swedzin

I was searching for some new SF / action films and I discovered Kill Command after I saw the poster with the giant robotic machine on it. I wasn't swayed away that much, but I kind of liked the design. So, I decided - let's check this one out. And I was not disappointed.

The plot is pretty simple. It is set in the near future, the team of marines are assigned to go in training facility for two days to test the latest robots for practice. However, things go bad when they discover that machines started to develop and upgrade themselves. So, it is a pretty typical cliché story. Some people say that this film is reminiscent of "Terminator", "Predator" etc. Me, personally, I think it is more close to "Screamers", because the plot is almost the same. About machines that built and upgrade themselves. Through the movie, there isn't too many exciting scenes, it is a generic stuff of human soldier VS machines.

The movie is directed and written by Steven Gomez. Gomez has worked on visual effects on at least dozen films, so this is his debut as a writer/director. Which explains this film's very solid CGI. But, about that later. I think that Gomez directed and wrote this film fairly, but I think he has to learn more on how to develop characters more and to make them more deep, interesting and likeable. Which brings me to characters. I think they are the weak point of the film. The characters are pretty much generic. They are really not that likeable or relating. The team of marines is led by Cpt. Bukes, played by Thure Lindhardt. Thure seems like a competent actor, but flat in his performance. I think that his character was weak. He starts off as an off-beat guy who does not like machines or AI and he automatically has a dislike towards one of the temporary members of the team. And afterwards, because of the obvious circumstances and plot he decreases his dislike just to survive. OK, fair enough. So, the disliked, temporary team member is Mills. She is an advanced cyborg, or android. She is played by Vanessa Kirby, I think she done well playing a cyborg. And that's about it, there isn't much to her character. The other ones are nothing special, but I must say that Drifter (David Ajala) is pretty much likeable of the bunch... however as the movie progresses, he did not leave some certain impression. Which brings me back to Gomez, who I think still needs to mature in writing interesting characters.

So, let's discuss other things. Music score was nothing special, or memorable. Editing was decent. Action scenes were solid, but not that quite intense. Now, scenery was really good. At least 60 percent of film is occurring in the woods. I think that was because of the budget. However, I think that shots of the woods were well used. Now, CGI is good in most of scenes and I highly appreciate the usage of practical effects. Now, the best thing - production design. The costumes are OK, they look like today's marine uniform with some modifications, I think that the budget did not allow to create something more slicker. The same things goes for weapons, I think the weapons could have been a touch better. The interior and exterior design is just great and to mention the design of robots. It think it's amazing. With high detail and really cool looking parts. So, these robots are used for training in the film, but they managed to give robots this sophisticated looks. Non-threating in a way, but still nice looking.

So, overall this is one pretty interesting-looking B film. I highly recommend this film to people who enjoy watching something simple and enjoyable, with robots and soldiers. I am hoping that the actors and the director Gomez will have more offers and jobs to prove their talents, I would truly like to see their further progress. And to tell you the truth, I enjoyed this film more than some certain BIGGER SF films which came out during 2016-2018. Enjoy this pleasurable little SF film.

So, Victor Salva returned after a pretty long time, well he did a few more horror films before, but in a very long time, he didn't manage to make a worthy film. He mostly dedicated himself to horror films, and I don't know what his intent is, but his horror films are cheap and uninteresting. I know that it's not the subject here, maybe Salva can't get a decent budget, or access to some big studio because of his conviction of sexual molestation of a minor during 90s. OK, that's not the point here. So let's dive in.

Salva gives us a story, who knows where or, when, probably in the 80s. This time, more people are aware of the Creeper and they have a special police task force for hunting him. The other sub plot is a farm where an old woman and her granddaughter are having a hard time living financially, but the focal point is that the old woman (played by Meg Foster), has something on her farm that is of crucial importance. Salva stated in the interview that this will be the SCARIEST of all "Creepers" films... Well, he lied.

And, let's talk about it. The story is dull, script is generic, the movie has dumb, non-interesting and cliché characters. To mention that the film itself has some very, old cliché formulas. For example, the phone without contact bars and car that won't start. Really? If you have these elements in your horror film in 2017, that means that you are either stupid, or lazy. Now, the characters... Before I start to talk about actors, I would like to point out that there are characters in the film that basically burst out of nowhere, and try to act all important in their scenes. It's just obnoxious and doesn't serve us anything interesting, nor intriguing. First of all, Stan Shaw and Meg Foster. Two biggest names here, both were well known names during 70s and 80s. And they were casted because of their names. But, the problem is, they are pretty much forgotten. Only a keen moviegoer would recognize them. Others and new generations... Not that much. Still, they were the best actors in the film. Stan was interesting, but his character was one dimensional. Meg's character also was one dimensional and... She didn't age well. I bet they didn't use any make up on her. And I think that she was casted because of her old looks and her trademark blue, piercing eyes, just to look more weirder to the audience. But, all that was also wasted. Other actors didn't do much. They were dull meat sacks in a typical horror film. Johnathan Breck returns as Creeper. But, they also gave him a little to work with here. Breck was interesting in the first two films, but here, nothing new. He had much more personality before. The Creeper design is basically the same, this time with a red long sleeve shirt. Why? I think they wanted him to look like Freddy Krueger. Just look at him. At first glance, he does look like Freddy. That's a pathetic move. Anything to make your character appealing to audience. How stupid they think we are? Also, I think that they decided to give more screen time to the famous "Beatngu" truck. And here the truck, basically is rigged with unexplained, silly traps. So silly, in fact, that the creeper fell for one of them. Aw, Jesus...

On occasions, but only few times, the film keeps you invested. Just for a short time. And some action scenes are tolerable and fun to watch. Don't expect more than that. In conclusion, this is one, dull movie that offers nothing new and nothing exciting in the horror genre. The important thing is that the rabbit is free! The people who watched this film will understand this last remark.

This is one of those rare occasions where you can play the AVP game, and still enjoy it. In my opinion, it was kinda enjoyable, but the bad things is... it sucked for me.

Now, let me explain. The idea to create a new AVP game (even in 1999) was a good thing. The design in the game is good. When it comes to the final look of marines, aliens and predator. Of course, it was taken from the films, so basically, the design from the movies was well adapted into the game. Seriously, the developers did a good job of putting exterior and interior design, which is inspired by the films. The graphics, for 1999, were swell. To mention that Half-Life was released a year earlier, or so, you can clearly see that the graphics are pretty much the same. The sound effects were great and the music score - I think that was the best. A really high-voltage in action sequences with Predator and Marine, and very creepy and atmospheric with Alien. But, that is why I only give it 5 stars.

Here's why it sucked. The controls. The controls are unbearable! When you, for example, run so fast (with all three campaigns), the entire situation of your character becomes uncontrollable. The enemies, sometimes jumps out so fast, so you collide with them first, before you open fire. On occasion, you can't even see who, or from where, is attacking you. Even when you are walking, you basically slip. Yep, the surface is pretty slippery. And when you are running... that's even more terrible. This is one reason to get your frustration high. The next is limited game saving. Why can't I save my game normally? I never found it normal to have limited saving slots. That makes the game intense, sure. But not in the gameplay or atmosphere, but rather in frustrating way that you have to count your saves. And all that while you are moving like a Road Runner on a slippery surface. The atmosphere was not that good. I mentioned that the design is good and well adapted, but when it comes to the switches and buttons, or maybe vent opening that you need to brake to proceed... there were moments when you just can't distinguish one from another. Especially in Alien missions. That was even more frustrating. The game has a lack of story, but I can understand it, in a way. And you can clearly see that the developers wanted to devout themselves to other stuff, but not in the story. It was an older game and maybe, they didn't have enough time, or resources to put a more complex story. The plot, or missions are given in marine (and Predator) missions from a computer screens where you can hear and see your superiors spewing commands and giving you guidance through level. Pretty solid idea, but in all three campaigns , those dudes on screen were such a bad actors, and with their weird accents, it just makes it more funnier.

At least I won't deny that game play is pretty cool with all three campaigns. You really feel like a Predator, or Alien... but not that much. Because sometimes melee attacks, or some of the weapons are bad, the targeting is bad with Predator, for example.

So, to conclude, the game has a lot frustrating moments, and it basically repels you. I remember the first time I tried to play it... I was instantly repelled. But, years later I decided to give it another shot and I beat it. But, I wasn't satisfied enough. So, if you are the fan of the games and movies, this is your thing. But I would rather recommend AVP 2 (2001) and AVP (2010).