Shangri-La: Near Extinction

A recurring theme of my IMDB reviews is the script. I have seen great scripts lift up severely low budget film because it had a solid foundation.

Well I present to you my poster child for a lot of money spent on a movie in DESPERATE need of a script ... and scripting. This was dripping with opportunities. Real good cinematography. Even better effects for a not-so-low budget endeavor. Its possible the acting would be considered even better than that, if they hadn't been burdened with the worst script I have experienced in a long while.

In the barest of hope that the crew is reading this ... The script is the easiest and cheapest thing to improve since it only requires the writers/directors to be involved and spend the time to make something good. This is well before you start paying cast and crew members. This script was HORRIBLE. You couldn't delay starting this movie for a month (or more like 3, as bad as this script was) before starting to shoot? SHAME ON YOU! The cast and crew now suffer for your impatience, as they have to live with the low ratings this movie will receive, or worse, for the high ratings it could have received.

Shangri-La: Near Extinction presents an ambitious premise, following a group of soldiers on a desperate quest to find Shangri-La after the spread of a deadly plague and the rise of a man-made ice age designed to eradicate the disease, leaving humanity on the brink of extinction. While the concept offers rich potential, the execution sadly falls apart on nearly every front. The scenery, though occasionally memorable, stands as one of the film's few redeeming qualities, hinting at the depth the film could have achieved with more careful world-building. The film utterly fails to provide engaging protagonists & felt rushed at times.

I tried, I really did. I think maybe the folks saying it "could" have been good may be right. It's just that I couldn't figure out how. Definitely not the worst movie I've ever seen.

I admit I only made it about 20 minutes into the video. All of it up to that point had been shot inside a warehouse somewhere. The described events didn't match up with the video. Looked more like a walk through of the script without any set design. I would guess they have invested about 5 grand in costume and warehouse rental. Don't waste your time.

The concept is great! Good piece for newbie actor/tress to cut their teeth on.