Beyond White Space

Beyond White Space is no bad movie (for sure not the worst movie ever, like some reviewers claim) but also no good one - some parts are fun, some are rather boring. Acting and production are B-movie style, so if you like movies about space adventures and you need something new on your screen, you may give this Moby Dick "light" a try. The idea of hunting for "space whales" to feed mankind is of course cheese deluxe.

It is the 22nd Century. The USS Essex is travelling in the furthest reaches of the known Universe when it encounters a gigantic creature. It is then boarded by pirates who take their cargo and most of their supplies. The crew decide to capture the creature to make up for their loss of cargo.

I had low expectations for this movie. From the cast and crew you can tell it is very likely to be B-grade. The only known face among them all is Holt McCallany, of Mindhunter fame. Yet the movie isn't that bad.

Well, it's still not good, just not as bad as it could have been. Plot is basic but doesn't go off in too many detours. Direction isn't great but is functional. Characters are stereotypical but don't get cartoonish. Dialogue manages to avoid being cringeworthy. Some performances are pretty lame but most are okay.

Overall, not great but better than expected.

This is obviously B-movie fare. The actors, the story, even the whole idea is very much not top of the line.

BUT the production values are surprisingly good. I was frankly amazed at how well the CGI and sets stood up compared to the rest of the movie. The creatures are not as well made as the rest of the CGI, but still a fair notch above standard B movie quality.

If you are a scifi geek the world it is set in is enough to see it. The story itself is kind of lame. 5 stars for sets, CGI and space. 1 star for all the rest.

PS The guy saying that the effects are bad obviously wrote his review based on the poster and name of the movie.. No way he watched it.

Ken Locsmandi has a long and impressive background as a special effects master. Beyond White Space (BWS) was a very ambitious project for a first time director, since the story is essentially Moby Dick.

I personally love the idea of rebooting classics into the SF genre. The only problem is that they will inevitably be compared with the classics - very risky.

Moby Dick already has several excellent cinematic incarnations, most recently Heart Of The Sea. These have been big budget, big name productions able to attract seasoned directors and actors.

The special effects in BWS are top notch, as to be expected from Locsmandi. The acting however is hit and miss. This has to be laid on the director, since the actors do prove they can hit their mark occasionally.

I have a feeling too much of the budget went into CG, not filming the endless live takes of inexperienced actors required to hit the mark every time in the final cut.

Perhaps he should have cast at least one seasoned and proven actor to lead the others. It likely would have improved the overall performance. The acting seemed rushed, impatient even.

Well written, well acted and the story was ok too. I thought this was worth more than the IMDb rating it received. And I can't believe how much Zulay Henao reminded me of Megan Markle, just saying..