Virtual Revolution

I cannot really label myself a sci fi aficionado in the sense that I do not go looking for sci fi movies. I generally prefer my sci fi as context, as opposed to focus of a movie.

This movie surprised me because while it was sci fi, the sci fi simultaneously was context for discussion of the state of society, and how trying to fix society without obtaining buy in of society eminently can backfire.

That the ending was somewhat dystopian seemingly was fitting because it was the choice of the people, as opposed to an imposition of say, a dictatorship.

I may understand some bad ratings! This movie is like french literature, a bit complicated and intellectual. I agree this will not be the movie of the year, but I acknowledge the effort and the construction : special effects are good, atmosphere is fair, acting is good enough to immerse you in this future, filming is well done, story-line is having a track. This could really be our future some day. The realism of the streets of future Paris is nicely constructed, seems like some 1900 paintings. This is not a blockbuster from Hollywood, this is an independent SciFi movie with a fair budget and to be honest, the money have been invested well. I have been watching the whole entire movie and enjoyed it. I hope people will do so.

First, in an effort to be positive: There are so many things in this film done amazingly well - especially considering the budget. The cinematography was quite good, the production design and props were - again, for the money - amazing. Costume department had a strong showing. Well done. The special effects were not groundbreaking, but for groundbreaking special effects, it seems you have to employ 1,000 VFX artists. (You ever count the names in the VFX section of the credits of a blockbuster? That's a small city right there.) In any event, the effects were good enough to not be a distraction.

The creative aspects of this film, sadly, did not live up to the technical achievements. I understand that this film is strongly influenced by Blade Runner, Inception, The Matrix, perhaps the book Ready Player One (which Spielberg has made into a film). No issues there. However, if you're going to play in that space, the characters have to be grounded, they have to pull you into the story. The dialogue has to be believable to the ear. The actors have to sell that world to the audience. This did not happen, as other reviewers have mentioned.

However, if you are starting out as a filmmaker, this is a great film to watch. You get to see that impressive visuals can be achieved with a modest budget ... and think about how much better it could have been if the writing had been a step up.

Definitely worth watching, from that perspective.

If you could program a perfect life for yourself, but it wasn't real and you could not go back, would you do it? Is life about experience or is it about soldiering on in the real world, however depressing it might be?

This movie is yet another exploration of this theme. But I think it does it well and has a new take upon it.

The rest of the movie was a nice b-movie, watchable with some weaknesses and some cringe. But I liked the basic theme and I do not regret watching this movie at all. Give it a go if you are into these sort of thing.

Movie Math: (Blade Runner 2049 + Ready Player One) Full Moon Features = 2047 Virtual Revolution

I thought it was fun. It reminded me of one Charlie Bands old movies.