SoundsOKtoMe

Given current political tensions, this film can serve as a warning. Or maybe it's just solid, absorbing entertainment, like the WWII films my dad used to take me to see. But while this isn't a history lesson, it could become one, much in the same way as Idiocracy. This is a "what if" film, and offers food for thought unlike many others.

There are absurd partisan grumblings that this is a propaganda piece since it has been released in an election year. Yet there are no descriptions of the ideologies of the warring sides, no mentions of politics. And significantly, no sides taken by the journalists portrayed. They are logging the events as they unfold and being sucked in and affected by them as they happen. All the way up to the ending, no sides have been taken. "There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy, there's only you and me and we just disagree" (Jim Krueger)

Great cast, lots of action, but after the opening titles, it was all downhill. I'm not sure why I kept watching... most of all, the late great Roger Ebert gave it a great review, so I persevered. But the over-the top acting (ESPECIALLY Jason Patric as the bad guy) did this one in for me.

It's got all the noisy flashy stuff that kids crave (including mediocre effects!) It really should've been a whole lot more fun despite the best efforts of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Idris Elba. I like Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans, but they were nothing more than caricatures in this.

This cast would've done better tossing the script and just making it all up as they went along.

I really WANTED to like this. Even if just out of respect for Mr Ebert!

This is definitely NOT material for viewers who don't want to think about what they're watching. I glossed over too many details on the first viewing and decided to watch it again. This movie is definitely not for everyone, and it doesn't offer a lot of "bump in the night" scares. But it establishes an incredibly eerie atmosphere pretty quickly and maintains it throughout. There are a few genuinely creepy, head scratching moments. And it's fairly claustrophobic for a movie shot in these wild open spaces. Seems to be a cross between 2001, A Space Odyssey, the Shining and Endangered Species. It leaves a lot for the viewer to presume. But the clues are there. Certainly deserves way better ratings than I'm seeing!