The Prototype (2022) User Reviews

Wasted 1 hour 35 minutes of my life

[zkrwxt · 1/10 · 30 November 2023]

Seemed like an interesting premise but was totally disappointed and it was misleading.

Cheap effects.

Bad/stiff acting. I mean all only one of the acting performances was believable.

Storyline that was all over the place and didn't make any sense a lot of times. Too much time spent trying to set up the story in a convoluted manner and not enough resolving the storyline.

Way too much bouncing back and forth in different times.

Ending that left me ticked off cause I wasted all this time and still no conclusion.

Unless you have absolutely NOTHING to do skip this movie. I'd rather do anything else, including household chores, rather than watch this movie again.

This has been the worst movie I've ever seen!

[gunn-wrights · 2/10 · 24 December 2023]

I wish I could explain what I just saw - more importantly how IMDb has this movie rated as, "8.3 Unweighted mean" while the front page shows 2.4 stars? I don't know who screwed with these ratings - but this movie was just AWFUL!!

Don't get me wrong - it's freaking hilarious due to: -poor quality effects/makeup -poor storyline -poor acting

• ridiculously poor green screen work
• terrible etc.. etc.. etc...

The only way anyone should watch this is on MST 3K or Rifftrax. There were some scenes I just couldn't stop laughing. My fav is the guy sitting in a chair, wearing these tight white (?leather) pants - and he has a HUGE BULGE .. well, you know where.. I laughed so hard I could barely breathe!!

RECOMMENDATION: Pure Garbage! Only watch this if you're high or something and you're just looking for the lamests movies to make fun on.. otherwise, SKIP IT!!!

Not Bad Enough to be Good

[chicksinfla-736-447643 · 2/10 · 24 December 2023]

I'm not convinced that this is not a graduate student's thesis. Bad actors reading their lines. Makeup and costumes reminiscent of Ming the Merciless, and sets that look like the rooftop of a school. The script was weak. The characters weren't fully developed and the script was weak.

I'm a fan of Ed Wood and watched more minutes of this than I normally would have because I was waiting for it to be good or at least bad enough to be funny. I was terribly disappointed. The film became more and more trite as it went on. I had to quit it halfway along. It reeked of a beginner's attempt at movie making.

Torn Between 10 Stars & One Star

[Dreadlock-Soldier · 5/10 · 11 March 2022]

This film was so bad, it was good. I laughed so much, everything was hilariously delivered. Acting, storyline, dialogue, props, graphics, character non-development. I think this film created its own new sub-genre. The only real redeeming features were the beat up Land Rover and outdoor filming locations. Brilliant trash!

guys movie

[sophiagavesxih · 5/10 · 20 April 2022]

Not very female friendly movie, there are some good women characters but they are just for a few minutes onscreen and as supporting roles. Next film it should have a strong female lead character. It was a good movie and fun to watch.

not bad not great

[stangardinerpgj · 5/10 · 25 March 2022]

It's one of those that has the potential to be great but lacks money to become amazing. The storyline was very ambitious and you can see that the filmmakers wanted to create something really good, just not enough money to get there. Overall it works fine if you don't mind a lesser spectacular production with a story that honestly kept my interest the whole time.

Everything you could expect in a sci fi

[afaqdadashova · 5/10 · 11 April 2022]

I would give it a higher score if it had better actors and better special effects. It is watchable. The story is interesting and the blue liquid plot was original. Give it a shot like I did.

Good stuff

[alynsin · 5/10 · 11 April 2022]

It's a diamond in the rough. With more budget it will probably become a powerhouse. The solid foundation is there. It needs bigger funding. The story was creative and the performances OK.

This is how you make a low budget sci fi!

[baixuesnow · 11 April 2022]

Nice and nice! The story is compelling! Very well done. Professional and clean film, a rare finding these days. Interestin plot.

We recommend it. Thank you.

Terrible Dialogue and Even Worse CGI

[joeprowler · 1/10 · 19 April 2024]

I couldn't get past the first 15 minutes. The acting is so terrible and the dialogue is crap. It seems like the actors are trying way too hard to make lines believable - but it is not successful. The graphics look like they were made by a high school student working on a film project. Even the props are cheesey, a CD handed off between two characters as important data, a vial with a light added by CGI. Background and foregrounds don't match, worse than an old 70s movie. The only reason I even tried to watch it was because it showed up as a ROKU ad when I turned on my TV. I wasted my time so you won't have to.

Best Waste of Time Movie

[irwinglenn-19121 · 1/10 · 3 April 2024]

Just adding another "award" to the list.

Best Waste of Time

It's an audience participation faux time travel film. As you wait for the plot to get mediocre, you are ripped back in time as a reminder that you gave this film almost 2 hours of your life. Time that you will never get back.

If there were an award for cheesey special effects this would not qualify -- no cheese, nothing even remotely special, and, the effect is only a self inflicted head slap.

Time traveler beware you are entering the zone of "no there, there"

No matter what Roku, or any recommendation engine puts this in your "must watch" listing, just say no.

Hell No

"Not now, not ever"

it's just the...

[shelinar-17473 · 7/10 · 22 May 2022]

Beginning ! I hope this film becomes a series or a trilogy with the proper budget. Nicely done!!! The story hooks you up, and it's very hard to predict the ending. It's entertaining and better than many other low budget out there.

Hot Mess

[jay-904-553300 · 2/10 · 21 February 2024]

It's just hot garbage - embarrassingly bad. Embarrassing acting, embarrassing FX, embarrassing script... I've seen college film projects far superior to this. The story, such as it is, is nonsensical, hand-wavy, sci-fi hokum. The, uh, "action" is absolutely comical; the fight scenes look like SNL spoofs. Even just walking in front of horrible green-screen backgrounds is comically bad.

The absurdly high number of glowing reviews for this must be part of a campaign because anyone with functioning senses who watches this will quickly realize the remarkably low quality of every aspect of this movie.

Don't waste your time. Still curious? Ok, watch it, but understand that what you see in the first 15 minutes is *not* a fluke - the whole movie really is that bad.

Likable

[emersonyovinogru · 5/10 · 8 April 2022]

Great story. Poor guy, the main guy, lots to do for him.

The dialogue is clever at moments and provides enough tension to keep you watching.

Bravo! If a movie can keep me watching it with no distractions, then it's a good movie.

So so

[ranaebucklewiqk · 5/10 · 5 April 2022]

Some parts are great, some are ok, some are a little campy. Overall is ok, not great. I was a little confused with the story. The acting is ok-good. Not many special effects-action...it feels like a movie made in the 90's?? If you are looking for a distraction and don't mind a small B film then go for it.

Good Story needed a decent budget to get there

[chassecourt · 3/10 · 3 April 2022]

This had a good story but insufficient budget to make it not look like a bad B grade movie, some one should have backed the guy and it would have been a half way decent movie, you will note a lot of the special effects seem to be recycled from one scene to the next.

Some Reviews Funnier Than the Movie - The Prototype

[arthur_tafero · 3/10 · 20 October 2022]

Some of the reviews I have seen for this film are even funnier than the unintentional hilarity of this supposed sci-fi film. Written during the lunch hour break of another film, this plot is beyond hackneyed. It is purely mundane. Boring, ineffective, and a few adjectives I cannot use due to good taste. The acting? Is, at best, uneven, as is the directing and writing. I heard better sci-fi plots in West Paterson from kids when I was a kid. Some plots are believable, some are unbelievable, and ones like this are just plain silly. Don't waste your hard-earned money on tripe like this. Go to ANY event in your community; it will be more entertaining than this film.

it's ok

[caojijuan · 5/10 · 12 April 2022]

Movie is not bad but it's very distracting to see sometime the special effects are not like new or something, they look a little old but the movie is good, I like the story. Not bad at all.

Are you looking for a modern epic???

[wilsonsracereport · 1/10 · 18 February 2024]

This is definitely it - acting, plot, CGI, insane production...this movie has it all!!!

Ok - total sarcasm. The good reviews are purely ironic. This is almost certainly the worst movie ever made - the acting is laughable, the plot is impossible to follow, the sfx were likely done by someone using a computer for the first time ever.

But the scene with the guys in silver shirts smoking is unintentionally hilarious.

Shout out to.the Dodge Intrepid and the insider information on a CD-ROM - two clear-cut signs of a "futuristic" movie :) :)

I am slightly offended that Roku suggested this as something I might enjoy watching.

Back to the 80's!

[rosendochampacouja · 10/10 · 4 April 2022]

I totally agree with the observations made by the critic. I really really really enjoyed this movie! I am 55 years old :)

"Now to be completely honest, when it comes to storyline, this movie is a bit over-convoluted and doesn't always make a lot of sense - but that said, at the same time the film is a really fun ride, with plenty of fistfights and shoot-outs, some quite decent effects work, and some fun costume choices. And not only in these costume choices but in everything, The Prototype is pretty much a perfect throwback to 1980s and 1990s macho action B-movies, where the physical always outweighed narrative finesse but everything was done to keep the audience entertained. And that's really what this movie does very well, it's basically a very enjoyable trip."

Middle of the road

[salimajessy · 6/10 · 30 May 2022]

Undecided to give it a higher rating, but it was good in every sense, the story was interesting, it was always changing and plenty of surprises, the main guy was through a lot :) tough guy :)

90s movie making with a B-C level of movie quality with good potential in story

[momomojojo · 1/10 · 28 June 2022]

Special effects are used much, what is pity because they could have done better. Acting is low quality but are Ok as the script is very basic. Very slow dragged much. Quality of lighting is low. Movie making gives me feeling of 90's. Clearly a B movie maybe even a C, in action, special effect, and script.

There are high amount of potential to the story, but execution is just bad.

Poor CGI

[kingstonnamun · 2/10 · 11 June 2022]

The computer-generated imagery (CGI) was not good enough. At the beginning of the movie you could clearly see the CGI at work with images floating rather than being immersed in the movie. It was a put off.

Story is weak and doesn't resolve well.

[Randy-Dreammaker · 4/10 · 15 August 2022]

I'm someone who wants to see a movie that's been low rated, pull off a better rating when I watch it, because I have a film background and have been trained to analyze movies. I'm looking different aspects in movies than most people are when they're watching a movie.

And though this movie has some really good qualities such as scenery and wardrobe, even some interesting graphics and fighting scenes, it's greatest weaknesses is its story, and that is not forgivable.

Some of the acting is weak and part of that is because the characters for the story are not well developed. When an actor or actress doesn't understand their character, it's generally not possible for them to relay a sense of believability.

This story tries to accomplish to much and wavers between ideas without Really providing the necessary background to make it work well.

Unlike a very successful movie, this attempt doesn't have a well developed or strong rising conflict or resolution to the conflict, but instead feels rushed to conclude.

Additionally because the story is rushed at the end, the ending feels incomplete. It ended with a bump point to what seems like should have been the continuation of the story.

If the ending had been tied up better, it may have worked well enough to give it a passing grade.

Unfortunately, it doesn't pass the story test and therefore gets added to my review list of "Stinky Baby Fart Movies".

Brilliant, weird, clever, uneven, terrible

[wxray1 · 5/10 · 9 January 2024]

Summary: intriguing story that delightfully goes in weird directions, yet all makes sense if you pay attention. The problem is, the production is so uneven, it distracts you from paying attention, and tempts you to turn it off. Nice effort to self-fund a movie produced over 20 years, but that doesn't forgive the fact some of it is nearly unwatchable. I have to take off some stars for that. Maybe Grion can sell this as a TV series and get proper funding.

Longer: I was immediately confused and distracted because I wasn't sure what character I was watching. He seemed to age and regenerate at will. Or it was the best makeup ever. I paused the movie and read here that it was filmed over 20 years. Congrats to Grion for pulling this off, even if by desperation. The great Kubrick wanted to do that and failed.

The two main leads do a fine job. Vasconcellos is good, and even brilliant in the final surprising main sequence. Most supporting actors have issues.

Production distractions are everywhere. Some of the scenes have fireflies. Why? And why are there right hand drive vehicles with Maine license plates in Italy? Why is the setup shot of the villa in Italy taken by camera with resolution not seen since 1870? Who blocked and framed the green-screen scenes? It was not, uh, good.

I won't bore you much more except to say I ultimately enjoyed the movie once I ignored the defects present due to budgets. I even watched it a second time. I particularly enjoyed the surprise sequence at the end, obviously shot recently since the skill level of production was higher all around, and Vasconcellos was excellent, despite gaining weight, losing hair and getting deeper wrinkles. His aging actually fits with the story too, and he embraces it.