Air

I liked the film, as a performance piece from Reedus and Hounsou, and truly it's not more than that. It's a situational drama. The plot is, in fact, irrelevant. The ending scene that brings closure was already not needed.

That being said, I feel like the script could have been a little more polished. The dialogue and the decisions of the characters sometimes felt a bit fractured, the movie lacks a natural fluidity. Certainly the film could have gained a point if the extra scenes - like the pointless and extra long beginning - would have been cut in favor of character development.

Bottom line: it doesn't deserve such a low rating on IMDb. Cantamessa may not be the best director in the world, but for his first full length movie, he wasn't bad. I felt as if the film was inspired by Moon. It had the same feel, only with two protagonists. And as Moon, the movie could easily have been an episode of a sci-fi anthology. Moon was clearly better, though.

The first feature length sojourn of Skybound, the group behind the universally successful Walking Dead comics, TV show and all subsequent run-offs, Air (featuring TWD's very own Norman Reedus) is an at first engaging and tense low budget Sci-fi that sadly descends down a rabbit hole of increasingly uninteresting and questionable scenarios.

First time director Christian Cantamessa (the man who wrote the fantastic video game Red Dead Redemption) certainly hasn't given himself an easy first feature to win out on with Air's plot almost exclusive focusing on the maintenance workers of Djimon Hounsou's Cartwright and Reedus's Bauer, who like his Daryl in TWD is still in need of a long overdue haircut.

Like any film that sets itself around a confined space and a confined cast, say like a Moon or Buried, Air has to fight to keep viewers' attention almost entirely through things not seen and engaging acting and while Hounsou and Reedus share some form of chemistry it's not enough to carry the film potentially ripe idea to levels that could've made Air a must see Sci-Fi yarn.

The central idea that Air basis's itself around of our air supply being tarnished by a range of natural of man-made causes with humankinds last hope a group of Noah's Ark like underground facilities with pods of long term sleeping humans is an interesting one and whilst familiar in many senses does seem somewhat fresh but Cantamessa and his co-writer Chris Pasetto can't wring enough out of their limited budget supply on top notch dialogue to take the idea to fresh places.

Small moments and a quality opening half make Air something more than a non-event but this is certainly a forgettable start of Skybound's foray into Hollywood movies. Cantamessa seems like a young filmmaker with some talent and it'd be great to see him go on with his efforts here while Reedus is lucky he has Daryl to fall back on and poor old Hounsou is still chasing a role of the same quality he found in Blood Diamond and In America.

2 ½ long past due haircuts out of 5

Despite other reviews I've read i liked this movie. Read no further than this review, or the synopsis because the less you know the more immersed a film will feel.

It's about two men who service a facility which hold the last remnants of humanity and civilization. The air outside is toxic, there are other facilities just like theirs out there.

Although the cinematography was average, and i think some scenes could have emphasized claustrophobia better; nonetheless, the production value was great which is necessary for films in the sci-fi genre. The soundtrack i really liked and it really sealed the deal on my interest. From the start there was growing suspense that kept me fixated.

Up until the conflict, i felt like i was alongside them in this dystopia. I don't think the chemistry between Bauer and Cartwright was really that fluid and the dialogue (banter) itself was sloppy and forced. But they really shined when they were in their separate scenes and that is what held my intrigue.

At last, a believable post apocalyptic tale without endless CGI trying to cover up a lack of plot. Gripping and well paced, claustrophobic and tense, the performances are brilliant. It won't suit those who want endless blam blam action or schoolboy heroics. The music score greatly enhances the feel, but at times the sound has been mixed too loud for the dialogue. Would have been nice if there was some frozen Noah's Ark animals as well. Nevertheless, a great first card in the game. Congrats to all, including the editor. When I saw the really negative review I simply thought: 'this poor person is not very bright'.

Found the sense of isolation, seclusion, possible hallucination (?) and building paranoia immersive as I find them intriguing as themes to begin with; kept me glued.

The sense of "unknowing" is vital in this one since leaves viewers with an unsettled feeling. Hence, I like that this gives only enough context without an all-out explanation as a prelude.

Good story about characters thrown together into circumstances beyond their control and how they handle the unexpected.

I found the pace just right, not too fast and not too slow either. Bottom line, I'd watch it again!