Restore Point

No pun intended - you could make the case of police not waiting for others to arrive! This is not the first movie to have the main character being way too anxious (not always with apparent reasons - the first incident ... it makes sense she wants to go in, not wanting to wait ... second one? Well I reckon in the end it makes sense, but she can't know that - also .. "baggage").

All that aside, the movie has quite a few things it does bring across. Having the chance to do things over, is not always the best thing for humans. It may feel like a security blanket ... but we know how this works. There are things, that I am not sure how they ... actually make sense and happen (I reckon technology is involved), but in the end, how much do we remember? How much is true? If we don't remember, did it happen? And are we a different being all of a sudden? A lot of existential question and .. angst as you could say ...

The special effects and world building in this film were superb! I love how all the sci fi elements were a natural part of that society, even though it was so similar to ours. A lot of things were so subtle.

The story beats weren't anything new and some of the scenes dragged on a bit (probably didn't help that they were showing the film really late and everyone's eyes struggled to read the subtitles nearing midnight) but overall I found watching Restore Point a very enjoyable experience.

More of this type of world building please! :) Big studios really have no excuse for their substandard cgi if yours can look this good.

In the near future, the dead can tell a story, technology allows a hack, the restore point. A Detective uses such technology to track down a killer, the front of the so called 'Rivers of Life.'

I can count on one hand how many Czech made films I've seen, and if this is anything to go by, I need to investigate.

This is a quality, imaginative and well paced, low budget film. So it's not Hollywood, these days I'd argue that's a good thing, it's not desperate to play politics, nor is it desperate to blitz the viewer with a myriad of special effects, it's just an interesting story.

It's like a Scandi, sci fi mystery, overall I'd say it works rather well, they effectively create a futuristic world, albeit some unknown Eastern European country.

If you like sci fi and mysteries, then this film is for you, the futuristic gobbledegook is creative enough, some looks good, some doesn't. The locations are clever, and all looks suitably futuristic.

Always interesting to think about life beyond, it's one thing we have no answers for, this tries to offer a glimpse, it's a clever idea.

8/10.

'Restore Point (2023)' is a Czech sci-fi film about a conspiracy surrounding the planned privatization of a technology that allows people to back-up their brains and be brought back from the dead if they're killed via unnatural means (such as murder). Focusing on a detective with a personal vendetta against the terrorist group she's hunting, the flick presents itself as a slow-burning investigative thriller with occasional bursts of action and a couple of neat twists and turns. Its handsome, clean, probing aesthetic is clearly inspired by the likes of 'Blade Runner 2049 (2017)', albeit with less neon and lashings of rain, and its narrative also takes inspiration from that meditative legacy sequel. Thanks to its conceptually interesting and convincingly conveyed technology and architecture, its version of the future is not only compelling but also surprisingly honest. It's feasible that we're heading in the direction it portrays, with its most potent aspects being extensions of what we're already seeing rather than unattainable fantasies of space battles and laser swords (which are also cool, don't get me wrong). The central idea is intriguing to probe, more from a moral standpoint than a technological one, and it leads to some genuinely exciting questions that hint towards what we've always wondered without feeling as though they succumb to cliché. Although it may be a tiny bit forgettable overall, at least in terms of its specific plot and the relatively low-key way in which it unravels, and its ending is a tiny bit underwhelming (especially considering how engaging the various enigmas leading up to it are), but this is ultimately a confident and absorbing detective thriller that's set in a tangible world, poses some potent questions (without necessarily answering them all), and features a few suspenseful sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat by playing with the picture's established rules in an enjoyable way. It's a really entertaining effort, and it's especially impressive for a directorial debut.

This for me was very solid detective cyberpunk story, one which i really didnt expect from our czech movie production. This movie compares well even to other movies in scifi genre.

Story is really solid with some juicy futuristic ideas, and the effects are good enough to immerse you in this future world.

The acting was professional, if little stiff sometimes, and story rushed too fast in some parts, but there were no major issues, nothing that would really detract you from enjoying the story.

Plus the pumping music in the credits rocks, wait for it.

Overall pretty enjoyable movie, especially if you like cyberpunk settings.