findingdevotion Reviews

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Finally a movie void of Hollywood formulas

[10/10 · 13 June 2014]

Despite Tom Cruise's presence (yes, the movie might just be 11 out of 10 featuring someone else) the movie proves its worth. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie void of typical Hollywood clichés.

1. US isn't the target of choice anymore, Europe is. World armies join to combat the enemy threat. It was really nice to see London and Paris scenes.

2. No pointless love/sex. It's war and the main characters focus on that. There's some tension in the air that remains unfulfilled.

3. The climax of the movie is a ruse, there's no cheap/forced buildup to there but a natural tension that breaks for a moment letting us know we've had a red herring before the actual solution is found. Despite the misleading act, it's a climax nonetheless and it is genuinely thrilling (unlike the predictable formulaic movies that Hollywood is swamping us with every summer).

There's a reason for all that: the movie is based on a Japanese manga novel.

Survival Code (2013 TV Movie)

Supposed to be a pilot, still hoping for a series

[10/10 · 19 May 2014]

It seems that quite a few reviewers nailed this 'movie' for an incoherent story that leaves many questions up in the air.

While the 'movie' aired last year, it was never meant as a standalone movie (despite being released for TV as such). It was supposed to be a pilot for a series.

As such, its potential was never accomplished. Ty Olsson is a decent action hero and while the rest of the cast were relatively unknown, many of them had potential.

I found the episode to be intriguing and a bit nicer than the likes of 'Defiance' for example. What I love about it is that it doesn't pretend to more than it is.

When talking Sci-Fi, I'm fairly fed-up with humanoid 'aliens' that are nothing more than exaggerations of human traits rather than really 'alien' and whose purpose is to make the human race look profound and complex.

Borealis felt, shortly, like a breath of fresh air. I still hope for a revival.

Godzilla (2014)

A vehicle for monsters fighting each other

[1/10 · 19 May 2014]

I tried very hard to find something nice to say about this movie. It features the legendary monster Gojira (Godzilla), the metaphor the Japanese created for the nuclear holocaust.

Unlike other representations, here Godzilla is good (probably signifying a shift in the perception about nuclear power?) and fights for humanity (albeit misunderstood).

Visually the movie is well done, with a particular nod to the monster- fighting scenes which can be breathtaking at times.

However, the drawbacks are more prevalent. - there's no real story: monsters appear, wreak havoc and die/disappear. No motive is ever given except for a shrug which apparently states that it happens at times. - the human characters are irrelevant to the point where nobody would miss them if they weren't there. - the script is awful - Ken Watanabe is awfully underused and it seems to be a poster-boy for meditation, spending most of his time staring blankly and mumbling irrelevant things - there's some attempt at character development which is a waste of time as the 'characters' aren't really of any consequence in the story.

This movie feels like it should've gone straight to Bluray and I see little reason why someone would pay for the exquisite torture of watching this in 3D in cinemas.

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

300 - reloaded

[3/10 · 10 March 2014]

I'm not a fan of 300 but I am a fan of Frank Miller's graphic novels, which is the main reason why I chose to watch these movies.

Unlike other Frank Miller adaptations, 300 and its current sequel offer absolutely nothing to the viewer except 6-packs and gore. Sin City and even Wolverine depicted worlds, enclosed in their own rules.

Rise of an Empire draws upon history and manages to make a fool of itself. While anyone can agree that accuracy or factuality isn't and shouldn't be the purpose of a movie, the degree to which contemporary popular culture references and stereotypes find a place in something that should be connected to Ancient Greece is more than laughable: it just doesn't make sense.

Rise of an Empire is an evolution from the 6-pack sausage fest that was the original 300: they now bring into focus a pair of female strong characters who bear the name of historical heroes which are way more interesting than the bland, 2-dimensional creatures they portray in the movie.

Even worse, there's absolutely no reason for this movie to also be called '300'. The first time around it was a reference to the number of Spartans on the field of battle. Here it has no place at all. Replace '300' with anything else and it might make slightly more sense: 'Two Women: Rise of an Empire', 'Gorgo: Rise of an Empire', 'How Come a Tiny City Managed to Produce 100 times more ships than the rest of the city states in the area despite having a culture of war on land: Rise of an Empire'.

On the other hand the visual effects are quite amazing, although not groundbreaking, which is why I decided to give it a 3 instead of -1.

However, seeing it on the big screen remains an utter waste of time, I should've waited for the BluRay.

The Musketeers (2014–2016)

Possibly the best modern take on the Dumas novels

[10/10 · 11 February 2014]

I'm not one to squabble over mismatches between source material and movies - as long as the story is consistent within its own universe.

From this point of view, this series has managed to put all of the recent Hollywood adaptations to an absolute shame.

First of all, the adaptation is so good that sometimes it's difficult to say where the Dumas novels end and where the adaptation begins. Sure enough, the events from the books aren't borrowed entirely and sequentially but rather they are somewhat transformed and scattered.

The main plot points are there, but with extra background and extended events which strengthen character building.

This is definitely a necessary step especially because the original story (so very popular) has turned the characters, their demeanor, names and status into stereotypes ... and stereotypes can be boring especially when the original context is transformed.

The musketeers keep their names, general demeanor but their background stories are enriched (while keeping the main points).

Aramis is a former priest with a soft spot for the ladies ... but there's much more in the hold. Athos remains somewhat misanthropic with lots of mystery behind him (and with a history alongside Milady de Winter) Porthos gets more of an overhaul especially given the original largely straightforward character type. D'Artagnan in turn seems to be more of a bon-vivant type now and although he keeps his original motivation and history, he is portrayed here a lot more child-like. I'm not saying this is necessarily bad, but we'll have to wait and see what the writers will make of it.

Richelieu gets a great portrayal from the future Doctor Who actor, greatly improving upon the original character with more details and more political plots which are mostly well-thought out as opposed to the incredibly brainless plots of the Hollywood movies. Let's hope they'll keep up the kind of work that we've been shown in the first few episodes.

Obviously, nothing is perfect. There are inconsistencies here and there as well as questions left hanging. But we've got at least a season to see where they lead.

Intelligence (2014)

Spectacular lack of any "intelligence"

[2/10 · 26 January 2014]

Just when I was wondering what became of Marg Helgenberger in her post- CSI era and after finishing going again through Lost and wondering why I haven't seen Josh Holloway anywhere else, I came across the pilot of this TV series.

The premise has great potential: take army man, add The Internet and a load of acronyms (aka spy stuff) and see what happens. In the wake of the recent internal espionage scandals, it seems like a bold move with great promise.

Yet just as the shows starts off, it falls flat. Add pretty girl (as bodyguard) for forced sexual tension/frustration, cheap cockiness, loads and loads of senseless technobabble (really, in the age of ubiquitous internet access and technological literacy, Hollywood still tries to get away with this? insult!) and serve it cold.

As a sample, check this out: the chip, as described, should give Holloway's character instant access to information. Yet it also gains instant connectivity as well: when he's next to a phone, no matter what phone, the innocent little device suddenly turns on and gets connected to him. Is he a functional GSM antenna that somehow gives a data connection even to phones that don't normally have a data connection? Seems like that.

To make the show 'better', every plot serves as a bit of pro-NSA propaganda that doesn't even bother trying to justify itself: they have the right to spy on everyone on a hunch, borders and international relations don't matter at all - as a super secret government spy agency they can do as they please all over the world. It goes without saying that being good guys, they don't need to bother with details or justification.

In the end, it comes off as lacking any 'intelligent' plot whatsoever, the dialogue is dry and bland with one liners flying around aimlessly.

47 Ronin (2013)

So close ...

[5/10 · 12 January 2014]

"So close..." is the best I can say about this movie. It came so close of being great and it had everything going for it, starting from a great premise and ending with a decent cast and beautiful visuals.

Although its premise is a known fragment of Japanese history, I did not enter the cinema hall expecting historical accuracy. Saying that "47 Ronin" isn't historically accurate is like saying "300" isn't historically accurate ... or that mythology flicks don't follow the written material. They weren't meant to from the beginning.

Personally I found that the mix of magic with the storyline had great potential and the movie had a lot going for it: - (for the most part) great cast. The SHogun, Asano's daughter, his samurai, their parts are well written and even better acted - the visuals are compelling, beautiful even - the cultural items are correct (for the first time a near-perfect depiction of seppuku), costumes, decorations, etc - fights are well choreographed - amazing soundtrack that follows the beat of the movie - finally a movie that's not about saving the world as whole, just plain old vengeance

On the other hand, the downsides are almost equal in number and intensity: - Keanu is not an asset. He's not as horrible as other times, but doesn't fit at all in the movie - the skeleton tattooed gunman that appears on the poster is nowhere to be found. He appears for about 2 seconds in the movie and has a line, very very disappointing for someone who appears to be a main feature on the poster - the Witch part is horribly written and incredibly poorly acted. So poorly that it even makes Keanu seem good. - the movie is uneven paced. Starts slowly, the cuts off for a while and then accelerates all through to the end

Also, a few annoying things: - for all the visual accuracy of seppuku, I'm not sure why the writers decided to make the act a punishment. Seppuku was a personal decision following an act of dishonor, very rarely the result of an order. While in Asano's case it made sense, in the case of the ronin themselves there was no reason for the shogun to give them any order (much less to bear witness to their act, especially since they were ronin, the shogun had no power over them) they were to take their own lives anyway - the shogun states that following Asano's death they were to become ronin, but then again the samurai belonged to house/clan, not to a person. In the actual story, the family was stripped of titles and technically dissolved as a clan, therefore it could have no samurai on retainer. In the movie's logic, Oishi should have continued to serve the daughter. - the shogun rules the land but had no authority over tradition, gestures as those mentioned above as well as the order to dissolve a province by joining it with a rival would have resulted in immediate war. The shogun did rule the country, but the balance was kept by the province independence under the tutelage

Overall, the movie is worth seeing once. If you're a Japan history aficionado, you will have to put a lot of effort into suspending any form of critical thinking but in the end, even so, those little details where the movie contradicts itself will come back to annoy you.

Paranoia (I) (2013)

Better than "Now You See Me"

[6/10 · 23 September 2013]

First things first: Lukatic is a mediocre director. I enjoyed "21" and "Legally BLonde" as light entertainment. There's no reason to expect "Paranoia" to be anything else. And it isn't.

Overall, the movie is on part with "21" and that's the best that can be said.

"Paranoia" starts off nicely and builds up to a point where it could go anywhere and in a spectacular way. Sure, all those possibilities are predictable but many are also enjoyable. Yet, the movie, all of a sudden, decides to go nowhere.

It stays between a very shallow message against today's social media, an anti-privacy warning and an outcome that is thoroughly predictable, but not in a nice way.

To me, it seems absolutely equal with the big uninteresting flop that "Now You See Me" was. We have the same drive to appear smart and overexplain things in a manner that manages t debunk itself and show that under all the glitter the emperor is naked.

In "Now you See me", the glitter was cheap "wit". Here, we have the wasted skills of Oldman and Ford. However, I'll take Oldman and Ford any day.

White House Down (2013)

Action flick with a hint f irony

[8/10 · 16 August 2013]

White House Down came out after Olympus Has Fallen and for all intents and purposes it does look like a clone. The subject is virtually identical down to the smallest detail (preposterous story, outcast agent wannabe saves the president, there's a cheap betrayal twist too and so on).

What separates the two is that while Olympus Has Fallen takes its cheap stale patriotism seriously, White House Down takes a more lighthearted approach.

Firstly, whole OHF features no humor whatsoever, WHD has plenty of moments (and even introduces a geeky character for that purpose alone). I will have to mention the moment where the hero frantically turns on the video sensors on a presidential car when the windshield gets covered only to shout "Mr president, we have a zombie situation out there" only to have the president remark that it was just a movie his daughter was watching.

Secondly: OHF tries to recycle external enemies (North Korea in its case) in one of the lamest such attempts. WHD remains slightly more conservative by choosing the weapons manufacturing mafia and sneak an anti-war message in the process.

Lastly, putting one and one together, WHD throws in a lighthearted message and a good dose of humor making a forgettable yet momentarily entertaining action flick. OHF doesn't stand a chance.

Covert Affairs (2010–2014)

Fairly entertaining flick

[6/10 · 22 July 2013]

There's no doubt that "Covert Affairs" is a very entertaining flick. I like it and I watch it and that's enough said for it, as I plan to make this review a critical one to warn people about what to expect and what to not expect.

What's good: - Piper Perabo plays her character with a healthy dose of humor. - the series doesn't take itself too seriously and that helps a lot with suspending one's disbelief - plenty of likable characters - story lines have the minimum amount of originality to engage the viewer - just enough real-life details

What's bad: - just as there are many likable characters, there are also enough not- so-enjoyable ones (I found the terribly dislike the two Campbells as characters, despite their once-in-a-while positive appearances) - story lines are mildly engaging but not really smart enough. They are entertaining most of the time but ever so often a wild plot appears that's too outrageous - the series is way too soft. I don't mind the overly patriotic approach to some situations but the writers seem to avoid really though spy decisions - again in the softness department: the series drowns itself in spy clichés and runs away from delicate subjects.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Not even close to Die Hard

[3/10 · 14 April 2013]

I know the movie was pitched as a Die Hard clone, but even at that it's a miserable failure, so miserable that's baffling.

Does Gerard Butler have Willis' 'cool' action hero stance? Well, almost, but it's close enough. So where did this movie go wrong?

First of all, the premise. In Die Hard, the premise was simple: some bad guys chose a target that just happened to be in McClane's proximity. That's simple and it can be sold. In Olympus has Fallen, the target the friggin' White House, in USA. How does a heavy military plane enter US airspace unchecked, let alone the DC area unchecked (yeah, it says USAF, but I guess any control tower would have launched an alert when the aircraft didn't identify itself, long before coming close to the city)? How does an army of Asian tourists manage to get an arsenal of war? How does a handful of terrorists manage to replace an ENTIRE diplomatic mission save for the top guy? That story can't be sold even to three year olds.

In Die Hard, it's all about McClane's cool, humor and flair. It's all about action and killing bad guys. In Olympus has Fallen, too much cheap American cheap "patriotism" is injected, so much that it's painful. The film is plagued with a couple of cheap "our way of life" speeches which take away the fun for the moment and have the audience roll their eyes and exclaim: really??.

The action scenes are competent, but there's no suspense there. It's like Fuqua decide to inject cheese into a competent recipe, completely and utterly spoiling it.

In Die Hard, you had one experienced cop proving to be right in front of a bunch of other cops. I can dig that. In Olympus has Fallen, you have one insignificant and disgraced Secret Service agent (also experienced) who at one point tries to teach foreign policy to the entire defense structure of the US: generals, the CiC, etc. That doesn't fly in a million years.

In Die Hard, you had simple terrorist demands: money, revenge, etc In Olympus has Fallen, a terrorist tries to dictate US policy and international treaties while holding one man at gunpoint. He's may be The President, but he's one man. There's no reason to sacrifice a country and world peace for one man.

Also, the entire plot can be solved with basic logic: you cut White House hardlines, there's no way Cerberus could be activated, even with the correct codes.

In addition, the real system which in the movie is given the name Cerberus doesn't detonate the rogue missile: it simply switches off the engine and blows the warhead. It doesn't initiate the nuclear reaction which results in a nuclear explosion but burns the nuclear load so that it won't be used if found.

Revolution: No Quarter (2012) Season 1, Episode 3

Time to call it quites

[1/10 · 2 October 2012]

It was at this episode that I decided to take mercy on myself and stop subjecting myself to the continuous torture of self righteous tirade and predictable behavior.

So the initially apathetic hero tries to convince his overzealous friend to quit doing what everyone knows is the right thing: the fight for freedom and democracy. Predictably various circumstances will occur and the initially apathetic hero (IAH) will eventually, little by little, join the fight (stay tuned for the "amazing" twist!).

The self-righteous know-it-all teenager continues to defy any common sense and basic logic. Also predictably, the guy with the bow will be "secretly" drawn towards her, little by little changing allegiance (becoming a second IAH).

I am dying to know the secret behind everything, but the inept writing is making it all too hard to bear. So I'm done.

666 Park Avenue (2012–2013)

Terry O'Quinn's perfect character

[10/10 · 2 October 2012]

I'm writing this review after seeing just the first episode but as far as episodes go, this was more than just a pilot.

The series seems to benefit from solid writing, the pacing is perfect to keep you wondering.

Maybe the "666" in the name comes off slightly cheesy and tries too much to push the viewers towards the Faust tale but the setup is still great. The pilot steadily leads to a number of questions and possibilities all while creating a dense atmosphere that manages to clearly convey the feeling of being trapped in a game led by one man (or the devil).

Sure, the script may resemble the setup from "Devil's Advocate". Being a series however, it can afford letting some things under question. While in Devil's Advocate we had a character clearly setup as The Devil, plain and simple, here we are left wondering what's going on: is there a cult gone rogue? Is it the devil? It is a messenger or some kind of demon?

As far as the pilot goes, I was surprised to see that even if one were to summarize it, one couldn't very well simply give away spoilers because there aren't any to give. Who's who? Who wants what? Who does what? These are questions left to be answered.

Shortcomings? Sure, we could name a few. Aside from a few main characters, the cast is questionable. Perhaps they just need time to grow but I can still think of many debutants in series that have done way better jobs.

The camera was chaotic at times without any real reason.

Final word? The story is catchy, dense and full of suspense. It has the prospects of giving a fair amount of chills if properly developed and I am definitely going to follow it.

It's not entirely a 10/10, maybe more like 8/10, but I'm stepping it up as the recent releases have been incredibly low, such as the cheap teen flick Revolution which can make anything else look amazing.

Elementary: Pilot (2012) Season 1, Episode 1

There's no Sherlock here

[4/10 · 28 September 2012]

Even though the main characters are called Holmes and Watson, they have nothing to do with the beloved characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Lately, the "re-imagining" trend starts looking more and more like an excuse to plug a character with a well-known name and none of the story or personality for the sole purpose of cashing in a few dollars from a classic author without giving any credit (note how the show doesn't credit Doyle even for the creation of the characters).

So in that case why not call them Ben Rupert and his sidekick Anna Patrick? In that case you'd lose the audience lured in by the name for the first few episode before they realize that there's no embodiment here for their beloved detective.

Moffat's re-imagining had a little spunk there. There was some background, some of the stories were adapted, etc. Moffat gave up some of the cohesion and some of the logic that made the original characters believable in an effort to adapt them to the modern world. Even though the wit was gone, it was still entertaining.

Ritchie's Holmes kept the character alive and added to it, making it not just witty but also more fun that the pure exercise of intellect that Doyle offered.

We could go over and over and would find better and worse interpretations of Holmes, only to reach this conclusion: "Elementary" isn't necessarily the worst, but its sin is that it is the most annoying. If you're going to throw away everything that made Holmes into Holmes, do it properly, don't drag the name into a show that is aimlessly searching for an identity!

Bottom line is, the show could very well stand its own ground if it wouldn't desperately try to cash in on established characters!

Revolution: Chained Heat (2012) Season 1, Episode 2

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse ...

[1/10 · 25 September 2012]

I'm guessing someone realized how bad the pilot was and thought: "how can we improve it?" most likely the answer was: "make an episode so much worse that it makes the pilot look like a masterpiece".

In that respect, this was a success, as it contains and incredible amount of self-righteous clichés per minute (literally, try to find something that's not an overused cliché here).

Every second of it is a painful predictable cliché, from the stupid teenager who runs off to do her thing to the military guy who falls for some spoiled brat tears (seriously, hardened military who takes the help of a hotheaded teen for no reason at all, that's good strategy??).

Stupid moment that keeps on giving: - hotheaded teen decides to set a trap for her stalker then just before going cries: "you're militia??". WTF girl, haven't you established that in the first episode given his tattoo and the fact he tried to capture your uncle alone in a bar full of civilians proving himself even more stupid and useless than you or any "red-shirt" henchmen?

Also, repeating three times "where are you going?" when your uncle told you he's got someone to see might the borderline between annoying teen and medically retarded.

The Wozniak-lookalike guy's logic: woman cries about her children's photos inside her mobile phone - so here, please take humanity's last hope for electricity to play with.

Rebel camp's logic: instead of creating a new secret sign that would function efficiently as a recognition tag, let's use the one symbol that gets people killed on sight for trying to hold on to "democracy" (which I'm quite sure will become the next obsession cliché).

Munroe republic logic: let's just follow the line of every egomaniac dictator ever depicted in movies and raise a personality cult that goes all the way to calling the republic by his own name instead of doing it the efficient way and simply use the existing denomination (the United States of which everyone is already attached to) as a vehicle for his ambitions. Munroe's ways, aside from being idiotic, is also so much more transparent that any democratic politician who ever boasted about transparency in public policies.

Revolution should try to learn from any of the more recent post-apocalyptic scenarios (like Falling Skies for example) an bring some complexity into the game.

Subverting democracy and its mechanisms for the purpose of fooling people into submission is much more believable than creating a totalitarian figure that puts "revolution" on the same page as "conan the barbarian" series.

Revolution (2012–2014)

Lame effort from Eric Kripke

[1/10 · 19 September 2012]

To describe the premise as unrealistic would mean nothing as nobody should expect realism from what is essentially a post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick.

Watching something like this should lead to "what-if" scenarios, help you identify with more or less complex characters that beg you to care for them. Making a series out of something like this would allow the writers to embed details that allow characters to grow and plots to capture the audience for at least a season. And much like it is with meeting a new person, the pilot of series is expected to offer a perspective of what is to come.

But we have none of that in "Revolution", which is a truly awful series under all aspects.

The series would have us believe that a cataclysmic event left the world without electricity. This is fine, it is a bold premise that demands to know "how could this have happened", since it seems to defy any reason. The writers hint of a future answer and this is good.

What is bad? All that follows make no sense. We are given a 10-years after world, with decrepit ruins of the civilization.

Wait ... what, ruins? In my country we have blocks of flats that are over 50 years old and still stand strong without any maintenance whatsoever (sure, they look like crap, but they stand and are inhabited).

Next. Henchmen firing muskets? Why? You don't need complex technology to make bullets for the mechanical repeating rifles. They had those in the wild west before electricity. (FAQ on this is false: yes, making modern ammo is difficult without electric machinery but that doesn't equal revert to musket - in fact revert to musket poses huge problems because even if ammo can be anything, you need to first manufacture the weaponry as existing weapons have rifling bores, moreover to make simple rifle bullets you don't need the same process as the more modern ammo and they would still be compatible with a lot of modern guns).

Next. Can these characters be any less likable? A hot-headed teenager and her brother, a Justin Bieber-lookalike?

Next. Lacking electricity, how can people be alive? (most cellular processes require electricity - passing electrical charges along, brain processes are completely dependent on this) How can anything be alive? If you rub some material on your hair, is there any static left? Hell, since we're at it, what keeps molecules together? Have electric charges been replaced by something else? If so, and in fact those mysterious amulets just regulate this state, it means people can be alive only around them.

Next. How does that woman communicate using her computer? It would mean that an entire network runs continuously from her house to her counterpart. That means, the entire line has electricity running smoothly between her computer, to whatever router she is using, to her counterpart's computer (assuming a simple setup) is allowed to have electricity (otherwise the signal would die as soon as it got out of the range of her amulet).

Halfway through the pilot I was truly hoping that at least the Bieber- double would die in agony and soon after came the simply horrible hotel fight where I saw the evil henchmen pause for almost an entire minute to give the wonder-soldier time to stare in disbelief at his teen niece. Almost a minute the brain-dead henchmen just stand there not taking a shot. Even in cheap C-movies they at least try to give something to do to the henchmen to give the good guy a break (eg: moan as they stand, pick themselves up, slow-motion take, etc), but not here!

And in the end we are fed the incredibly cheap cliffhanger of the doctor typing on a dismembered computer. Why dismembered, may I ask? If she simply didn't keep her old computer in one piece and was forced to build one from scrap, what exactly prevented her from finding/making a case too, just to keep those precious components that remind her of a more civilized time, safe?

Prometheus (I) (2012)

Good CGI can't detract from awful story

[1/10 · 18 September 2012]

The main reason I'm giving a 1 instead of a 6 it's because I have much higher expectations from a flick that tries to bind together a famous series and has the name Ridley Scott connected to it.

The movie has a lot going for it. Michael Fassbender has style and talent and doesn't waiver that here. Noomi Rapace is awesome and Logan Marshall-Greene has a distinct cool about him. I love Charlize Theron and I am sorry she wasn't better used here (same like Fassbender).

Also, the CGI is simply amazing I can't wait for a Blu-Ray HD version.

But, alas, there are a few major letdowns as well.

First, it's the story itself. Somehow the writers couldn't get a grip on connecting it to the Aliens universe in a manageable way and chose to go with cheap mythology.

The android (a must have for an "Alien" movie) just doesn't feel like an android. Androids in "Alien" were always evil-tinted, but also smart, logical, strong and useful in key points in the plot. Fassbender's character is less than useless, his key-characteristic being an obvious jealousy of humanity (after all, Galloway the scientist, managed to find the origin of life and was able to set humanity on a collision course with the fate of the mythological Prometheus without the endless information storage abilities of an android).

The lesson in the story is also cheap: you need faith in addition to knowledge to make it. This feels ironic since the only two characters who truly have a purpose (Idris Elba who sacrifices himself to protect Earth and Green who sacrifices himself to protect the crew) were clearly polarized: Elba had faith and Green had knowledge.

Charlize Theron dies the silliest death I've seen in a blockbuster, senseless and lacking any merit whatsoever: crushed by a falling ship. Seriously??

The Engineer getting tentacle-raped pins the nail in the coffin of this movie, a movie that gets to live on just CGI and the Scott name.

Revolution: Pilot (2012) Season 1, Episode 1

Awful

[1/10 · 18 September 2012]

To describe the premise as unrealistic would mean nothing as nobody should expect realism from what is essentially a post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick. Watching something like this should lead to "what-if" scenarios, help you identify with more or less complex characters that beg you to care for them. Making a series out of something like this would allow the writers to embed details that allow characters to grow and plots to capture the audience for at least a season. And much like it is with meeting a new person, the pilot of series is expected to offer a perspective of what is to come.

But we have none of that in "Revolution", which is a truly awful one at that.

The series would have us believe that a cataclysmic event left the world without electricity. This is fine, it is a bold premise that demands to know "how could this have happened", since it seems to defy any reason. The writers hint of a future answer and this is good.

What is bad? All that follows make no sense. We are given a 10-years after world, with decrepit ruins of the civilization.

Wait ... what, ruins? In my country we have blocks of flats that are over 50 years old and still stand strong without any maintenance whatsoever (sure, they look like crap, but they stand and are inhabited).

Next. Henchmen firing muskets? Why? You don't need complex technology to make bullets for the mechanical repeating rifles. They had those in the wild west before electricity. (FAQ on this is false: yes, making modern ammo is difficult without electric machinery but that doesn't equal revert to musket - in fact revert to musket poses huge problems because even if ammo can be anything, you need to first manufacture the weaponry as existing weapons have rifling bores, moreover to make simple rifle bullets you don't need the same process as the more modern ammo and they would still be compatible with a lot of modern guns).

Then. Can these characters be any less likable? A hot-headed teenager and her brother, a Justin Bieber-lookalike?

Halfway through the pilot I was truly hoping that at least the Bieber- double would die in agony and soon after came the simply horrible hotel fight where I saw the evil henchmen pause for almost an entire minute to give the wonder-soldier time to stare in disbelief at his teen niece. Almost a minute the brain-dead henchmen just stand there not taking a shot. Even in cheap C-movies they at least try to give something to do to the henchmen to give the good guy a break (eg: moan as they stand, pick themselves up, slow-motion take, etc), but not here!

And in the end we are fed the incredibly cheap cliffhanger of the doctor typing on a dismembered computer. Why dismembered, may I ask? If she simply didn't keep her old computer in one piece and was forced to build one from scrap, what exactly prevented her from finding/making a case too, just to keep those precious components that remind her of a more civilized time, safe?