Identicals

Rarely can I not figure out what a movie is at least attempting to say, and I don't have a problem with "art" films, either. For example, I really enjoyed Under the Skin--a little hard to figure out, but enough there to create meaning. On the other hand, Identicals was a blissful acid trip, often shifting unexpectedly, long drawn out shots doing little other than spinning wheels, and repetition and overlap that did nothing but confuse. And confuse it did.

People appear out of nowhere with little explanation, threats are made to the main characters with little cause, and then there's an organization that appears to want to control some element of society, but we never know exactly who they are or their motivation. And then the end comes and .....

Nada.

If not the worst movie I've ever seen, certainly a top five worst- ever candidate. Were there any positives? Actually, I think there is potential here for visually the film was captivating, and if there was more logic and sense tied into the plot (if you can call it that), there is a good foundation to work with. It's not a complete wash but close.

I could only stomach 10 min of the pointless, seemingly randomly generated sequence of unrelated images that this nonsensical movie is. This movie is so terrible that a negative rating should be created just for it, exclusively. There is absolutely no logical reason why someone in their right mind, not under the effects of hallucinogenic substances, should give a rating over 1. Avoid at all costs.

I try and give low-budget sci-fi films more leeway to see without costly special effects if some nuggets of cleverness or originality can be found. Unfortunately, what I saw here came across as way too murky, obtuse, and nonsensical, for my tastes.

Told in a slow-paced and surrealistic manner, the story, from what I could garner, revolves around a nefarious and mysterious company, called Brand New-U, that apparently abducts or beats people into submission, to take them to their headquarters. Once there, they are transformed into a new version of themselves (or identical) via a type of hypnosis, brainwashing, and surgery. For what exact purpose this is done never really became clear to me, but there is a mention of rich benefactors of the corporation who believe a better human being can emerge. Huh?

The two stars of the movie have good screen presence but their talents, in my opinion, can't be realized within this dense plot. Simon Pummell handles the writing and direction, and just what he had in mind escapes me, I'm sorry to say.

All in all, this sci-fi flick didn't work for me at any level, and I would recommend not to waste your time here with this one.

This pretentious attempt at a movie, as others have pointed out, has no redeeming qualities. The story such as it is would possibly have made for a passable short (10-15 minutes max), but instead there are now 100 minutes of my life that I regret spending on it.

Don't make the same mistake I did - heed the advice of the other reviewers. Don't watch this.

Okay, so my review does not contain ten lines of text yet. So let me repeat: don't waste your time on this movie. It's not worth it. Do something fun instead. Floss your cat, what do I know.

Still not long enough. Well, okay, the actress is cute. Apparently, her surname is No-one. A bit like "My name is nobody" :-)

In the near future, a couple have a romantic evening destroyed when a swat team visit them in the night and forcibly abduct the woman. The man is left alone but discovers that one of the attackers inexplicably has his girlfriend's face. This leads him to a high-tech company called Brand New-U.

This psychological sci-fi film deals with ideas of identity. It's not in all honesty always easy keeping track of what is going on as doppelgangers interact with each other and things get a little confusing, so it is a film that could potentially improve on a second viewing. The first impression, however, is a film that looks very beautiful at times but which is on the whole rather cold and unengaging. The central relationship is very important to the film as it underpins everything, yet we never get very involved with the characters meaning it is difficult caring much about their plights. The somewhat deliberate slow-pacing doesn't necessarily help very much either, with some scenes playing out far too long. But as I said, it is visually very beautiful at times with some great use of colour. So it has this on its side, while there does seem to be some interesting elements working their way in the background. But it was all a little too ponderously told for my personal liking.