Terminator. Looper. Twelve Monkeys. The Matrix. Even Transformers Age of Extinction (for the under-aged relationship angle).This movie will have you thinking: "I've seen this before..." all over the place, but ultimately it goes to show that while you can pay homage (French for "copy") all you want, a bad movie is just a bad movie.
I've spent most of the day in bed with a fever and headache and wanted something to distract from the pain. In a way I got my wish - who can think of personal suffering when there are others who might one day suffer through this movie too? From the opening monologue (so, so long...) and the first shots, this had "shoestring budget" plastered all over it. Worse than a "made for TV" vibe (I enjoyed The 100 very much) - just cheap.
The actors are mediocre and the dialogue grating. Someone asks the tech guy if they could neutralize a weapon if they "reverse the polarity" and while the response - a withering put-down stare - is funny enough, it just brought into focus the hammy writing.
Unless they are very skillful or expertly directed, a 15 year old actor will act like a 15 year old, no matter the age of the character inhabiting their mind. Clichés abound - the gruff rebel commander, the evil overlord in a crisp military jacket quoting Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", the femme fatal assassin who looks like Halle Berry's body-double's body double. I don't hold it against the actors though - they just wanted to work, and as far as they were aware this could have been their big break (it wasn't).
Let's forgive the time travel plot device - of course it's nonsense but that hasn't stopped other films and TV from using it successfully. But let's not forgive the ending. Just what were they hoping with that? A sequel? A TV spin-off? Not happening. And even if it were, the ending is still just lazy.
And here's my spoiler (so, spoiler alert): as the two agents leave Ava (Eva? Amy?) and her mother they wish her a happy future. But as the whole movie revolves around an impending nuclear apocalypse (which they show her) I can't help thinking that Ava's future is more likely to involve a drug-filled nihilistic rampage followed by years in psychiatric institutions before she gets toasted along with the rest of us.
Find something else to watch. Or go catch the flu and spend a couple of days asleep. It'll be a better use of your time. Two stars - one for the potentially interesting story, and one for the actors who I believe were trying their best.
p.s - they found a picture of the assassin. Good work, people! They showed it to everyone so they could go out and hunt for her (which they don't do). But for some reason they didn't show the sentry at the door, "sentry" being Latin for "guy who's last to know".
p.p.s - the background extras don't know how to handle a gun.
p.p.p.s - every time they refer to an agent as a "skinner" I thought of The Simpsons and that made me happy
I've spent most of the day in bed with a fever and headache and wanted something to distract from the pain. In a way I got my wish - who can think of personal suffering when there are others who might one day suffer through this movie too? From the opening monologue (so, so long...) and the first shots, this had "shoestring budget" plastered all over it. Worse than a "made for TV" vibe (I enjoyed The 100 very much) - just cheap.
The actors are mediocre and the dialogue grating. Someone asks the tech guy if they could neutralize a weapon if they "reverse the polarity" and while the response - a withering put-down stare - is funny enough, it just brought into focus the hammy writing.
Unless they are very skillful or expertly directed, a 15 year old actor will act like a 15 year old, no matter the age of the character inhabiting their mind. Clichés abound - the gruff rebel commander, the evil overlord in a crisp military jacket quoting Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", the femme fatal assassin who looks like Halle Berry's body-double's body double. I don't hold it against the actors though - they just wanted to work, and as far as they were aware this could have been their big break (it wasn't).
Let's forgive the time travel plot device - of course it's nonsense but that hasn't stopped other films and TV from using it successfully. But let's not forgive the ending. Just what were they hoping with that? A sequel? A TV spin-off? Not happening. And even if it were, the ending is still just lazy.
And here's my spoiler (so, spoiler alert): as the two agents leave Ava (Eva? Amy?) and her mother they wish her a happy future. But as the whole movie revolves around an impending nuclear apocalypse (which they show her) I can't help thinking that Ava's future is more likely to involve a drug-filled nihilistic rampage followed by years in psychiatric institutions before she gets toasted along with the rest of us.
Find something else to watch. Or go catch the flu and spend a couple of days asleep. It'll be a better use of your time. Two stars - one for the potentially interesting story, and one for the actors who I believe were trying their best.
p.s - they found a picture of the assassin. Good work, people! They showed it to everyone so they could go out and hunt for her (which they don't do). But for some reason they didn't show the sentry at the door, "sentry" being Latin for "guy who's last to know".
p.p.s - the background extras don't know how to handle a gun.
p.p.p.s - every time they refer to an agent as a "skinner" I thought of The Simpsons and that made me happy