S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of the Zone

This movie gives you nothing if you haven't played S. T. A. L. K. E. R., and if you have played S. T. A. L. K. E. R. And lived with Strelok in its deep, desolate, ruined, poetic, dark, eerie, and dangerous world, then you will find this movie an insult to yourself and to that masterpiece of game making.

This film is shallow and worthless, a waste of even its very small $340,000 budget.

About 55 minutes of this film are wasted, and the film could have said All its own tasteless joke in about 15 minutes.

The only three stars I give this movie are because of the acting.

They are good actors who are stuck in a bad story and trying to save the movie from falling apart.

Chris James Berberidis and Michael Scott Crabb are far beyond a movie like this.

The world of S. T. A. L. K. E. R. And its story, creatures, and strange phenomena have great potential and merit to become a great and beautiful film.

A world that has been destroyed by this film.

I have been waiting for the release of this film since it's announcement and I have not been left disappointed

From the very start of this film, it grips you with a well choreographed action scene steeped in an knowledgeable amount of realism you don't see everywhere and the rest of the action in the film follow suit.

The story is easy to follow and straight forward but is by no means lacking, every exposition through dialogue or through the scene feels natural and each scene leaves onto the next leaving the former with distinction.

The cast are brilliant although the dialogue between them is mostly kept brief it's perfect for the setting and keeps everything left to the point. The scenes where Russian is spoken it never feels uncanny and it feels like it really made a big difference. The sets and locations feel like you are in the Exclusion Zone and help you place yourself in the setting.

The costumes and gear are a bit clean especially for the Monolith agents but the gear and weapons feel appropriate and the vests and rigging look full and like they are actually being used properly.

The whole film had me gripped tightly for the approximate hour it took to watch and I will watch it again. Massive props to all the crew for all the hard work they put in. It has paid off, I want to see these folks succeed and move on to bigger things.

I've never played the STALKER games but I loved the book Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers, which is very clearly what the game is based on. This takes a more paramilitary approach to the zone than the book, factions fighting over territory with some sporadic anomalies. That's where I was somewhat disappointed.

I enjoyed the paramilitary stuff, I can feel how this is emulating a video game, but I would have liked more anomalies. In this they seem like a bit of a nuisance that can be avoided if you're careful, where in the book they're beyond human understand entirely and the stalkers are simply the people who have good instincts and recognize patterns well enough to get through the zone. Until they eventually don't.

So if you're looking for a Roadside Picnic adaptation this probably won't scratch the itch, but I thought it was better than the Tarkovsky movie. Maybe not as faithful, but certainly more entertaining.

At best, this feels like some sort of college project or assignment. Everything in the film is as flimsy as a soaked sheet of newspaper. The lack of budget is the first and most obvious flaw-it shows in every single frame. The action scenes creak like rusty gears. The dialogue sounds like it was written by an AI without a premium subscription.

I'm not even a fan of the video game of the same name, and still, I can't understand how the copyright holder allowed such an abomination to be made-let alone carry the name STALKER (insert dots where necessary).

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone.

I've played everything in the S. T. A. L. K. E. R. Franchise. I'll rate 2 starts for the atmosphere. Not a single eastern made weapon or car in sight. I strongly believe that some fan made movie with soft air weapons, a bit of cosplay and even filmed with a smartphone would most probably get better results with a bit of respect to the franchise. Reading through other reviews I'm amazed how little people know about S. T. A. L. K. E. R. But are ready to shoot good numbers at this mess of a movie. They either new to this or hired bots. Next time put everyone on set play at least an hour of any of the games in the series.