Reviews

You want action you got action and then some. We are going to break this film down into several parts Drive, story, delivery, and message. Bare with me I am still trying to determine a proper format for film commentary.

Look at this film gamer its a great movie as far as game related films go. It had that drive that was derived from the action that pushed the story without faltering or coming off as filler. Although action was the drive it was not always front and foremost when the time came the action drifted to the bottom and became the undercurrent on which other aspects of the film would ride on.

And ride on that undercurrent is exactly what the story of this film did. It left a few open ended questions like where exactly everything took place, when, how did one gain access to control a player and a myriad of other questions that could have been answered with a next to no story telling. The story was a familiar format action history conflict twist climax and resolution. But without telling too much about the film I can say the story leaves a bit to be desired. But the execution was magnificent the directors made sure to dig into the literal gaming world and pull out various aspects of it that the gaming demographic would recognize. First few scenes there are some classic fps tea bagging and crouch jumping. And during the Sim like scenes it brought up many things that players actually do when playing seems and you definitely feel that if your Sims really had a mind in the real game there would be a few issues with playing the game. For the demographic the movie lacked some comedic packaging and that fact really effects my view of the message of the film.

What I think of the message is neither here nor there. But I do think highly of this movie even if it will keep me from enjoying Sims for some time to come. I believe the film is a satire maybe not in it's entirety but in some parts on humanity. The film pokes and prods at us and how morbid we can become when we are able to detach from the experience of murder, bloodshed, and carnage. How as we pursue a better gaming experience and story lines of ethics can become blurred very much an allusion to roman gladiators and Colosseum if you ask me.

The Setup: Here we have a series that frowns on misuse of cannon and a fan base that would kill for it. Here we have an established series that does not pretend to be great and admits that it has had poor incarnations but also great ones. Here we have a series that missed the generation that could relate to the techno babble and grabbed the generation that could only fantasize about it. Here We Have Star Trek! The Pull: So JJ was cited as saying he was never a trek all star. Well if that is the case lets make that the rule rather than the exception. For those of us who missed the Trek bus it is just a new experience for those who were on the bus you just got a transfer. Simply put JJ in the span of 1 movie setup a completely different star trek with the same characters while fleshing out these characters based on their original conceptions. The Feel: The movie actually feels more like a bromance/rebels film almost every character is breaking some kind of norm and rebelling against the system in their own way. But the film is obviously as it plays out as homage to the series. What can be taken away from the film and what you hope for: Maybe if I watched it several times i could find a hidden meaning of life or some sort but what I took from the movie personally and what I feel others took from the movie as well was a notion of identity. What I hope is for the universe with out Vulcan be expanded upon as a federation without them would truly be a different beast.

This movie made me grab some cell phones and delete my number. Although I do not believe in spirits haunting phones i do believe in spirits such as death and demons. I also believe in bad luck streaks jumping from people to people. That said lets move on to the actually movie.

Plot: I never heard of a plot so twisted (literally the twist were at every other scene) I was not sure what was happening until it had happened and I paused and took a few minutes to collect my thoughts on what just transpired. My line of thought was simple at first. People get a call hearing their death they die soon after and candy pops out their mouth they make one more call to someone in their contact list that person is next. Then the questions started coming in. This is when i got confused. Why did candy pop out their mouth? Why a cell phone? Why do they have to die? So on and so forth. The answers somewhat make sense. . . and i really emphasis the somewhat. But they do make sense.

Execution: I do not believe it could have been done better. That pretty much all i have to say about the execution. It was a decent length the subs were not a blinding color and a blur across the bottom of the screen. The acting was decent even if their dialogue was predictable at times although the story itself was not.

Climax: A beautiful flash of humanity and our fear of death and how we overcome it to live or so i thought until the final 2 twist come in and she stabs her companion as he tries to save her.

Closing: It was almost perfect but i was not sure if the male star would be finishing his piece of candy. I hate open endings that leave you wondering was it solved or is he still gonna die.

This was definitely an experience to say the least. The premise was in the beginning overdone. Large monster wrecks city lots of screaming lots of military firepower. But there was a twist that changed the whole thing keep the story on one person or group let the story be told in First person something rarely done without narrative. In this case it was done expertly. That twist led into a deeper story one of romance. I have to say when this movie came together with all its elements i was reborn. I never once saw myself as movie savvy or even a movie goer but the impact this movie had on me and my friends was like wow movies are more than a time burner. I am sure it will hit most viewers the same way. For the first time in 17+ years I was on the edge of my seat inhaling when the windows blew in holding my breath as the dust settled twitching my leg as the distance between point A and B was being covered. Me and friends still talk about if it was us in the sub tunnel running for our lives how we would not hesitate to turn back for the others. This may be me romanticizing the movie but it hit a note in the heart of 3 boys and 4 girls that night. "Anything for love" has never been such a real statement till then. A life lesson learned from what was expected to be a cheap popcorn spiller. This movie is a must see for anyone. Only problem is it was short and left a lot of lose ends there was no closure at all.