The Formula

Created by the geniuses at Digital Llama Productions, "The Formula" is a fanfilm about people making a fanfilm. A simple concept, with a brilliant execution. With hilarious dialog and great in-jokes from the fanfilms community, above-par acting for an amatuer flick, and well-developed characters, this film is a worthy addition to any filmmakers hard drive.

Star Wars: Bond of the Force is Tom's dream, using cash that he gained from a couple of unfortunate Trekkies. However after months of unpaid work all he and his friends have to show for it is a month of rubbish footage, bad performances and nothing solid. Depressed about the whole project and unsure if he is depressed because he watches Star Wars or he watches Star Wars because he is depressed, Tom thinks back to the beginnings of the film, the planning stage, the plotting and the obstacles they have had to overcome to get to where they now are – and how he can go anywhere from there.

Opening with a bit of the fan film that the characters in this film are trying to make, this mockumentary is a very funny and enjoyable film that will appeal to the sort of viewers who download fan films and watch similar films to the makers. The plot is simple enough but the simple "making of" is mixed well with the creative process (or a spoof of) and even good special effects at points as well. The film is partly quite fresh and clever but it is also hard to ignore how many things have influenced it to the point of being a near copy of other things – Woody Allen is certainly the formative influence for the first "real" scene. Fortunately for most of the film the references are cleverly done and funny – Usual Suspects, Matrix, Star Wars (of course) and even other fan films are referenced and they are mainly very funny and cleverly done, it manages to avoid the tiresome effect that some films can have where they just reference without any effort, uniqueness or care. The writing of the film is very good in other regards too and this can be seen by just how convincing it is as a documentary, Hanel and Phelan did a great job.

The acting from the amateurs is roundly impressive as well. None of them are asked to do anything that special but they come off natural when playing "themselves" but they also carry the spoof sections well without ever coming across as wooden as some performances in other fan films. Overall this may not be a "Star Wars" film in the same way as other fan films but this greatly exceeds many of them because it is funny, clever and well done. It helps if you have the same sense of humour but I think if you've bothered to download this then you probably have and you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did.

"The Formula" is one of those movies you keep hearing about from friends in the fan circuit, and you keep forgetting to check out. Well, let this be a reminder, it's absolutely worth your time. It's hard enough to keep an audience attentive for five or ten minutes, but this film holds you for the full hour.

WARNING: Don't make the mistake of watching this film in a public place, like a college computer lab (as I did). People may ignore you when you break into little girl shrieks of laughter, but when you pee yourself, I don't think they'll be so forgiving.

Watch it at home. It's just not worth the social disgrace.

How good can a Star Wars fan film get? Want to know the answer? Then go and watch "The Formula"!

Problem with many Star Wars fan films is that many of them are the same and are basically a lame excuse to do a lightsaber duel, which are mostly set in a forest. "The Formula" perfectly spoofs this but without making the fan filmers ridiculous. It's kind of the same as Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" and it's more of a homage to all the fan filmers. In a way it also makes me proud of being a Star Wars fan.

The movie has a great story. What makes the story so great are probably the characters that are in it and some good dialogue. Many of the situations will be very recognizable for those who have ever made or did an attempt of making a Star Wars fan film.

The humor plays a crucial element in the movie and gives it a very good fun kind of feeling. There are some clever jokes and the movie spoofs more than just the Star Wars movies. My favorite element of the movie are the two stereotype Trekkies that are in it, those two are absolutely hilarious and have some great dialogue and show that Star Wars fans are not so nerdy after all, when you compare to them (no offense Trekkie ;-) ).

Sure the movie is not completely flawless. Lets face it, it is and stays an amateur movie. But it's made with much profession, love and passion that'll forget you're watching a low/no-budget amateur movie. But that still doesn't mean that it is always perfect. For instance of course the acting is at times simply weak and not all of the jokes are successful. But in no way all of that weakens the excellence of this movie.

Wonderful film with tons of fun! Especially recommendable for those who are a bit familiar in the Star Wars fan film community.

10/10

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