Debug

Though fun might not be the right word for it. Still if you have a thing for Science Fiction movies and do not mind, if they are low budget and filled with some gore and plenty of action. It also features very bad character decision and some questionable acting. But it's all in the fun of it (if you're having it, that is).

Actually the set design is not that bad for the money had. The blood and general special effects are more than decent too. You can see where this is going (in contrast to some of the characters and their very poor choices, but then again, they were criminals, more or less), so no surprises there. But the movie is done nicely and it is entertaining most of the time

This is one of the best on-a-shoestring-budget films I have seen in a while. The CGI isn't bad, the acting is solid and their is plenty of action.

All that said this movie isn't a great way to spend two hours. With a lot of indie films you can not only forgive dodgy effects but delight in them, they are somehow part of it. Debugs slickness actually works against it, the few dodgy elements like the ludicrously clean cut bad guy and the odd flickery greenscreen-work stick out like sore thumbs. Instead of a friendly, grungy production this has a distinct whiff of corporate Hollywood about it, which again makes it harder to love.

The story is straight out of a Twilight Zone episode, nothing special.

Actors mainly do OK, predictably the beautiful ladies get down to their vest and pants before the bad guy comes after them. I had no doubt who was going to make it out alive but to be honest I didn't really care.

A very good effort but Nothing special.

The Good Bits

1.Firstly, when watching this you have to remember this is a low budget movie. It's never going to have the slick VFX of blockbusters like the new Star Trek films. That said, I think both the VFX and SFX were really good. I totally bought that these people were in deep space on a ship. The id chips and the personal visual displays were particularly good.

2.You can tell Jason Momoa is having a good time playing the bad guy - and he does a solid job. Adrian Holmes also puts in a good performance as the corrupt warden in charge of the group.

3. The opening 20-30 minutes are well paced and set up the story well. The first part of the film creates an unsettlingly clinical atmosphere that unfortunately is not sustained throughout the film. The ending wraps things off nicely and feels like a satisfactory conclusion for the audience.

The Not So Good Bits

1. Characterisation. I felt if you removed several of the debug crew from the film it would not affect the plot in any way e.g. the characters Samson Connoly and Lara Riley felt like they were extraneous.

2. The fact that all but one of the female characters stripped down to their underwear, for generally unknown and spurious reasons, while none of the men so much as rolled up their sleeves. It made this film feel like, despite it's futuristic storyline, the writing belongs to history bin.

This one stars really bad and you can tell that the budget will be an important factor but with time it gets better and once you get used to the image, you can start checking out the plot.

Is it anything like Hackers? A ship with a Evil mind going on a killing spree and the only way to stop it is to fight a program with another better program, hackers doing what they do best, some visual effects here and there, a little blood, no scares, ah and if you are a girl a lot of Momoa. So no, not much to do with real hacking, just a half decent horror scifi, I've seen better, I've seen worse, I would never recommend Debug to anyone tho. It's just a production, a way for the people involved in the making of it to show what they are capable of and try to snatch a bigger project in the near future. I wish them all good luck, I think they can do more!

Debug is better than Stranded per example but it ain't no Event Horizon either. I gave it a 4.

Cheers!

The highlight of the movie is watching Sidney Leeder's character flirt, tease, and taunt other crew. She's one of the few characters that has some depth, motivation, and sense of fun.

Jason Momoa wasn't bad as a menacing AI, but he wasn't a character to empathize with - or even to love to hate. He ultimately had the 2 dimensional motivation of an AI following his programming, but with a maniacal murder streak. Without a truly 3 dimensional villain, he may as well be a glitchy computer or one with a loose wire. He seems to want to kill and torture... just because. Senseless violence is boring.

Some CGI was really entertaining. The best parts being those that blend into the scenes - like e-mail in their heads up displays. Parts of the ship were well done. The exterior shots were very well done.

Honestly, I think I'd have enjoyed the movie more without the killer AI - just fleshing out the prisoner characters' backgrounds and interactions more and their frustrations with the limitations of their freedoms. The movie is like a bad episode of Outer Limits where we get little exposition and narrative followed by mindless violence / action sequences meant perhaps to visually impress, but utterly lacking substance. Just having Momoa on a monitor talking was more menacing and entertaining than the whole opening sequence of the movie.

David Hewlett is one of my favorite actors. I applaud his effort in writing and directing a full length film. It's better than many made- for-TV Syfy channel craptastic flicks of the month. I think with some work, we could see this again in another form with more well rounded characters and a better story arc for the "heroes" and villain.

I wouldn't recommend the movie, but there are worse ways to spend your time. I'd describe it as having elements of Cube, Jason X, and Hackers. I'm hoping this was a proof of concept flick to show that David Hewlett is ready to take the helm of something larger.