Reminiscencia

The reviews are so overwhelmingly negative that I almost feel a moral obligation to come to the defense of this movie.

It is not a prefect effort, and perhaps it could have been better. But it is solid work for what it is. A great deal of thought, talent, and craftsmanship went into making this film, and it shows. The story was engaging. Honestly, I was bracing for boredom and found myself somewhat riveted once the story got going after the first 10 minutes or so. Parts of this movie were quite beautiful in design as well as narrative.

Without giving too much away, the story somewhat mirrors Vertigo, but within a film noir format. Perhaps it could have been better if the narrative was more realistic and gritty vs. Artistic and noir-ish - but who knows?

Lisa Joy ought to be commended for an intriguing story, meticulous and nuanced direction, and good pacing that causes neither confusion nor boredom - two ailments that many modern movies suffer from.

This isn't an action or superhero flick. You've got to pay attention and have your thinking hat on. If that's not your idea of entertainment, then take a pass. It is very respectable work. Enjoy it.

It's an interesting concept, set in an interesting world of sci fi and film noir.

Unfortunately it dosn't work as well as it should, or is it as smart as it wants to be.

It's not without some great scenes, or without a great cast and characters. Some of the characters are great but feel badly drawn. Full respect to Cliff Curtis. He stands out. ( an oddly unappreciated actor )

It's a tragedy, but only if you manage to watch it to the end.

Good performances? Check. Good cinematography? Check. Creative visual effects? Check. Intriguing concept and interesting introductory world building? Check.

A boring, generic corporate corruption plot? Check. Not knowing what the actual central conflict of the film is until about 90 minutes in? Check. Underdeveloped character relationships that completely cause the audience to not understand or care why our lead character is so hell-bent on doing the things he does? Check. Not including any plot or character elements that relate to the weird semi-apocalyptic setting of the movie, rendering it utterly pointless? Check.

Lisa Joy thought her TV skills would transfer to film. They don't. It's a different method of storytelling, and her episodic techniques used here are so frustrating and boring to watch in a feature film.

This should've been an HBO mini-series.

Any movie that might bring anyone to read on certain things ... is good in my book. And while I assume that some watching this, may not have heard of Orpheus story ... they hopefully will look it up.

Having said that, I understand that for some Hugh Jackman may look like he's not fully involved in here at times. But the fact this feels like a Science Fiction noir ... well that really tingled me quite a lot. Also the overall casting is amazing. Daniel Wu may only be a bit player here, but his charisma and coolness oozes of the screen.

Add to that a wonderful cinematography and you could do far worse here. The story may be predictable to a degree and certain things may not make too much sense, but there is a philosophical note here ... and an ending that is the best possible I assume ... but you may judge differently.

The premise may be interesting, but the story telling makes the film flat and dull. There's little chemistry between characters. I don't care about what happens to them, or rebar happens to the story.