Deus

If you love sci-fi like I do you will probably enjoy this movie. The actors are not going to win any Oscars but that is par for the course with sci-fi. The story is original enough to keep your attention unless sci-fi is not your kind of movie.

The special effects are mostly done well, a few scenes (like in an elevator) look like they were filmed in front of a green screen but the rest is done pretty well. Some scenes could have been done better but overall this movie is good for a single viewing.

The writing was good but it could have been better, things like gravity are mostly ignored in this movie. This is a mystery movie and by the end you will know everything that happened, viewers are not left guessing for the most part.

Now, I am not really a big fan of the sci-fi genre, but I will watch movies of said genre when given the opportunity. And with "Deus" being a movie that I had never heard about, nor seen, of course I opted to sit down and watch what writer and director Steve Stone had to offer.

And while "Deus" definitely had an interesting cover/poster and synopsis, the movie just wasn't really all that interesting. Sure, "Deus" was watchable, but it just wasn't a particularly thrilling or overly entertaining movie, as the storyline was somewhat flaccid and bland.

The acting performances in "Deus" were adequate. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, which is usually something I enjoy when watching movies. But the actors and actresses had precious little to work with here in terms of a properly written storyline, so they didn't really have much of any chance to unfold themselves on the screen.

Visually then "Deus" was good. I liked the special effects and the CGI. And it definitely felt like the movie took place deep in space near Mars. And that added something to the movie, which was otherwise struggling with a mediocre script.

I am sure that hardcore sci-fi fans might get a kick out of a movie such as "Deus" from writer and director Steve Stone. However, as a casual viewer, then "Deus" was not an impressive or memorable movie experience.

My rating of "Deus" lands on a four out of ten stars.

OK. So we have to be realistic... SciFi films don't exactly must be scientifically accurate (yeah.. Darth Vader isn't real, right?). But at least show some coherence. A sphere is found in Mars orbit in a future far enough to hibernate people and wake them back, and build a really big ship with artificial gravity, then they took 8 months to reach Mars? I am pretty sure SpaceX will do better in a few years... And using hibernation for an 8 months trip in such a large ship with a handful of crewmates? Are you kidding me?

Cast was fairly good, and I am sure they spent a good deal of money in this film, yet the script is poor, to say at least. Don't waste your time as I wasted mine.

You can tell newb writer and director Steve Stone's inexperience was evident in this film, especially failing to direct his cast properly. Even Claudia Black looked lost in some scenes, and Richard Blackwood as the commander was just horrible and unconvincing in every scene, not to mention annoying. His demeanor, (lack of) facial expressions and body language, tone of voice and dialogue was just all wrong.

Conceptually the story was interesting, but it suffered plot and technical issues, and the slow pacing with many long dragged out and unnecessary scenes made the normally comfortable 90 min runtime feel much longer. It needed more story to fill in the time, or cut down to a short film. Much of the dialogue felt very amateurish, especially the AI, and writing could've used more suspense and action instead of constant cam views and cheesy cheap random shots.

The visuals however were decent for a low budget B film, and the score was excellent, especially for a B film, where the score is usually too loud, constant, annoying and unfitting.

As a huge sci-fi fan, I still enjoyed it, as I've seen much worse, and seeing it through till the end says a lot. For a low budget B film from a newb filmmaker, I'd say it's a decent one-time watch if you're a sci-fi fan. Had the actors been better cast and/or directed, this film would've been much better. Still, a generous 6/10 from me.

This is another entry in the "let's rid Earth of people we hate" space missions. A crew is shot into space to investigate a mysterious sphere.

The characters are obnoxious, offensive, and tedious. Three of the crew (a woman and two men) freak out when answers aren't immediately forthcoming even before they approach their destination. If they received any training at all, it was on the order of a two hour seminar at DeVry. There isn't one relatable character, which eliminates any chance of tension or engagement with the proceedings.

The acting is terrible, but whether that is due to the failings of actor or script is unclear. The dialog is largely superfluous, adding little or nothing to the story. Before they reach the sphere one character sagely says, in about a thousand words, "we have find out what the sphere is". Well, duh! That's the point of entire mission. Perhaps that dude on the ground should have briefed them before launching them into space. Then again, only one guy on earth is interested in their progress, and his instructions are basically: keep going.

They saved a lot of money by not having a lighting budget. The spaceship has about five watts of lighting for some reason. Everyone stumbles around in the dark.

I won't spoil the "thrilling" conclusion to the mystery. But suffice it to say you won't care one way or the other.

Three stars only because I didn't turn it off. Everything else adds a grand total of zero stars. Which puts it two stars above the horrendous Rings of Power, fake reviews notwithstanding. Three stars.