poushkine

Not nearly as bad as critics say if you're not expecting much. Very cyberpunkish without any cyber to it,- the atmosphere is there. Brutality, mindfk, several epic scenes, slomo, but not that overused matrix style. With all that, does it have much to say? I'd argue not too much, like most of cyberpunk without cyber. :) Acting is OK for an indie (which is not a quality label for me). Fight scenes reasonably well done and the protagonist does look cool. Female role as such is strongly present, dilemma of which sex dominates is there, though not central and not in a way of a conflict. Absurdity of modern day knighthood with its madness, brutality, subservience and yet heroism and almost inbuilt core values.

Writing this one in a stream of thought to balance, in my opinion, unfairly negative reviews.

Decided to take my time for reviewing this one. The title of review itself is handing itself over to an academic article. But, to the film. From the very beginning you will recognize the atmosphere of another likewise film "Her". All characters are plain and one- dimensional: the evil evil guy, the good and naive good and naive guy, the lovey- dovey damsel in distress with a mysterious touch to her, predictable development and predictable ending. A hint at more complex thoughts than oppression of women (not an unimportant subject, but treated in a very blunt manner), common for the more complex cyberpunk fiction, is lost behind the aforementioned leitmotif with self-congratulatory pat on the back ending.

If you are into feminism - this will most likely strike a cord with you. If you want some good thought-provoking AI-themed sci-fi - look elsewhere. If, however, you happen to be in a situation, when you have to sit through the whole film, there is a saving grace - beautiful performance by the stunning Sonoya Mizuno, whose role is limited to the representation of postmodern understanding of orientalism. I'd not manage this film through to the end without her. Arigato gozaimasu!

Debatable if worth the time to watch it, but has its good sides. Starting with the bad ones. Low budget in everything. While not a crime by itself, one is left to wonder if scenes of murdering someone by sticking a sword under his armpit are best left out. Constant impression that the whole acting crew is maybe 20 people... Which for supposed massive battle scenes with little cg and minimalistic make up looks odd if nothing else. Script is simple and straightforward. One may chuckle at "Mage" being the mage's name... On the good side - actors are very enthusiastic and so very Welsh, which is a good thing as it is refreshing and unusual. Minimalism and ascetic cg/sfx actually convey almost theatrical impression, at the same time evoking a kind of an 'old school' atmosphere (or maybe it is just me). To sum it up - an OK for fantasy fans, not OK for action/cg/massive/budget fans, a sure yes for welsh and legends of round table fans. I'd love it if actors from this movie got big enough to surface in other ones. While acting is often crude, they have their own charm and look different.