It took me a very long time juggling if I should see this with so many mixed reviews, but when I had nothing decent left to watch, I gave it a go, and I'm glad I did.
Yes, this film wont be for everyone. It's the opposite of an actual Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, but it was still brilliant, and exceptionally produced, especially for a low budget B-film. It needed more time to expand on its many excellent elements, thus why this would make for an amazing and successful TV series, and would be right up there with Westworld and Black Mirror.
Shockingly, this stunning production was put together my a newb filmmaker, with this film being pretty much his 4th film, of 1 being a short. Writer, producer, editor and director Guy Moshe presented a film, that one would assume was put together by well know seasoned filmmakers.
Moshe's directing was flawless and his editing on point. The cinematography was outstanding, with amazing shots and use of colors and shadows. The sets and landscape were convincing of a futuristic world, and pretty much how I would envision it. The S/VFX were stunning. The score was fitting and on point - something rare for B-film, where it's typically loud, overbearingly constant, annoying and unfitting. The 103 min runtime, although a little slowly paced, still flowed nicely. But the faster pacing towards the end felt the story getting rushed and convoluted. I actually wanted another 10-20 mins added to the last quarter of the film, to elaborate more, and build up the story better. All casting and performances were excellent and convincing. If I would critique any performance, it'd be the cop, but then again, how different would attitudes, sympathy and compassion look like in the future?
Sure Moshe's screenplay wasn't perfect, but for a newb filmmaker, it was much better than some garbage I've seen lately from seasoned filmmakers. It had excellent storyline continuity and progression. But where Moshe shined, was in his brilliant story's premise, with his perfectly matched visuals. There are many components to his story, almost too many to fit in one movie, thus why this would be an excellent TV series. It questions our constantly changing environment and our own humanity, and what it means to be human, where cloning is a life-insurance option. It's about surviving and dealing with a changing dystopian world were we have to live at night due to the burning daytime sun. Where we live, work, play and communicate in a virtual world most of the time, and even "hang out" with friends and family in "the realm". Where office buildings are vacant due to this virtual and unbearable world. And so much more. What makes this really stand out, is that this story does not feel far fetched at all, especially when we're almost there.
This little gem will stay with you long after it's over. Never mind the "Hollywood-blockbuster expectation" reviewers, Moshe should be very proud of this accomplishment. If you're as hard core futuristic-sci-fi fan as I am, you will really appreciate and enjoy this one. And if you're like me, you will want more of it. So Mr. Moshe, please get to it sir. It's a well deserved 8/10 from me. To see how I critique and rate films, or more of my 1000+ reviews, click on my profile.
