2041 - Restore point

The special effects and world building in this film were superb! I love how all the sci fi elements were a natural part of that society, even though it was so similar to ours. A lot of things were so subtle.

The story beats weren't anything new and some of the scenes dragged on a bit (probably didn't help that they were showing the film really late and everyone's eyes struggled to read the subtitles nearing midnight) but overall I found watching Restore Point a very enjoyable experience.

More of this type of world building please! :) Big studios really have no excuse for their substandard cgi if yours can look this good.

In the near future, the dead can tell a story, technology allows a hack, the restore point. A Detective uses such technology to track down a killer, the front of the so called 'Rivers of Life.'

I can count on one hand how many Czech made films I've seen, and if this is anything to go by, I need to investigate.

This is a quality, imaginative and well paced, low budget film. So it's not Hollywood, these days I'd argue that's a good thing, it's not desperate to play politics, nor is it desperate to blitz the viewer with a myriad of special effects, it's just an interesting story.

It's like a Scandi, sci fi mystery, overall I'd say it works rather well, they effectively create a futuristic world, albeit some unknown Eastern European country.

If you like sci fi and mysteries, then this film is for you, the futuristic gobbledegook is creative enough, some looks good, some doesn't. The locations are clever, and all looks suitably futuristic.

Always interesting to think about life beyond, it's one thing we have no answers for, this tries to offer a glimpse, it's a clever idea.

8/10.

Oh yeah, really enjoyed this one. Loved the futuristic visuals, very cleverly done. They did not miss a single detail in the technology of what could be, very sharp!

A most engaging Crime Thriller too. It posits a fantastic possibility of being able to Restore people who have died. There may have been other Sci Fi films along these lines too, but quite honestly I feel this has done it better than most others. There are some nice twists and turns in what is actually going on which really keeps the audience very much involved. I absolutely LOVED the representation of the architecture and landscapes, just marvelous!

The acting I thought was very well done. Even though it is not anywhere near my native language, and even reading the subtitles, the acting overall was excellent. I don't know if it is a reflection of the culture in general, but I really liked the very low-key, understated manner that everyone displayed. I don't know, but just the fact that everyone was so damn calm, I think it just really added to the overall weight and power of the story.

This is definitely NOT a big, Slam-Bang Sci Fi movie with huge special effects. So, if you are more in the mood for that, look elsewhere. Think the low-key, elegant look and feel of a film like 'GATTACA' The style of this one is very similar, but with a bit more detail in the surrounding environment. So, if you like really cool, well designed low-key futuristic Tech combined with a really good Crime Thriller, you should really enjoy this one! I gave it a very rare but much deserved '8'...

I don't remember how this title came to my attention, but I'm glad I watched it.

The premise is nothing new, but the story is carried by decent performances by the (to me) unknown actors, sprinked with noteworthy acting by some of the supporting characters (Iveta Duskova and Jan Vlasak did an especially fine job).

Special effects looked good enough on my small screen. Some cyberpunk scenes are worth remembering - the mute thug with the 7-segment LED dentures is one of them.

Dialogue is average but again there are some noteworthy moments (the contrast between cellular memory and actual memory, for instance, or how Kurlstat discovered that he had gifted himself the memory of how to play piano after having his head slammed on a keyboard).

None of the characters pushed the plot along by doing stupid things, which is always a nice touch.

(IMDB doesn't allow me to use proper accents in the actors' names. Sorry about that.)

'Restore Point (2023)' is a Czech sci-fi film about a conspiracy surrounding the planned privatization of a technology that allows people to back-up their brains and be brought back from the dead if they're killed via unnatural means (such as murder). Focusing on a detective with a personal vendetta against the terrorist group she's hunting, the flick presents itself as a slow-burning investigative thriller with occasional bursts of action and a couple of neat twists and turns. Its handsome, clean, probing aesthetic is clearly inspired by the likes of 'Blade Runner 2049 (2017)', albeit with less neon and lashings of rain, and its narrative also takes inspiration from that meditative legacy sequel. Thanks to its conceptually interesting and convincingly conveyed technology and architecture, its version of the future is not only compelling but also surprisingly honest. It's feasible that we're heading in the direction it portrays, with its most potent aspects being extensions of what we're already seeing rather than unattainable fantasies of space battles and laser swords (which are also cool, don't get me wrong). The central idea is intriguing to probe, more from a moral standpoint than a technological one, and it leads to some genuinely exciting questions that hint towards what we've always wondered without feeling as though they succumb to cliché. Although it may be a tiny bit forgettable overall, at least in terms of its specific plot and the relatively low-key way in which it unravels, and its ending is a tiny bit underwhelming (especially considering how engaging the various enigmas leading up to it are), but this is ultimately a confident and absorbing detective thriller that's set in a tangible world, poses some potent questions (without necessarily answering them all), and features a few suspenseful sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat by playing with the picture's established rules in an enjoyable way. It's a really entertaining effort, and it's especially impressive for a directorial debut.