Titanium

I stumbled across this by accident and it ended up being better than expected.

The plot is decent and has enough twists to keep your attention throughout. The black & white setting of the planet gives it a stark feel, which works well. CGI effects are good and the swamp creatures are relatively original.

The acting overall is not great but is definitely passable. Evgeniy Mironov stands out in this respect and his performance was excellent throughout.

The inclusion of Vinnie Jones was slightly bizarre although it did get my attention at the start. I watched it in the original Russian so hearing him dubbed was a little odd but you quickly get used to it.

The ending leaves room for a sequel although as far as I can tell, there has not been one?

In conclusion, it won't go down as classic sci-fi, but it is a solid, decent sci-film film that is well worth watching.

The problems with the film are mostly technical. The actors are really bad and the direction is next to non existent. The special effects are decent, but can't cope with the lack of movie making skills. For some unfathomable reason Vinnie Jones is in this, too.

Where the movie shines, though, is the hero. Where an American movie would have placed some blonde athlete as the protagonist, saving the girl by the power of his muscles and emotions, the Russian hero is a wimpy ex-aparatchic, a smart guy who thinks of solutions in advance of facing the problems. Cold, like a computer, but capable of some human emotions, he survives by the force of his brain. Reminds me of the Russian sci-fi of old, where the actors were all scientists and engineers. We need more of that.

The made for the French version of this film is called Titanium for some dumb reason, so people will have trouble not only hearing of the film, but also finding it on IMDb, like I have and also finding a decent translation.

Bottom line: the low quality in directing and acting make this a movie difficult to recommend. Something hard to understand, since the Russians have a decent film school. I wish they would invest more in Russian sci-fi stories, which are usually refreshingly original and closer to my heart. Or maybe I am just melancholic about my childhood.

(spoiler free) This movie has the most idiotic Sci-fi setting and scenario i've ever seen. It's so bad you'll be face-palming at each and every scene after (if not in the middle of) the main protagonist's introduction.

In this movie, the female lead explains in the first 10 minutes that women are incredible because as soon as a man starts saying dumb nonsense, they believe in it without question and become a brainless slave to that man. Also, whenever she tries to ask smart questions, the movie moves on to the next scene. And I though SHE was the main protagonist because she is the narrator but instead it's the guy that keeps secrets and acts in the most manipulative and selfish way possible by putting everyone in danger and playing mind games to achieve his goals. And when he thinks it's the end (by the end), he decides that he'd rather be killed (not a spoiler)...

Aaaanyway, the characters are bad, the sci-fi setting is lame, the scenario is full of plot holes and I wish I didn't watch this but hey, now I can actually prevent others from making the same mistake...

I am still watching the movie as I write this... I am not sure if the script is poor or its the french translation. I will force myself to finish it, but after 30+ minutes it feels like waste of time.

So so movie, but you will be constantly irritated by dumb woman that follows the main character. She constantly creates problems, but calculator can't calculate that the problem is her.