What a strange film!
I actually really liked the start, where you don't really know what's going on apart from some military activity of unknown origin. You do have a feeling of being right there in the action, and that feeling is progressed through to the end. This is an idea with legs - and it looks like it will run and run but...
There were a few things that ruined this movie:
1) The characters seem to get quickly bogged down. Not only in terms of location but in terms of where their characters are going. There seems to be poor motivation for the characters.
2) The acting from Brittany Snow was terrible. Is this the actresses fault or do we blame the director for this? Whatever - it just felt really off in places - for example when the Gran died and when the priest killed himself. The poor acting just jolted me out of the moment. Funnily enough I thought the acting from Bautista was very good and I found his character very believable!
3) Very odd plot moments such as the church, the laundromat, and the gang house. Felt surreal in places.
4) Terrible ending. This is just bad script-writing in my opinion. The ending had a very unfinished feel to it. Events must have some logical purpose to them and a story without a conclusive ending will always fall flat. At least, the ending fell flat for me. I was almost surprised when the end credits rolled. Sure, I understand they had a message to get across on the futility and waste of violence, but the laws of screen-writing still apply - you need a compelling ending with RESOLUTION!
On the whole a good idea, with good action moments and well shot so you feel like you are in the action. Let down by some bad directing/acting and a poor ending.
I actually really liked the start, where you don't really know what's going on apart from some military activity of unknown origin. You do have a feeling of being right there in the action, and that feeling is progressed through to the end. This is an idea with legs - and it looks like it will run and run but...
There were a few things that ruined this movie:
1) The characters seem to get quickly bogged down. Not only in terms of location but in terms of where their characters are going. There seems to be poor motivation for the characters.
2) The acting from Brittany Snow was terrible. Is this the actresses fault or do we blame the director for this? Whatever - it just felt really off in places - for example when the Gran died and when the priest killed himself. The poor acting just jolted me out of the moment. Funnily enough I thought the acting from Bautista was very good and I found his character very believable!
3) Very odd plot moments such as the church, the laundromat, and the gang house. Felt surreal in places.
4) Terrible ending. This is just bad script-writing in my opinion. The ending had a very unfinished feel to it. Events must have some logical purpose to them and a story without a conclusive ending will always fall flat. At least, the ending fell flat for me. I was almost surprised when the end credits rolled. Sure, I understand they had a message to get across on the futility and waste of violence, but the laws of screen-writing still apply - you need a compelling ending with RESOLUTION!
On the whole a good idea, with good action moments and well shot so you feel like you are in the action. Let down by some bad directing/acting and a poor ending.