The Arena

Russia has so many fantastic writers it is all the more supprising that, for this film, they seem to have avoided all of them. The begining seems vaguely entertaining but as the plot unfolds we are confronted with too many loose ends, cul-de-sac and dopey ideas. It must be said that the décor is really good and the special effects believable. This shows that this was not intended to be a B movie and quite a lot of money and care has been spent in making this film. So we are introduced to the main caracter who deals filters that many of the adults are seen using abundantly while the kids run around unconcerned by all this. He seems to be a quite proficient and attachable actor but as the story unfolds his caracter swings from bad boy to good boy (good fighter to bad, caring to I don't seem to give a damn about anything) in a way that you end up wondering if he's not a bit schizophrenic. The second role goes to Agniya Ditkovskite who tries her best but is let down by a scenario that never gives her the opportunity to develop her caracter to it's full potential. The whole film seems to be a string of anticlimax and bad timing right up until an end where.... someone forgot to write one!

The final scene seems to have been served up as an unintelligible loop to a sequel which I pray will never ever see the day.

I did not expect Dance of Death to be just that. I had hoped it was a metaphor for combat but no, its well, dancing and if "your moves don't groove" a big guy who looks like the boss character in a Dungeons and Dragons style game, fries you

Its silly stuff and its shame too, because there is much to like here. The set up is a reasonable one. A post apocalyptic world, filled with plausible characters, decent sets, action and interesting, engaging characters.

If only they had dropped the Saturday Night Fever meets Hunger Games thing this one would have been a winner.

As it stands, maybe one for teens but not sure who else would find this engaging? 5/10.

That being said, the CGI is quite decent. Not sure what the budget was, but it looks good. Story on the other hand is mediocre at best. It's mix of things we've seen lately. With some "dancing" thrown into the mix, to make this more relevant I guess. But also kind of cheesy - or even more cheesy than it already is. It really is predictable too.

If you are not into the Youth Adult "mysteries", you won't find anything here. But even if you are, there isn't much to find here. If you love dancing, watch something that has some real dancing included. The one depicted here is not that special anyway.

Behavior - Pathetically, realization of declared idea - damp, dialogues - flat, generally - horribly.

This movie is a B-rated one and it is an honour for the crew to get the lowest possible score. But not the best for me, that's why I am not giving a 1/10.

Congrats!