enterthemadness
The Triumvirate
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2005
- Messages
- 28,544
- Reaction score
- 19
- Points
- 58
Well, I got done watching this low-budget movie not too long ago. I'm going to be straight forward and say it isn't a good movie. Not even ok. Before I get into the problems this movie has and the few things that are positive in it, I'm going to tell you all the plot.
Machines from space have taken over the world. In hours they are able to wipe out 90% of the population on Earth. The rest of the human population manages to escape and hide underground. Hundreds of years go bye before the machines begin to advance on the hiding humans. Some humans decide to fight, but others want to wait and come up with a plan or something. Can't really remember. Basically it's Terminator meets Transformers in a nutshell, without the budget.
The movie's main problem...is the CGI. This is low budget CGI right here folks. The CGI for the machines isn't convincing nor is it when used in other places in the film. Synapse FX dropped the ball here big time. I know this is a low-budget movie that is FX heavy, but you have to do better with the CGI or not do it at all. Miniatures would have looked more real than the CGI used.
I don't know if it was my rental copy or just the dvd, but at least half of the film is out of sync. Actors talk, but the words aren't matching with their lips. If this is actually a problem with the dvd, then The Asylum rushed this out in a hurry. I can understand the CGI, because this is low-budget, but they should have finished the syncing. During battle scenes, guns are fired and targets are hit, but no noise. Another audio problem.
Director Leigh Scott isn't truly terrible here. There's not a lot of fancy shots that I can recall, and he gets some of the cast to act, but it's not good. With a much bigger budget and a better cast, well, he might put out a better film. He is also the editor and writer for this film. Some scenes seem to cut away before they should. This doesn't happen too often that I remember and isn't the biggest problem. I honestly can't remember too much of the script, maybe because the CGI was so PS2 like, but I don't recall a lot of plot holes.
Set design in some area's are ok. In fact, the set designs are much better than the CGI used in this film. Props to Kurt Altschwager for the production design.
Victoria Mazze and Chris Ride give the movie a ok score, but it's one you may forget as soon as the movie is done. It's basically your standard sci-fi/action score, but it gets the job done and nothing more.
Matthew Wolf (Mitchell) is the best actor here. He delivers his lines the best and is the most believable. Overall he is alright and deserves better than this. Jeff Denton (McGuire) is fine in his small role. A few other actors are fine or so-so, while some should go back to acting school to improve. I will say that some of the women in the cast are hot. Not good at acting, but nice on the eyes.
Verdict: It did keep my attention, as I watched the entire movie, but it was also boring in some areas. It isn't the worse movie I've seen, nor is it even so-so. Four stars out of ten, which is a D- overall. Had hopes for this one, but they weren't matched. If you have to watch this movie, wait until it airs on Sci-Fi or get it as a free rental.
The DVD is packed though. Haven't watched the special features yet, but the DVD has the following extras.
A Making of.
Making of the CGI.
Director's Commentary
Outtakes
Faith Music Video (this isn't mentioned on the back of the case though, but is on the disc)
Interactive main menu's.
There is a twist that comes out of no where (at least to me it does).
Matthew Wolf (Mitchell) is actually a android/cyborg. Which I guess explains how he survives above ground for so long, before finally joining everyone else below ground.
Trivia:
Matthew Wolf has a part (assuming very small) in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End as Endeavor Officer.
