scientya

"The Pod Generation" had the potential to shine as a gripping Black Mirror episode, with a compact runtime of just one hour. However, it seemed to have been needlessly stretched to 111 minutes, weakening its impact and leaving the narrative feeling rather hollow. Throughout the film, there were several scenes (dream scenes, therapy sessions, ...) that felt exuberant and ultimately failed to contribute significantly to the story, resulting in a sense of dragging and stagnation.

Even with the extended runtime, "The Pod Generation" left viewers with a lingering sense of incompleteness, as though there were unresolved threads that needed further exploration. I would have loved further world building or an extension of the conspiracies that were teased. Without any of that, the story could have been tighter, focusing on its core themes and plot points, and it would have benefitted from a more concise approach to storytelling, akin to the thought-provoking brevity that Black Mirror is known for.

As many here have already criticized, the plot seems jumbled on a macro level, I basically agree here. In the end, you could ask if you have watched two or three different movies packed into one. On the other hand, I find the individual acts well worth watching, and the individual scenes and dialogs are super entertaining and thought-provoking. I loved the characters and the dynamics between them. So, between the fast-paceness of the plot and the lovely, theatrical, witty scenes, for me there was no sense of boredom at any point in the film. I felt entertained -- and that's the most important part of a movie.