In this review, I will include what I commented on Ray William Johnson's Facebook (the director's Facebook) after I watched the trailer and I will use that to compare to the opinion I have now, AFTER watching the entire movie/web-series.
This is what I wrote in Rays Facebook:
"I'm not even close to be an expert but I will give you my opinion. To be honest, I don't know what I was expecting, but I was expecting something a little better. I mean, I've been following your projects since 2009 and you kind of spoiled me with great quality and perhaps that is why I was expecting something better. In my opinion, all the shots in Anna's room were pretty good. But on all the other shots there's something up with the lightning. On some of the shots you can even see Anna's makeup (not in a good way). Regarding the acting, Anna is pretty good overall, but the main character friend (the black dude) is not very good. I don't buy anything he said. The special effects that are meant to look like "electricity" are just awful. They don't look real at all. I understand this is a low budget series and all, so don't take this comment the wrong way. I'm only writing this to give you my opinion (which can be shared by other people).
Also, the plot seems A LOT like "Butterfly Effect". (travelling back in time; bleeding nose as a "symptom"; the more "travels" you do, the worse it gets; getting your past all f*cked up, as you proceed on "traveling", etc) But as far as time travel goes, the stories can be very similar, so I am hoping that I'm just thinking this because of the trailer.
In conclusion, it looks nice. I am going to watch it for sure, but there is still a lot of room for you to improve! Keep up the good work :)"
And this is my opinion after watching the entire movie/web-series:
After watching the trailer I was a bit let down by it. But now I must confess that Riley Rewind was pretty good. It is not "Breaking Bad" quality, but it is certainly better than most shows on TV at the moment. It is extraordinary, considering it is a low budget project. It has pretty decent acting overall, but Anna Akana stands out with a great performance. I have changed my mind regarding Lamar Legend (which I referred to as "the main character friend (the black dude)" on the comment on Ray's Facebook). His acting was decent, but he still needs to work on that. Watching the trailer, I had the feeling that the lightning was bad. But now I think it might have been the director's intention for it to be like that because of the "temper" that the movie/web-series require. But I still think there are some major errors. The same thing goes for the special effects. Some may have been premeditated to be like that, but some may have been a mistake. Regarding the plot, it was not what I expected. It was better. Sure, it had it's similarities to some movies about time travel, but it also had some sweet twists. However, I didn't like the ending for two reasons: 1- It was confusing - Who are those guys? What do they want? Why are they looking for Riley? Why is Riley forbidden to rewind? What made one of the guys be able to stop Riley's powers? (and if they are from the government)Where is it written that one can not rewind time?,etc. 2-If there is going to be a sequel, then it makes sense that they will explain it all on the sequel. But I don't think they made a build up for that. In my opinion, everything indicated that the story would end there (before those guys came into Riley's room) (and in my opinion, it should have). Plus, if they DO make a sequel, I strongly believe it will be a disappointment for everyone involved, because the plot is headed in a direction completely different from Riley Rewind.
In conclusion, I am very pleased with the final result. And I am deeply happy to see Ray William Johnson's career evolving. My congratulations to everyone involved. Good job.
This is what I wrote in Rays Facebook:
"I'm not even close to be an expert but I will give you my opinion. To be honest, I don't know what I was expecting, but I was expecting something a little better. I mean, I've been following your projects since 2009 and you kind of spoiled me with great quality and perhaps that is why I was expecting something better. In my opinion, all the shots in Anna's room were pretty good. But on all the other shots there's something up with the lightning. On some of the shots you can even see Anna's makeup (not in a good way). Regarding the acting, Anna is pretty good overall, but the main character friend (the black dude) is not very good. I don't buy anything he said. The special effects that are meant to look like "electricity" are just awful. They don't look real at all. I understand this is a low budget series and all, so don't take this comment the wrong way. I'm only writing this to give you my opinion (which can be shared by other people).
Also, the plot seems A LOT like "Butterfly Effect". (travelling back in time; bleeding nose as a "symptom"; the more "travels" you do, the worse it gets; getting your past all f*cked up, as you proceed on "traveling", etc) But as far as time travel goes, the stories can be very similar, so I am hoping that I'm just thinking this because of the trailer.
In conclusion, it looks nice. I am going to watch it for sure, but there is still a lot of room for you to improve! Keep up the good work :)"
And this is my opinion after watching the entire movie/web-series:
After watching the trailer I was a bit let down by it. But now I must confess that Riley Rewind was pretty good. It is not "Breaking Bad" quality, but it is certainly better than most shows on TV at the moment. It is extraordinary, considering it is a low budget project. It has pretty decent acting overall, but Anna Akana stands out with a great performance. I have changed my mind regarding Lamar Legend (which I referred to as "the main character friend (the black dude)" on the comment on Ray's Facebook). His acting was decent, but he still needs to work on that. Watching the trailer, I had the feeling that the lightning was bad. But now I think it might have been the director's intention for it to be like that because of the "temper" that the movie/web-series require. But I still think there are some major errors. The same thing goes for the special effects. Some may have been premeditated to be like that, but some may have been a mistake. Regarding the plot, it was not what I expected. It was better. Sure, it had it's similarities to some movies about time travel, but it also had some sweet twists. However, I didn't like the ending for two reasons: 1- It was confusing - Who are those guys? What do they want? Why are they looking for Riley? Why is Riley forbidden to rewind? What made one of the guys be able to stop Riley's powers? (and if they are from the government)Where is it written that one can not rewind time?,etc. 2-If there is going to be a sequel, then it makes sense that they will explain it all on the sequel. But I don't think they made a build up for that. In my opinion, everything indicated that the story would end there (before those guys came into Riley's room) (and in my opinion, it should have). Plus, if they DO make a sequel, I strongly believe it will be a disappointment for everyone involved, because the plot is headed in a direction completely different from Riley Rewind.
In conclusion, I am very pleased with the final result. And I am deeply happy to see Ray William Johnson's career evolving. My congratulations to everyone involved. Good job.