this movie so very messy. I just can't help but giving it five. The characters lack depth, the scenery is very messy and the plot is just so tangled you just find it hard to keep track of the conversations and all the events that take place in the movie. This is generally a fun and refreshing sci fi thriller that deals with a shady future and it that sense the setup does look gray and depressing. The problem is with the characters who lack depth and it's not easy to figure out their background - with messy flashbacks not being as clear as they perhaps were meant to be. The story is somewhat tangled and has a few unexplained holes with conversations that are vague and unclear and characters behaving unreasonably.

It's a movie that deserves a good word but somehow the mess just ruins the party and when the movie ends, you just have this empty feeling of "oh it ended... I didn't even notice it until the credits appeared".

Drugs and time travel - that's like ham and eggs right? Can't have one without the other correct? a perfect marriage

True but after watching this mess, even a liter of black coffee couldn't keep me from dozing off to slumber city in parallel universe

Narcopolis ( "Narcopolice"? ) just loses itself in trying to tie too many loose ends that seem to be caught in a vortex of bad Sy Fy writing where no hack has gone beyond.

Hate being hard on a movie - regardless of budget, it is still someone's creative sweat equity - but this is a real stinker

But if you are suffering from insomnia...this might be the right drug for ya.

The Good: wonderful plot that even had me guessing wrong when it was revealed there was a twist, I still guessed the twist wrong. Unpredictable plot and even minor plot lines, like the family dynamic - just never what you think it's going to be, and you're just so pleasantly surprised by the writing and by each scene. Acting - just phenomenal, all around, from every actor, some of them big picture actors who obviously chose this indie flick bc it is solidly GOOD scifi.

The Bad: Some of the plot points are pretty hard to follow, but when that happens in a bigger budget picture, like Memento, ppl are like GENIUS - can I get a WHAT WHAT. How about we DON'T dumb everything down to the point that ppl become brainless idiots, even if we have to think to follow the story and sometimes can't. The sound and cinematography values are Blair Witch' Projects younger sibling-work.

The Ugly. NOT the lead actor. He is HECKA hot. Can I get some more, please sir?

I decided to watch this film, on a wet and windy day. Much as i tried it was very difficult to hear the dialogue, and this common problem persists with many films, on offer on film packages ( sky movies etc ). What makes this problem so frustrating, is that numbers of films are allowed to be made with this handicap. I gave up after 20 minutes, as it looked interesting. H B O or Home Box Office create wonderful drama programmes, and unfortunate mugs like me, suffer from great expectations, all because we believe that being able to hear the spoken word.should be possible Rating ....4