Gauntlet

This film is proof that if you have a dream, a solid work ethic, a willingness to learn new skills, patience, a positive attitude, and a supportive community around you, that you can create worlds out of thin air. You don't need a budget or Hollywood connections. You can make it happen. Jeff Loehrke proves that one man can write, direct, shoot, act in, edit, and create stunning visual effects to make a dream a reality. Gauntlet is a spectacle to see. It goes above and beyond what independent filmmaking can do. And it's so much fun! Make some popcorn, turn down the lights, and enjoy this cinematic feast!

After watching this film, there are some high points and some points that could have improvement.

High points: The visual effects were outstanding! It's hard to believe that this wasn't done by a studio where more than one person would have been working on it. The colors chosen throughout the film were intriguing and interesting and set within the 90's time period well. The music composer did an excellent job of helping me to feel the emotion of the movie even more. The story was compelling to watch. Suriv's performance was comical, yet very well done.

The areas that could have some improvement is what would be expected with a very low budget film. Part of it was some of the acting. It was evident it was the early part of some of their careers. Then outside of the visual effects pieces, some of the camera work could have been less grainy, but that was mostly at the very beginning and very end of the film. However, that could have been part of the vision for a film that takes place in the 90's.

Do the high points outweigh the low? Absolutely.

Have I watched it more than once? Yes.

Would I recommend it as an interesting, fun watch for a Friday night? Yes.

I've been wanting to check this one out for a while. I knew that the production was several years in the making, given all the animation/graphics that were involved. It's a super fun flick that really shows how much you can accomplish when you're willing to take on piles of work and not stop until you reach the top of the mountain. It's an indie passion project so it's obviously going to be a different experience than watching the next $200 million dollar studio sci-fi movie but if you're up for something different you should check it out. I look forward to seeing what this team comes up with next!

Knowing the context of how this movie was made, almost no budget, shot mostly in the directors garage and all VFX was done by one person on one computer over a 10 year period, makes you marvel at the accomplishment even if at times it shows that it's a no budget film. Suriv is my favorite, his performance was excellent. Story was fun to watch and I enjoyed the fight scenes! For sure worth the time to watch this film and appreciate the talent and discipline of a VFX artist/director. Is it as polished as a marvel high budget movie? Obviously not, but it doesn't matter, it's awesome for what it is, excellent film!

The story behind this movie is amazing: a one man show writing, directing, and editing over the course of a decade. Gauntlet is an incredible showing of VFX and visually beautiful. Many scenes really brought the viewer in due to the amount of detail. I really liked a lot of the character play and interaction throughout. The story was fun and an easy, entertaining watch. Some of the character wardrobe could've been improved, and some of the acting felt amateur at times. But this was a low budget film taken on by essentially one man, so some shortcomings are expected. But Gauntlet is a great watch and a good time.