80 reviews
It is the 22nd Century. The USS Essex is travelling in the furthest reaches of the known Universe when it encounters a gigantic creature. It is then boarded by pirates who take their cargo and most of their supplies. The crew decide to capture the creature to make up for their loss of cargo.
I had low expectations for this movie. From the cast and crew you can tell it is very likely to be B-grade. The only known face among them all is Holt McCallany, of Mindhunter fame. Yet the movie isn't that bad.
Well, it's still not good, just not as bad as it could have been. Plot is basic but doesn't go off in too many detours. Direction isn't great but is functional. Characters are stereotypical but don't get cartoonish. Dialogue manages to avoid being cringeworthy. Some performances are pretty lame but most are okay.
Overall, not great but better than expected.
I had low expectations for this movie. From the cast and crew you can tell it is very likely to be B-grade. The only known face among them all is Holt McCallany, of Mindhunter fame. Yet the movie isn't that bad.
Well, it's still not good, just not as bad as it could have been. Plot is basic but doesn't go off in too many detours. Direction isn't great but is functional. Characters are stereotypical but don't get cartoonish. Dialogue manages to avoid being cringeworthy. Some performances are pretty lame but most are okay.
Overall, not great but better than expected.
The visual affects are awesome, sets are awesome, production quality is great, acting is good, the score is decent, the directing is poor the script is bad.
This could have been fantastic action adventure tragedy movie, but to me, it feels like a balloon that never gets completely inflated, and the air is slowly let out, leaving me feeling frustrated, confused and annoyed.
We are introduced to the Captain and his motivations, through a flashback. Then another shortcut to introduce the rest of his crew through a 'most wanted' summary.
Perhaps it was poorly edited to cut runtime, but I never felt anything for the characters, their motivations were either thrust into the story, or left out completely. No ahhh! moments, no 'oh, I thought you were a good guy, but your bad!'.
The music never really adds to the suspense or helps tell the story, its just there. Its good, but all it seems to do is break the silence, rather than being a tool to tell the story.
Aliens does so much with so little, yet this movie does so little with so much.
Still, its worth watching, just because it actually exists. *First review I've posted on IMDB.
This could have been fantastic action adventure tragedy movie, but to me, it feels like a balloon that never gets completely inflated, and the air is slowly let out, leaving me feeling frustrated, confused and annoyed.
We are introduced to the Captain and his motivations, through a flashback. Then another shortcut to introduce the rest of his crew through a 'most wanted' summary.
Perhaps it was poorly edited to cut runtime, but I never felt anything for the characters, their motivations were either thrust into the story, or left out completely. No ahhh! moments, no 'oh, I thought you were a good guy, but your bad!'.
The music never really adds to the suspense or helps tell the story, its just there. Its good, but all it seems to do is break the silence, rather than being a tool to tell the story.
Aliens does so much with so little, yet this movie does so little with so much.
Still, its worth watching, just because it actually exists. *First review I've posted on IMDB.
- jason-43216
- Jan 7, 2019
- Permalink
"Beyond White Space" is one of those films that the viewer regrets the time he or she spent watching it. The story is senseless and with illogical attitudes from the characters; the screenplay is a complete mess, without any character development and beginning in an action scene. There are certainly many fake reviews promoting this flick in IMDb that disappoints even fans of sci-fi. Again, do not waste your time watching this movie; you will regret. My vote is two.
Title (Brazil): Not Available
Title (Brazil): Not Available
- claudio_carvalho
- Aug 9, 2020
- Permalink
I watched this film because it seemed to be a remake/homage to Moby Dick. Well, if Moby Dick is one of the most iconic novels of all time, this film is a washed up mess.
B movie sci-fi films are notoriously bad. They either are so low budget at they are silly, or they come from an Aliens rip off. Beyond White Space is bad for altogether different reasons - a total lack of story telling.
Lets start with what I did enjoy. The effects are better than I expected, the cast is likeable... that's about it.
What is wrong is a total lack of continuity, the ability to build a story, logic of characters or actions or payoff.
The main plot (for no one could count the number of extra sub plots floating around this film) is that an ancient space creature needs to be hunted for some reason; and space pirates are in there somewhere, and space cops? After this, I stopped caring very quickly. The film just does not make sense, and what is even worse is that it becomes anti climactic.
Aside from the total lack of plot, story telling and logic, it is actually not the worse film I have seen so far in 2019, so there is that going for it. I mean, you have been warned, but at least it isn't a very long film. I did give it a 4, so it's only bad. Go chase that whale!
B movie sci-fi films are notoriously bad. They either are so low budget at they are silly, or they come from an Aliens rip off. Beyond White Space is bad for altogether different reasons - a total lack of story telling.
Lets start with what I did enjoy. The effects are better than I expected, the cast is likeable... that's about it.
What is wrong is a total lack of continuity, the ability to build a story, logic of characters or actions or payoff.
The main plot (for no one could count the number of extra sub plots floating around this film) is that an ancient space creature needs to be hunted for some reason; and space pirates are in there somewhere, and space cops? After this, I stopped caring very quickly. The film just does not make sense, and what is even worse is that it becomes anti climactic.
Aside from the total lack of plot, story telling and logic, it is actually not the worse film I have seen so far in 2019, so there is that going for it. I mean, you have been warned, but at least it isn't a very long film. I did give it a 4, so it's only bad. Go chase that whale!
- danfurtado-11221
- May 26, 2019
- Permalink
This movie does not know what it wants to be. Is it Aliens, Moby Dick in space, Space Pirates, Sex in the Space Locke room or Serenity? It does not know. I feel bad for the actors. Despite all the people complaining about the acting I think they did a fantastic job of presenting a ludicrous plot line as a serious scenario. Their acting was far better than a B movie. I also agree that the special effects was top notch in this movie. This movie did not fail due to lack of effort. This movie failed due to the ridiculous concept of space creatures.
In my opinion, the only series to successfully portray life in space was Farscape. It too, had points regarding Moya that had to be overlooked in order to enjoy the series. Star Trek had tried to broach this topic and only succeeded, just barely, due to the cast and the recurring episodes to follow. If you concentrated only on those few episodes, it would not make the cut.
The writer took a chance in presenting a topic that was very difficult to convince viewers of its plausibility. Horror films have a far greater chance to have audiences accept the impossible due to fear of the moment. This movie did not know what it was and does not appear to have had horror as the main point. It seems to be an science fiction adventure movie with an impossible plot.
In my opinion, the only series to successfully portray life in space was Farscape. It too, had points regarding Moya that had to be overlooked in order to enjoy the series. Star Trek had tried to broach this topic and only succeeded, just barely, due to the cast and the recurring episodes to follow. If you concentrated only on those few episodes, it would not make the cut.
The writer took a chance in presenting a topic that was very difficult to convince viewers of its plausibility. Horror films have a far greater chance to have audiences accept the impossible due to fear of the moment. This movie did not know what it was and does not appear to have had horror as the main point. It seems to be an science fiction adventure movie with an impossible plot.
This is obviously B-movie fare. The actors, the story, even the whole idea is very much not top of the line.
BUT the production values are surprisingly good. I was frankly amazed at how well the CGI and sets stood up compared to the rest of the movie. The creatures are not as well made as the rest of the CGI, but still a fair notch above standard B movie quality.
If you are a scifi geek the world it is set in is enough to see it. The story itself is kind of lame. 5 stars for sets, CGI and space. 1 star for all the rest.
PS The guy saying that the effects are bad obviously wrote his review based on the poster and name of the movie.. No way he watched it.
BUT the production values are surprisingly good. I was frankly amazed at how well the CGI and sets stood up compared to the rest of the movie. The creatures are not as well made as the rest of the CGI, but still a fair notch above standard B movie quality.
If you are a scifi geek the world it is set in is enough to see it. The story itself is kind of lame. 5 stars for sets, CGI and space. 1 star for all the rest.
PS The guy saying that the effects are bad obviously wrote his review based on the poster and name of the movie.. No way he watched it.
- IamJustTellingyouWhatIthink
- Dec 13, 2018
- Permalink
Beyond White Space is no bad movie (for sure not the worst movie ever, like some reviewers claim) but also no good one - some parts are fun, some are rather boring. Acting and production are B-movie style, so if you like movies about space adventures and you need something new on your screen, you may give this Moby Dick "light" a try. The idea of hunting for "space whales" to feed mankind is of course cheese deluxe.
- Tweetienator
- Aug 19, 2021
- Permalink
It is indeed Moby dick meets pacific rim critters that read about knights of Sidonia.
Nevertheless I really enjoyed most of it.
GFX are way up there, acting is good, story is good enough, fails on the execution at 3/4 but picks up at the very end.
I think they had too many idea's and all had to be edited into the last 3/4 before the climax.
If you are on weed you might not even notice =)
Enjoyed it but also, next time, polish it up more and get a 10.
<B
- macshrikemobile
- Dec 14, 2018
- Permalink
I have a thing for space movies. The trailer seemed reasonable. So I checked out the movie & Oh boy! the VFX is awesome & top notch for such an obscure movie. Then I looked into the director filmography & this guy seems to be the VFX supervisor for many popular films. I guess that's the reason the graphics are a top notch
Story wise its so-so but its definitely a popcorn free-time watch if you are into sci-fi, space action flicks.
So, another first direction from some specialist in movie making business - in this case CGI effect maker. I think that direction was not that bad, but story ...
Really something worst I had misfortune to experience. Yep - writer and director is same person. And that must be not good thing in case of beginner.
Dragons in space, vacuum ... why not, that's something new - let's do it ! Idiot commander ? Why not ! Add to it some family story, some agent, some romance and other 'so inventive' subplots, and you made 90 minute movie.
And for those, who managed to watch all it 'till finish, there is a nice reward at the end - I will not spoil it if say - hard to believe, but even stupider than all what was before. Just one of those movies where will not remember anything of it after couple weeks. Except bad taste. OK, whoever did cast 3 girls had good taste :-) That's why I give it 2.
Dragons in space, vacuum ... why not, that's something new - let's do it ! Idiot commander ? Why not ! Add to it some family story, some agent, some romance and other 'so inventive' subplots, and you made 90 minute movie.
And for those, who managed to watch all it 'till finish, there is a nice reward at the end - I will not spoil it if say - hard to believe, but even stupider than all what was before. Just one of those movies where will not remember anything of it after couple weeks. Except bad taste. OK, whoever did cast 3 girls had good taste :-) That's why I give it 2.
Acting is very poor.. no character gets any platform to make any impact...
Story logic is screwed up..
fight scenes with dragons are confusing.. not filmed well.. brass telescope in this high tech spaceship!! .. all high techs can not locate one person on the ship!!... Hot pilot does only some repeating stupid actions in the name of flying
Couple of bang scenes but nothing is shown
No crew member does any actual ship work.. they are just roaming around, eating, drinking and banging
Only good points are hot chicks and good space scenes and spaceships
Only good points are hot chicks and good space scenes and spaceships
- kalpeshgala
- May 17, 2020
- Permalink
Seems like this Visual Effect guy thinks he's a writer and expects to have a sequel to this garbage.
I hate non-endings
I hate non-endings
- junkmail-03930
- May 27, 2019
- Permalink
- romneymeredith
- May 3, 2021
- Permalink
The acting is below average. Nothing makes sense. There are lifeforms in space, mostly edible giant carnivorous crabs you can bait with crystal and repel with fire extinguisher. And ludicrous Chinese dragons that wail like whales slithering where there's no water.
There are only three chicks aboard, and they are hot. Two are from the regular crew and are banging with the black dude. Hard. One is the cook, and she's covered with tattoos, has messy hair and... issues.
All the nooks of the ship are dirty. The kitchen is a pigsty I'd not even take a dump in. Cuz ya know, they're societal trash, so, they like to live in the dirt and never wash anything.
There are pirates in space but the ship has no canons.
I understand the reference to the ol'book of lore, but they all fall short. Who needs a brass telescope on a starship ? And a cavalry saber ?
That could have been a good film, but meh.
There are only three chicks aboard, and they are hot. Two are from the regular crew and are banging with the black dude. Hard. One is the cook, and she's covered with tattoos, has messy hair and... issues.
All the nooks of the ship are dirty. The kitchen is a pigsty I'd not even take a dump in. Cuz ya know, they're societal trash, so, they like to live in the dirt and never wash anything.
There are pirates in space but the ship has no canons.
I understand the reference to the ol'book of lore, but they all fall short. Who needs a brass telescope on a starship ? And a cavalry saber ?
That could have been a good film, but meh.
- permaculture-45885
- Jan 28, 2019
- Permalink
Ken Locsmandi has a long and impressive background as a special effects master. Beyond White Space (BWS) was a very ambitious project for a first time director, since the story is essentially Moby Dick.
I personally love the idea of rebooting classics into the SF genre. The only problem is that they will inevitably be compared with the classics - very risky.
Moby Dick already has several excellent cinematic incarnations, most recently Heart Of The Sea. These have been big budget, big name productions able to attract seasoned directors and actors.
The special effects in BWS are top notch, as to be expected from Locsmandi. The acting however is hit and miss. This has to be laid on the director, since the actors do prove they can hit their mark occasionally.
I have a feeling too much of the budget went into CG, not filming the endless live takes of inexperienced actors required to hit the mark every time in the final cut.
Perhaps he should have cast at least one seasoned and proven actor to lead the others. It likely would have improved the overall performance. The acting seemed rushed, impatient even.
I personally love the idea of rebooting classics into the SF genre. The only problem is that they will inevitably be compared with the classics - very risky.
Moby Dick already has several excellent cinematic incarnations, most recently Heart Of The Sea. These have been big budget, big name productions able to attract seasoned directors and actors.
The special effects in BWS are top notch, as to be expected from Locsmandi. The acting however is hit and miss. This has to be laid on the director, since the actors do prove they can hit their mark occasionally.
I have a feeling too much of the budget went into CG, not filming the endless live takes of inexperienced actors required to hit the mark every time in the final cut.
Perhaps he should have cast at least one seasoned and proven actor to lead the others. It likely would have improved the overall performance. The acting seemed rushed, impatient even.
- dcerisano-27495
- Dec 14, 2018
- Permalink
I think the camera work, editing , effects, the CGI environment and other CGI work were very good .
Even the story isn't bad at all .
That's very rare for a Scifi movie without a massive budget .
For me it really fell short when it came to the characters . The dialogues, maybe the way the characters were written or directed, it felt hollow and cheap. The actors wern't horrible, not good either, but the casting was way off . The captain and the old guy most obviously, the rest of them as well to some degree .
There are better actors, and actors who would have been a better fit for their respective roles, without increasing the budget . Casting is an art in of itself, and the people responsible here didn't have the skills to get it right .
I guess there is a reason why some decent movies are merely watchable, like this one, and some movies are good or even great despite having a similar budget and some main ingredients are no better or even worse .
You just can't get any of those main ingredients completely wrong, and this movie is guilty of that re. the casting and characters .
Still very watchable though, just a shame about the avoidable shortcomings .
That's very rare for a Scifi movie without a massive budget .
For me it really fell short when it came to the characters . The dialogues, maybe the way the characters were written or directed, it felt hollow and cheap. The actors wern't horrible, not good either, but the casting was way off . The captain and the old guy most obviously, the rest of them as well to some degree .
There are better actors, and actors who would have been a better fit for their respective roles, without increasing the budget . Casting is an art in of itself, and the people responsible here didn't have the skills to get it right .
I guess there is a reason why some decent movies are merely watchable, like this one, and some movies are good or even great despite having a similar budget and some main ingredients are no better or even worse .
You just can't get any of those main ingredients completely wrong, and this movie is guilty of that re. the casting and characters .
Still very watchable though, just a shame about the avoidable shortcomings .
This movie is nothing new but still a great addition to the sci fi gender, and finally we don't get cheap asylum like special effects.
I was very impressed with the quality of the effects, creatures, space ship, even how space looks, the acting is ok nothing super, the story is not bad either.
I really hope its the new standard for sci fi movies and they will put some good effort in the effects not giving us cheap CG.
I was very impressed with the quality of the effects, creatures, space ship, even how space looks, the acting is ok nothing super, the story is not bad either.
I really hope its the new standard for sci fi movies and they will put some good effort in the effects not giving us cheap CG.
The movie is far from perfect and I certainly didn't expect much from it, but I found it to be quite enjoyable. Yeah, so it's basically Moby Dick in space, on a low budget, with an underdeveloped script and questionable acting, but I didn't go in expecting Lawrence of Arabia ... and compared to some of the sci-fi-dross out there this one is not too bad. I didn't really like the sudden slasher element introduced towards the end - that was weird and underexplained, and didn't fit in at all, but overall I liked the movie.
- Snabeldyhr
- Jan 9, 2019
- Permalink
This movie comprises very cliché you would expect from a low budget movie and is still able to surprise you with all the inconsistencies you can expect from works in this category - from the holes in the script and the development of characters down to the ridiculous ending.
A lot of money spent here. Not bad acting on a bad script, don't think the direction was very good. Attractive cast that seemed to be loosely based on Mobile Dick theme, with way to many other issues thrown in. But good effects, and not bad acting considering the story line was bouncing off the Walls.
This movie needed some to take control, and do a better job of organizing the story line to make it flow better...
This movie needed some to take control, and do a better job of organizing the story line to make it flow better...
- relkind-592-518331
- Feb 2, 2019
- Permalink
The space setting is childish, the actors and performances are unsatisfactory, the story structure and the lens language are confusing, the characters are not normal, and the logic is not clear... In short, there is no merit in all aspects.