When a dirty bomb releases a virus, the Government race to secure the one man whose blood can be mixed to produce a cure – however the enemy is also racing to get to him first.
Interest to read around on the internet to find out a little more about the making of this film. Reportedly it was made for about 3500, in several states over the space of several years – I also read that it uses no stock footage at all. Watching the film this is a little hard to believe, as it really looks like a film that must have cost much, much more than that. It has sky-diving, prop weapons, effects shots of explosions, jets and helicopters, and generally has the sheen and excess of a blockbuster action movie. I guess that, if it did cost what they say, that certainly a lot of it was made from favours and borrowing props/outfits (the writer/director has a very busy resume of being on the set of blockbuster action movies as a a production assistant).
Regardless though, it is a film that aims high is manages to pull off the feel of a summer thriller surprisingly well; the director having a good sense of the type of music and movement that generally makes these things work. The irony then is that it also manages to capture the weaknesses of the blockbuster. The plot is poor and even though it is only 20 minutes long, the plot holes are there for the taking. Accordingly the characters are weak and, without a big presence in the lead, there is no charisma or star-power to cover this gap. In the end it is hard to be too interested in what is happening and how it ends, even if it is distracting to watch men with guns running and shouting.
As a production Plasma is a real achievement that will make you want to try to understand more of the making, since it seems almost impossible to have done on such little money. However, as a film it engages a lot less, producing some solid generic pace, but not too much more than that.
