Sem Ar

If they had fleshed this out and included more details this could have been a more enjoyable movie. As it stands its left wanting. It does have some good scenes but not enough to make it adequate let alone satisfying.

For a movie called Air, it sure feels tiresomely suffocating. The overall concept is about two men who wake up from stasis sleep to do critical housekeeping on a post-apocalyptic facility. It brings the usual gloomy ambiance and the two actors do possess good acting performance, but the movie is utterly boring. Low on production and very tediously paced, it's almost like a forced prolonged short movie.

Bauer (Norman Reedus) and Cartwright (Djimon Hounsou) work on the ark facility where periodically they would wake up to keep things running. With small cast and setting, the main focus here is the human drama between these two as they troubleshoot any faults in the station while questioning their own sanity.

Plot-wise it's not very complex, there's not much developments or twists, at least not outside the stereotypical sci-fi movies. The back story is told with various clips or narration from both characters, which can feel detached and lackluster at times. Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou have decent on-screen presences, however the material is spread too thinly and they struggle to produce any excitement from the barren plot.

That's the main problem of Air, it simply doesn't have enough gas to keep the momentum going. Note that the runtime is the average ninety minutes for a very small scale movie, furthermore it utilizes repetitive themes for filling. It teases the slightly dysfunctional relationship between the two or what mental problem they may have, but these are basic thriller aspects that don't present much thrill in exception of one or two decent scenes.

While the retro 80s futuristic theme can be intriguing and its two leads are capable, most of the movie feels like extended padding. It probably could've done the same with half the runtime, the rest is merely cumbersome trudge over dystopian gig.

Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou star as two maintenance technicians holed up in an underground bunker after the world above has torn itself apart with nuclear weapons.In this bunker with them in "deep sleep" chambers,are the selected few that hold mankinds hope for the future (scientists/government officials etc).As the air outside is now irradiated and unbreathable,its their job to maintain the chambers and ensure the air in the bunker remains safe until the occupants can be woken up.As clean air is at a premium,Reedus and Hounsou have their own sleep chambers,and must sleep/wake up at timed intervals to ensure the maintenance is continuous.

But all is not well in this "safe" haven.During a wake period,their computer data on the air outside appears false,and something is wrong with one of their sleep chambers.

Sabotage?......or are one or both of them losing their minds?

Air is a dark and claustrophobic movie.The makers did a good job of conveying a sense of being "closed in".The banks of computer screens and and sleep chambers had a very retro look and feel about them which added to the sense of fragility to the world in which theses technicians lived.

The problem was that neither Reedus or Hounsou managed to convey any real sense of fear or concern to the situations at hand.Their acting skills are normally extremely top notch but here just turn in an average performance.And that was a pity because the opportunity was there for these two to really shine (they were the only 2 main characters after all).

All in all this is of those "could have been" movies.It's by no means unwatchable.The production values were high,just a shame it was let let down by the below par acting.

This film tells the story of two men in a facility in a post apocalyptic world, whose job is to get up once every six months to keep top scientists alive in their respective sleeping chambers.

"Air" has an interesting story, but it doesn't have enough to keep a ninety minutes runtime. It is slow paced to the point that it appears to be dragging on just for the sake of filling up screen time. The story is told in a confusing manner, and often I have to form my own interpretations of what is happening. There are far too many unanswered questions regarding many aspects of the plot, hence the plot appears messy. It's quite a pity because "Air" has the potential to be captivating.

I liked the film, as a performance piece from Reedus and Hounsou, and truly it's not more than that. It's a situational drama. The plot is, in fact, irrelevant. The ending scene that brings closure was already not needed.

That being said, I feel like the script could have been a little more polished. The dialogue and the decisions of the characters sometimes felt a bit fractured, the movie lacks a natural fluidity. Certainly the film could have gained a point if the extra scenes - like the pointless and extra long beginning - would have been cut in favor of character development.

Bottom line: it doesn't deserve such a low rating on IMDb. Cantamessa may not be the best director in the world, but for his first full length movie, he wasn't bad. I felt as if the film was inspired by Moon. It had the same feel, only with two protagonists. And as Moon, the movie could easily have been an episode of a sci-fi anthology. Moon was clearly better, though.