Bushwick

Like others, I heard about the film because Aesop Rock posted on Facebook saying he was doing the score. So I wasn't expecting much beyond a cool soundtrack...

From the first scene, it's apparent that winning an Oscar isn't the top priority. The dialogue isn't fluent and the acting is stunted, and we're thrown in with the action almost right away: streets are burning, we don't know why, let's get the hell out of here. The top priority, it seems, is creating a video game-like war-torn corner of NYC through which the protagonists must try and survive. And it does this well.

It only took a few minutes for me to start honestly enjoying it. The main driving force is the perspective: a single hand-held camera doing long continuous takes, so the whole movie, having been edited to cut different takes seamlessly together, runs like an entire 90 minute one-shot. It makes you feel as if you're there with them, experiencing the action unfold, no tea break, and the ridiculous plot and forced acting combine to make it feel like you've stepped directly into a '90s B-movie or a shoot'em up arcade game set in Brooklyn. It's really pretty cool, and almost makes me think that the silly plot and acting were intentional. Maybe, maybe not.

If you're looking for a political thriller, a thinking man's action movie, cool martial arts/fight scenes, or any amount of emotional realism, look elsewhere. But if you're happy with a mindless yet oddly engrossing bang bang movie, this might be fun.

Two people get stuck in a city-wide gun fight.

The camera trails about six feet behind the main characters as they scamper from one besieged house to another. The action is pretty intense! Passers by and pedestrians in the back ground get gunned down or embroiled in their own personal dramas.

This is not an expensive film and its lack of budget is both its strength and weakness. It has a gritty feel to it and there is no big Hollywood star waiting to rip his shirt off and everything has a degree of realism about it.

But some of the action scenes do suffer from a lack of funds. Soldiers wait patently for stuntmen to do their thing before spurring into action, or beat at invisible flames that the CGI team didn't get time to add.

This feels very much like a computer game. There is not a whole lot for the characters to do except run and dodge and shoot, but the film is kept under the magic 90 minute mark so that was ok.

They try to add some meat to the characters in a couple of quite dull dialogue scenes that didn't really work. I only know the characters from their backsides so I only need to know them about as intimately as I know third storm trooper from the right.

The final sequence falls apart a bit as the sets are just too small for the extras to comfortably fight over.

This is a great, cheap little run-and-gun action movie. Quite gritty and thrilling.

This was maybe one of the dumbest movies I've ever seen. There are a hundred reasons why it wouldn't work but I think you're not supposed to get to hung up on that. The acting was bad all around.

That all being said, it was pretty darn suspenseful! It kept my attention from beginning to end. The style reminded me of Cloverfield which I loved.

It's definitely worth a watch but try and take it for a quick action movie and don't get to bogged down with the details.

Clearly a "B" film not meant to be taken seriously but yet, still manages to be entertaining. The action sequences and battle effects are better than I would have expected for a film with limited funding. There are quite a few nonsensical plot sequences, but towards the last half the writers try to inject a little logic to make sense out of what is happening while the two main characters gradually travel through multiple life threatening moments in their effort to reach family and ultimately safety. If you're up for a different "guilty pleasure" watch, then I can recommend watching Bushwick.

"Bushwick" feels like a low-budget zombie apocalypse movie without the zombies. It's also missing a plot, character arcs, a theme, a moral and other typical cinematic and dramatic elements. The ending feels as if the filmmakers shot the film in sequence and ran out of money before they could complete it. The wrong characters die for the wrong reasons. Bautista is best known for his chiseled larger-than-life physique and his martial arts skills, but displays neither. As he has shown in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, he can handle comedic roles and does a reasonable job here with a role that calls for more emotion than action. While fans may appreciate his dramatic range and nobody would want him to be limited in his career, they may be disappointed that he doesn't do more fighting.

The script is a mess. Nothing makes any sense, from the plot to the military tactics to the motivation of the characters. A hodgepodge of liberal and alt-right political ideologies are presented and seemingly given equal time. I kept imagining Robert Downey Jr. in his Kirk Lazarus role from "Tropic Thunder" urgently whispering, "Never go full-on libtard."

The situation and actions seemed so improbable and unrealistic that I never developed much empathy for the characters.