Alien Code

Saw 'Alien Code' with no knowledge of what the rating and reviews were prior to watching. What drew me in was that it had one of the most interesting ideas for any low-budget film seen recently and it didn't look too bad from the advertising. Was a little worried at the same time, having seen so many films that waste great potential so badly.

Thankfully, this was something that 'Alien Code' did not do. It didn't fully live up to this potential, but it turned out to be watchable if uneven and somewhat of a mixed bag. One of those films that started off very well, with some surprisingly well done elements that didn't fail as feared, but ran out of steam too early which is a shame.

'Alien Code's' best element is indeed the acting, which is as everybody said well above average. The best performances even very good, with a very strong lead in Kyle Gallner who brings intensity and likeability. Some of the photography was slick and there was some skill in the directing and a natural chemistry between the actors.

It, as aforementioned, started off very well. It was engrossing and had a lot of intrigue and thoughtful moments. The characters may not have been the meatiest but they didn't frustrate and did find it easy to get behind the leads.

Which is why it was unfortunate that the last act especially wasn't up to the same level. It did become over-complicated, as a result of being too ambitious and not doing enough with its ideas, and silly, which made some events and explanations vague and muddled, parts not explained enough or at all.

Much of the dialogue is ropy and underdone as well as more complicated than necessary and the momentum in the pace is not as tight. The low budget does show in particularly the less than special and under-budgeted effects that had a shoestring 80s film look. The ending is ridiculous, confusing and a big anti-climax.

Overall, watchable and initially promising but felt like a different film by the end. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I was blown away by how good this film was. Although it is named "Alien Code", on this website it is named "The Men". No matter. A very original film, I give much credit to the writer/director, Richard G. Cooney, along with Kyle Gallner, who played the lead role of "Alex Jacobs". Other than Richard Schiff, who played "Miles Driskoll", & has been on dozens of TV shows & numerous films, I have never seen nor heard of anyone before, including the 2 people I listed first. A must see.

I thought it was gonna be a low budget movie, and I was right, but it started out quite interesting, and then after about an hour it fizzled. I found myself on my phone not paying attention much. Good try though. Like the whole idea but I think it could have been better if it had a higher budget.

Cryptographer Alex Jacobs (Kyle Gallner) is recruited by a secret government agency to decode a message that they've managed to intercept from a satellite that has been sent from the future. After Alex has served his purpose, he is swiftly taken back to his former existence but soon starts to have hallucinations and starts questioning what he has decoded and who the company are whom have paid him to carry out the decryption. Alex soon finds himself being stalked by both the government agency and otherworldly beings in his desperate search for answers...

I actually quite liked the idea behind this story (the concept of a government agency getting their hands on something they neither understand or can control is actually quite amusing and for me I wondered if the film was acting as a worrying metaphor on the aforementioned elements). This is quite a good driver for the story and at the start of the film we witness a 'one man in peril' scenario that gradually unfolds into 'several people in peril' as the larger conspiracy begins to unravel. Narratively, it does unfold fairly well and moves along at a reasonable pace so it never quite gets to the point where it becomes boring, but it does come close at times which forms part of the problem.

Given the concept and all of its themes and ideology I did reasonably expect some exposition and analysis, but boy did they go to town here - and I don't mean that in a good way. A lot of the hypothesising was mind-boggling and the exchange towards the end was a little overwhelming - running with the food analogy it's a bit like someone offering you a tub of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream - you consume the first tub happily enough, but then you're offered another tub of ice cream and halfway through the second tub you decide that you've had enough and that you don't want any more. That's exactly what this film is like at times; it's almost like the writers forgot that it was a film that was meant to entertain and decided to turn it into some overly-complicated time-continuum seminar. Don't get me wrong I like to learn things and like to learn things from films, but I'd rather learn in small bite-size amounts rather than in great white shark style chunks. Unfortunately some of the narrative and directorial choices did spoil the film for me somewhat and rendered it far less enjoyable than I'd expected.

To try and an end on a positive note I did quite liked the story and could even see a bit of social commentary buried underneath the rather 'heavy dialogue' and in fairness I did think that Kyle Gallner was really good in the lead role (even though he isn't first billed on IMDB's credit order - huh??). Sadly though The Men/Alien Code is a bit overwritten and a tad over ambitious, but I've given it a pass as I did quite like the story. As I said in my summary, it's a lot to digest in one viewing so I may check it out again in the future and may understand it more on a second viewing. As it stands at the moment though it's a 6 out of 10 for me; watchable but not brilliant.

This film is both minimal yet slick. it's very well edited, moves along at a nice pace, has an interesting plot, a great script and characters who are intelligent and believable -- and who make believable decisions. it held my attention from opening credits to closing credits.

the three main characters, particularly the lead, were flawlessly played. everyone involved in this film was fully committed to and believed in this work and that's what makes this production outstanding.

i am so tired of crappy movies using "low budget" as an excuse. don't pin sloppy lazy work on your financing when thinking is free. THIS is an example of how a low budget movie can still seem like a blockbuster.

i loved it.

7.5/10