Pandemic

I only write reviews of movies with low rating, which actually are not that bad. Give them a chance!

I must say I am really surprised that Pandemic has 4.9 rating (at this moment)! When I watched it last month it had something between 5 and 5.3, which is still not that good, but 4.9 rating will reject many viewers and that is bad because this is a really good movie about apocalypse! I love movies about apocalypse and post-apocalypse, and if you are a fan too then you should definitely watch this one! I don't like camera, but everything else is really good and the story is cool - movie is truly watchable. Yeah, this is nothing new, there are many similar movies, but this one can still be fun to watch.

6/10

If you are looking for an enjoyable zombie movie I would never recommend you this title: poor locations, poorer costumes, awful effects, unrealistic fighting and repetitive framing take away all the fun from watching.

If your interest in movies goes beyond normal, on the other hand, you could probably get interested in this film: besides the lovely Rachel Nichols, always pretty, and the convincing Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy from 'Games of Thrones'), there is a somehow original post-apocalyptic world and a coherent script.

In other words, even though the film is bad, there is talent in Mr. Suits (Producer and Director) and in Mr. Benson (Writer) and I'll be glad to watch their future works.

The two glaring flaws to this film are its overuse of first person shaky cam, which while arguably immerses you deeper into the situation and action of the film, also quite simply makes you feel sick, and its appeal to generic audiences, as can be seen in the ridiculously broad title. However, if you can look past these two aspects, as well as the occasionally questionable special effect, then there is a lot of positive things to say.

This film has a great story, it makes sense and is carried out in an organic way, while still ticking all the usual zombie-survival boxes that have become the staple of this genre. The acting is pretty great in my opinion and conveys the right tone for each situation, my only complaint being here that with only four characters for most of the movie there is something lacking in personal interaction and team dynamic, although what there is is good and solidly written. There is also a rich world created within the framework of the film, although it is shown on a small scale, and this could easily be fleshed out more if there is a sequel at some point.

Overall I found myself really liking the simple and solid aspects of this film in the acting and storytelling, although the constant switching of first person views might be enough to put some people off entirely as it does get a bit nauseating after a while. Still there is a lot of good here, especially for fans of the genre, most of us being used to much lower production values and less cohesive plots. For non-fans it might not come across so well.

What I don't understand is how can you get a decent cast and a decent budget and make this crap of a film. Rachel Nichols is the main actress, and she kind of carried a TV show for four seasons; Alfie Allen is Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones; remember Mekhi Phifer from when he was the hot black guy that En Vogue were falling for? Paul Guilfoyle played in everything! And what do they do with this? A shaky-cam version of a zombie movie where even the zombies act subpar.

Frankly, it all feels like a collection of bad cinematic sequences in a really dumb game, only acted by real people. A bored programmer in a basement could have made a better film with 3D models.

The plot is the typical "infected people act like zombies", complete with pseudo-scientific categories from 1 to 5, and ridiculous explanations about what happened and what the plan is. As most zombie films it completely ignores the reasons why zombies aren't attacking each other, and since they are only infected people, why it is so difficult to kill them.

But what really pisses me off is how they use the name Pandemic, letting me hope even for a millisecond that once, just once, someone might make a movie about a real pandemic: no zombies, no government conspiracies, no dangerous trip in a car with family or close friends, just a very possible viral outbreak.

We need reality here, else at the first pandemic Americans take out their guns and start shooting each other in the head. God damn it, make a movie about the Spanish Influenza! Tell the story of tens of millions of people dead while governments at war censor the news to keep moral high. Tell the story of the Black Plague, without making it about witches or religion or some other crap like that. Show people what nature is really about and don't make it about people trying to get to their families and improbable villains that get nothing from spreading the disease.

There is no good plot to this movie. In addition to that, the First person shooter camera is really irritating in movies.. (you hear me movie makers?)

It looked like the director was just trying to make use of every possible content in a short time, so nothing was well executed.

It was panic everywhere and none of the character seemed to be doing its job properly (acting was good, talking about characters here). Though it had been long time the virus had started, they should have gotten bit used to it, but it didn't seemed like it. They were making every false call possible e.g. when any person gets out of the bus in middle of a town full of infected people, you close the damn door and wait for that person to come back. Instead they decided to keep it open and wait.. knowing none of them knows firing a gun properly.

Save your time and don't watch it. You will get aggravated on character's stupidity and wont be able to enjoy movie anyway.

Thanks for reading.