Prisoner X

I had this movie on my list-to-buy for a long time, just never got convinced to take the risk. There are no critical reviews for this movie and only a few hundred reviews on IMDB. And those reviews are wildly varied from low to high.

But, I finally took a chance on this movie today and watched it. I watched the whole movie from beginning to end, and I can honestly say it's a little sad that a movie this good seems to have been ignored by so many people, probably for the same reasons as I did.

After watching this whole movie, which I'm convinced most of the people who left low ratings did not bother to do, I can say this movie has one big thing going for it: pure science fiction. Not all the science is accurate, but it's much better than most movies that are considered sci-fi. Blended with the sci-fi was some decent drama. Together, they give this movie a very strong underlying story. This story is the kind of sci-fi story I can imagine paying to read.

The budget for this movie seems kind of low, but I expected that. And it doesn't really matter for this story. The acting was surprisingly very good considering I didn't recognize anyone in it, and I kind of expect poor acting in a low budget movie, but I saw no real sign of that. There were a couple of parts that had "OK" acting, but maybe only about 5 minutes out of the whole movie.

There were a few times during the movie when it seemed like it was getting predictable, like I knew where it was going and I'd been there before. But, that's the key with movies like this -- you have to take the whole thing in before making a judgement. In the end, it was not predictable, I didn't know where it was going until I got to the end, and I was very satisfied with that ending.

So, take a chance on this movie if you are a pure sci-fi fan and/or reader. Not only was it worth the money I paid to buy it, but I'll be watching it at least one more time. I honestly didn't believe I'd be saying that when I took the chance, so I'm very happy I took it.

Yes, it's low budget. No, you probably don't know any of the actors...

But...

This is a fantastic sci-fi film that will keep you guessing, keep you entertained and even give you some ideas to think about.

It's well paced, edgy and claustrophobic with an excellent story line.

The actors work hard and work well together.

No, it won't win any Oscars for anything but it will win your appreciation, of that I am sure.

I don't understand the low ratings? Maybe it's because there's only 19 reviews? People probably won't watch due to the low rating... BUT YOU'RE MISSING OUT!

This movie is truly original. I've watched it twice now, and still found little pieces I didn't pick up the first time around. If you're looking for Hollywood effects - cars blowing up, and people shooting 30 rounds from a .22 revolver, this is not for you! If you are looking for something that stimulates the mind, adds suspense, creates many 'what-if' scenarios - this is for you.

RECOMMENDATION: Highly recommend watching if you are looking for a well-written intellectual semi-futuristic (near future) film that will hold your attention - THIS IS THE HIDDEN GEM OF THE YEAR!!!

1. Cheap effects; what few there were. Cheap production with basically everything filmed in typical underground concrete bunker type room and lots of quick videos & photos of humanity doing harm to itself. So old & overused. Tiresome; not original. 2. So cheap they have no subtitles coupled with poor English enunciation and poor audio level control.Not that it matters that much since the dialogue was created by scientifically illiterate writers to sound scientifically intelligent. 3. Acting was soooo scripted robotic - stereotypical prisoner and interrogation methods. 4. Dumb science: Time traveler here to warn humanity; shows up out of nowhere and convinces interrogators by listing location and times for astronomical events. Cost to show us such overwhelming time traveler advanced capabilities - a piece of paper and a observatory photo. That's it for a civilization so advanced to just show up.

I read a review by another user complaining about low budget production cost. I'll remind him, 'Twelve Angry Men', was filmed in two rooms, with no special affects. I have seen tremendously budgeted films that have sucked *alls, 'Battlefield Earth', comes to mind off the top of my head. This was a minimalistic film with the most recognizable actor being 'The Grim Reaper', from Supernatural. But I enjoyed the story.