Movies like Atlas Shrugged and In Time exist on a plane of existence I like to call "allegory gone wrong." Branded belongs in that same ilk, never realizing how patently absurd the rabbit hole the writers have delved into it, contending that a direct allegory is all one needs to make a sci-fi film. That's just not the case.
In Branded, a young child is struck by lightning and becomes good at advertising when an adult. Meanwhile, the fast-food companies start an advertising push to make fat sexy because, well, you know, it's easier than making your food healthier. Our intrepid advertising exec is a whiz at this, starting a bizarre series of reality TV shows and billboards that don't even come close to making sense, until he has a dream that tells him to slaughter a cow and bathe in its ashes, and then he can see physical manifestations of advertising causing people to eat more and get fatter.
Yeah, this might just be the dumbest idea for a social speculative fiction movie ever. It's just bizarre, ill-conceived nonsense that tries oh-so hard to be some kind of Matrix-style mind-bender while simultaneously trying to educate us on 9th-grade economics through a strange robotic voice-over that halts the narrative focus of the film. Also, Max von Sydow stars as the aptly named "Marketing Guru" who spearheads the marketing campaigns and magically disappears in a flash of lightning once our hero decides to start a ridiculous smear campaign that everyone follows along with in spite of them making no sense.
The entire film makes no sense, blatantly ignoring any semblance of logic, interesting points, or even good visuals. It's trying so hard to say something but its so cartoonish and garish that nothing sticks. The acting from Ed Stoppard and LeeLee Sobiesky borders on SyFy channel bad. Avoid at all costs.
In Branded, a young child is struck by lightning and becomes good at advertising when an adult. Meanwhile, the fast-food companies start an advertising push to make fat sexy because, well, you know, it's easier than making your food healthier. Our intrepid advertising exec is a whiz at this, starting a bizarre series of reality TV shows and billboards that don't even come close to making sense, until he has a dream that tells him to slaughter a cow and bathe in its ashes, and then he can see physical manifestations of advertising causing people to eat more and get fatter.
Yeah, this might just be the dumbest idea for a social speculative fiction movie ever. It's just bizarre, ill-conceived nonsense that tries oh-so hard to be some kind of Matrix-style mind-bender while simultaneously trying to educate us on 9th-grade economics through a strange robotic voice-over that halts the narrative focus of the film. Also, Max von Sydow stars as the aptly named "Marketing Guru" who spearheads the marketing campaigns and magically disappears in a flash of lightning once our hero decides to start a ridiculous smear campaign that everyone follows along with in spite of them making no sense.
The entire film makes no sense, blatantly ignoring any semblance of logic, interesting points, or even good visuals. It's trying so hard to say something but its so cartoonish and garish that nothing sticks. The acting from Ed Stoppard and LeeLee Sobiesky borders on SyFy channel bad. Avoid at all costs.
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