Air

This film tells the story of two men in a facility in a post apocalyptic world, whose job is to get up once every six months to keep top scientists alive in their respective sleeping chambers.

"Air" has an interesting story, but it doesn't have enough to keep a ninety minutes runtime. It is slow paced to the point that it appears to be dragging on just for the sake of filling up screen time. The story is told in a confusing manner, and often I have to form my own interpretations of what is happening. There are far too many unanswered questions regarding many aspects of the plot, hence the plot appears messy. It's quite a pity because "Air" has the potential to be captivating.

If they had fleshed this out and included more details this could have been a more enjoyable movie. As it stands its left wanting. It does have some good scenes but not enough to make it adequate let alone satisfying.

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.

For a movie called Air, it sure feels tiresomely suffocating. The overall concept is about two men who wake up from stasis sleep to do critical housekeeping on a post-apocalyptic facility. It brings the usual gloomy ambiance and the two actors do possess good acting performance, but the movie is utterly boring. Low on production and very tediously paced, it's almost like a forced prolonged short movie.

Bauer (Norman Reedus) and Cartwright (Djimon Hounsou) work on the ark facility where periodically they would wake up to keep things running. With small cast and setting, the main focus here is the human drama between these two as they troubleshoot any faults in the station while questioning their own sanity.

Plot-wise it's not very complex, there's not much developments or twists, at least not outside the stereotypical sci-fi movies. The back story is told with various clips or narration from both characters, which can feel detached and lackluster at times. Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou have decent on-screen presences, however the material is spread too thinly and they struggle to produce any excitement from the barren plot.

That's the main problem of Air, it simply doesn't have enough gas to keep the momentum going. Note that the runtime is the average ninety minutes for a very small scale movie, furthermore it utilizes repetitive themes for filling. It teases the slightly dysfunctional relationship between the two or what mental problem they may have, but these are basic thriller aspects that don't present much thrill in exception of one or two decent scenes.

While the retro 80s futuristic theme can be intriguing and its two leads are capable, most of the movie feels like extended padding. It probably could've done the same with half the runtime, the rest is merely cumbersome trudge over dystopian gig.