The director did a Q/A after the screening and mentioned that he never got into film school, but got into the industry by working for 8 years
in cinematography for panavision, working his way up. I really respect that. Also, this film sounds effing amazing, mostly due to getting Skywalker Sound/Ben Burtt to assist. Amazing! Talk about connections.
**-light spoilers ahead-** With that said, this movie is built around these twists, but those twists are not very smart nor do they challenge you to think -but that isn't what makes this film bad -though I think good sci-fi should do that. This film combines ideas seen and used in past films; certainly it does very little new. In no way shape or form am I punishing this film for not being original either. It has one or two interesting concepts, it is a polished film with some genuine tense scenes. However, I just don't believe it is a very strong film because it is not very smart, and it is filmed with many scenes that are not very purposeful, or meaningful, especially to the story. Example: There are these random scenes where the main character is staring into a flooded forest crossing; seemed very out of place. or There is a scene where the protagonist on a wheelchair is escaping with female on stretcher tied to him, nobody notices him.
This film actually reminded me of Skyline more than anything else. It also kind of rips off the best concepts of Dark City.
I think this director has much potential, but I implore him to challenge the audience more with storytelling, and moreover to stop using visual effects as the pillars of a film, to stop letting the desire for a twist to drive a film. Good storytelling is beyond those things.
in cinematography for panavision, working his way up. I really respect that. Also, this film sounds effing amazing, mostly due to getting Skywalker Sound/Ben Burtt to assist. Amazing! Talk about connections.
**-light spoilers ahead-** With that said, this movie is built around these twists, but those twists are not very smart nor do they challenge you to think -but that isn't what makes this film bad -though I think good sci-fi should do that. This film combines ideas seen and used in past films; certainly it does very little new. In no way shape or form am I punishing this film for not being original either. It has one or two interesting concepts, it is a polished film with some genuine tense scenes. However, I just don't believe it is a very strong film because it is not very smart, and it is filmed with many scenes that are not very purposeful, or meaningful, especially to the story. Example: There are these random scenes where the main character is staring into a flooded forest crossing; seemed very out of place. or There is a scene where the protagonist on a wheelchair is escaping with female on stretcher tied to him, nobody notices him.
This film actually reminded me of Skyline more than anything else. It also kind of rips off the best concepts of Dark City.
I think this director has much potential, but I implore him to challenge the audience more with storytelling, and moreover to stop using visual effects as the pillars of a film, to stop letting the desire for a twist to drive a film. Good storytelling is beyond those things.