The Division: Agent Origins

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!

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.

The scenario is very poor, in many cases it is not logical. Modern action movie (already classic) American: excellent effects, poor scenario, no logical thread. I suspect positive reviews - from the producer. The first part of this was much better done. But this is very badly done. Hardly I can find 5 rows to describe this time loss called short film.

If you are a fan of the game this film delivers. If you are going into this expecting some sort of cinematic masterpiece you will be disappointed. In this short You see the different game factions interacting with one another, and if you are among the thousands that have put countless hours into the game, it is worth the watch.