Playground

As this film opens a group of killers head to an apartment intending to kill a man. A girl opens the door and tells them she is Amy, his daughter. She invites then in for coffee and soon she has killed them all! This was a test to see if she can join a school that trains youngsters to become assassins. Once there her training begins. Inevitably there is some conflict with fellow students and exercises that could prove deadly. She also learns details about her parents' deaths that disturb her and raise questions about who she can trust.

While watching this I had no idea that it started life as a web series as the original episodes are now chapters in the film. It starts well with an opening that quickly grips the viewer then, even though it features plenty of genre clichés, it maintains the pace with exciting action throughout. The film is very much centred on Amy but the other characters are solid as well. Some of them are clearly flagged as ones to be suspicious of from the start but others are more ambiguous. The cast does a fine job, especially Amalia Holm who really excels as Amy. The design of the school; grungy looking, adds to the film's atmosphere. Until the credits rolled I didn't realise this was based on an idea by Luc Besson; I wasn't surprised though as elements made me think of 'Nikita' while watching. Overall I'd recommend this to those people who enjoy films like 'Hanna'... even if this isn't quite in its league.

A big idea, big name series (from Luc Besson, noted French screenwriter, film director and producer). It's a novel low budget, made for an app (hence the short 10 minute episodes) experiment that didn't survive past the first 10 episode season. Kudos to the young cast who poured body and soul into their characters. Amalia Holm shows why she will rise to be a star. The performances, alone, are why I give this series a 7 (good) out of 10. {Action}

When I started watching Playground, it was reminiscent of a few movies I've seen before. Lo and behold, it is an original idea from Luc Besson, the French film director, screenwriter, and producer who directed/produced La Femme Nikita (the original movie), The Fifth Element, Lucy, and many others.

In the beginning I did not understand why the episodes were so short, but after further research, Playground was made for the Blackpills app, which featured 10 minutes or less per episode, like the former American app, Quibi. Due to the short-form streaming media, there is not much time to address backgrounds of the main characters. The main plot was easy to follow, and each episode stood out on its own. Loved the quirks of sarcasm added in here and there. The acting was good, and it made me understand where each character's choices were coming from. The action sequences were beautifully choreographed and shot.

This show is exactly like Divergent except minus a storyline. There was also no character development and I learned nothing about the main characters at all, so I had no emotional attachment to anyone who died. I just expected more of a story to come out of this than action, but this show is still watchable and I enjoyed some parts of it.

I watched the film (movie) version on Amazon, not realising it was initially released as a short format mini-series. And it sort of worked. It did leave me wanting to know more about the characters and the shadowy organisations they worked for. The lead character (Amalia Holm) is great and I'll be seeking out more of her work. The relationship with Hannah (Ann Skelly - also good) was worthy of more exploration. All the young actors put their heart and soul into their roles.

The action sequences were good.

I would have loved the film to include more 'missions' for 'the kids'. I was hoping it would go down a 'Charlies Angels' route - 'Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the Assassins' School'.

I was left wondering who the good guys were - but I guess that was the point.

Ironically my overall impression was that this would make a great TV series!