Despite all the negative reviews on this site, I actually liked this movie. I will admit one reason I did, is because I like movies that are different. I don't tend to like movies (of which there are so many) that adhere to old formulas that writer's have used for years. Most everything that happens in movies like that is very predictable. I thought the atmosphere created was impressive - a lot of suspense and fear. Many reviewers thought the acting was bad in this movie, but I thought it was quite good, and I'm an old timer who loves movies. It appears that most reviewers hated this movie because it was hard to figure out what was going on, particularly at the end. So I have included some clues (spoilers) if you are trying to make sense of it.
The ending should have been very clear. This was a test being conducted by the military, which involved chemical warfare. (Reeves throws up the first time he comes in contact with the orange powder.) Just after the credits started, the final scene appeared. (I wonder if some people didn't wait long enough to see the final scene.) The final scene shows loud speakers in the trees, and then someone announces the beginning of the next test. A soldier emerges from underground, implying that another group of mercenaries with two hostages would be going through the same or similar test.
Clues during the movie that this was a test are: 1. Another team of mercenaries with two hostages, dressed in red, were found beheaded. 2. In the tank, the hostage says "Don't you think that there's something not right about this? She doesn't know why she had been taken. (It seems most likely that she was taken at random by the military for the test. The military/govt. obviously saw people as expendable, none of them were going to survive. Moreover, their records were going to be destroyed. 3. The Captain was always writing in his book. Why was there such detailed documentation of their mission? The medic finally gets to look through the book, after she is shot and dying, and finds out the captain has been documenting the dosages of the sedative she has been giving everyone. 4. The view of the tank from high above shows the tracks of the tank from the previous test, and the orange powder is seen in many places surrounding it. 5. The orange powder was called Kratos - power and strength (mythological, superhuman). It made them aggressive and fearless, although seems to have affected some of them differently, hallucinations and panic (this it would seem was one of the things the military was testing). Was the orange powder to be used for their own troops or the enemy? 6. Other clues - there were other clues but this review has already become to long.
The ending should have been very clear. This was a test being conducted by the military, which involved chemical warfare. (Reeves throws up the first time he comes in contact with the orange powder.) Just after the credits started, the final scene appeared. (I wonder if some people didn't wait long enough to see the final scene.) The final scene shows loud speakers in the trees, and then someone announces the beginning of the next test. A soldier emerges from underground, implying that another group of mercenaries with two hostages would be going through the same or similar test.
Clues during the movie that this was a test are: 1. Another team of mercenaries with two hostages, dressed in red, were found beheaded. 2. In the tank, the hostage says "Don't you think that there's something not right about this? She doesn't know why she had been taken. (It seems most likely that she was taken at random by the military for the test. The military/govt. obviously saw people as expendable, none of them were going to survive. Moreover, their records were going to be destroyed. 3. The Captain was always writing in his book. Why was there such detailed documentation of their mission? The medic finally gets to look through the book, after she is shot and dying, and finds out the captain has been documenting the dosages of the sedative she has been giving everyone. 4. The view of the tank from high above shows the tracks of the tank from the previous test, and the orange powder is seen in many places surrounding it. 5. The orange powder was called Kratos - power and strength (mythological, superhuman). It made them aggressive and fearless, although seems to have affected some of them differently, hallucinations and panic (this it would seem was one of the things the military was testing). Was the orange powder to be used for their own troops or the enemy? 6. Other clues - there were other clues but this review has already become to long.