A brilliant sci-fi thriller......which then devolves into a disastrous slasher humiliation.
This is one of the most rage inducing films I will cover this month. The first two-thirds are a beautifully written and cerebral science fiction masterpiece. However at around the two-thirds mark, it changes and drops all of its clever aspects and ideas.
Before I cover this, I'll talk about the films promising start. The films cast is exceptional, both in terms of acting and reflecting thematically on the film itself. The ships multicultural crew helps to represent that this is a global crisis. American, British, Japanese, Oceanic and Chinese actors were employed to demonstrate this, with perfect casting all-around. Cillian Murphy offers a strong and charismatic performance (as expected), Hiroyuki Sanada brings a powerful nobility befitting of a leader, and Chris Evans offers a moral grayness rarely seen in other large sci-fi productions. The only significant issues I have with the casting and acting of the film is that Michelle Yeoh was pretty much wasted, and Mark Strong is given horrendous material. However this material only occurs during the films terrible climax, which I will cover at the end.
The screenplay is, at first, very good also. Focusing on the effects of human error rather than convoluted villains and freak occurrences adds a reliability and tragedy to the events that are also often missing in certain sci-fi plots. The pacing is solid and allows for a good amount of character and atmosphere without seeming bloated or losing focus. Furthermore the dialogue seems natural, and fitting for a group of intelligent individuals (Physicists, Psychiatrists, Astronauts etc.). The screenplay dives during the climax also however, suffering worse than the other elements in fact.
The soundtrack to the film is epic, defiantly one of the reasons the film starts off so strong. John Murphy tops his excellent work on the '28 Days Later' OST, bringing a sense of grandeur to the proceedings of the film. It truly is one of the great modern soundtracks.
Now I will talk about the climax. The reason my rating is a 5 rather than the 7/8 the first two-thirds were worthy of. Without spoiling the film, the cerebral and intelligent tone set throughout the preceding film is totally dropped and a slasher-horror tone replaces it. I honestly didn't want to review this film as a horror, however that is what it becomes. It ends on a ridiculous and laughable note, ruining the majestic scientific concepts which propelled the film forward prior to the climax. In addition, it takes the previously promising scenes with Mark Strong, and ruins them, turning him into a campy slasher villain and robbing the film of its tragic overarching tone. Established by the villain-free human errors which occur at the start of the film.
Overall, this film totally crashes and burns. It switches genre in the most ham-fisted manner possible, and spoils everything the film previously stood for. I would almost call it a betrayal.
Before I cover this, I'll talk about the films promising start. The films cast is exceptional, both in terms of acting and reflecting thematically on the film itself. The ships multicultural crew helps to represent that this is a global crisis. American, British, Japanese, Oceanic and Chinese actors were employed to demonstrate this, with perfect casting all-around. Cillian Murphy offers a strong and charismatic performance (as expected), Hiroyuki Sanada brings a powerful nobility befitting of a leader, and Chris Evans offers a moral grayness rarely seen in other large sci-fi productions. The only significant issues I have with the casting and acting of the film is that Michelle Yeoh was pretty much wasted, and Mark Strong is given horrendous material. However this material only occurs during the films terrible climax, which I will cover at the end.
The screenplay is, at first, very good also. Focusing on the effects of human error rather than convoluted villains and freak occurrences adds a reliability and tragedy to the events that are also often missing in certain sci-fi plots. The pacing is solid and allows for a good amount of character and atmosphere without seeming bloated or losing focus. Furthermore the dialogue seems natural, and fitting for a group of intelligent individuals (Physicists, Psychiatrists, Astronauts etc.). The screenplay dives during the climax also however, suffering worse than the other elements in fact.
The soundtrack to the film is epic, defiantly one of the reasons the film starts off so strong. John Murphy tops his excellent work on the '28 Days Later' OST, bringing a sense of grandeur to the proceedings of the film. It truly is one of the great modern soundtracks.
Now I will talk about the climax. The reason my rating is a 5 rather than the 7/8 the first two-thirds were worthy of. Without spoiling the film, the cerebral and intelligent tone set throughout the preceding film is totally dropped and a slasher-horror tone replaces it. I honestly didn't want to review this film as a horror, however that is what it becomes. It ends on a ridiculous and laughable note, ruining the majestic scientific concepts which propelled the film forward prior to the climax. In addition, it takes the previously promising scenes with Mark Strong, and ruins them, turning him into a campy slasher villain and robbing the film of its tragic overarching tone. Established by the villain-free human errors which occur at the start of the film.
Overall, this film totally crashes and burns. It switches genre in the most ham-fisted manner possible, and spoils everything the film previously stood for. I would almost call it a betrayal.
Originally posted 11/10/14 on IMDB.com, as part of HALLOWEEN HORROR REVIEWS 2014
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