The Call Up (2016) User Reviews

Inventive, immersive and entertaining with a bit of an anti-climax

[Lisa_Loves · 6/10 · 3 July 2016]

As someone who used to enjoy gaming a lot before the house was taken over by a wee one, I have to say, the kind of virtual reality shown in this movie seemed like a dream. Thing is, it very quickly turns into a nightmare. I can imagine most Gamers would enjoy the movie, even if it were only for the possibilities....

The movie follows a group of elite Gamers who are called up to try out a new virtual reality experience. When things quickly take a sinister turn, are the best-of-the-best good enough to finish the game?

I enjoyed The Call Up as I quickly became engaged with the characters. The acting was solid and the special effects were spot on. It takes you to the next level of game-play and makes you think about what we actually do in games when we're blowing each others heads off. There is a kind of predictability of sorts, but that would be nigh on impossible for this not to be the case and it's not as if the entire story is wide open.

The ending was a bit of an anticlimax, but in actual fact, this probably is a good thing given the mood of the movie.

I did enjoy the movie and would recommend it to any Gamers or avid movie watchers. It's never going to be a blockbuster or total crowd pleaser, but I didn't feel I'd wasted time by watching it (how I judge most movies) and I wouldn't be averse to watching it again. If you don't find the prospect of virtual reality intriguing or feel like gaming is for kids, then probably best to give this one a wide berth.

Solid action film with a sci-fi premise

[ruthmarybennett · 6/10 · 3 August 2016]

I love sci-fi that explores the human impact of developments in technology and the premise for The Call-Up promises plenty of that. How do different personalities react when they realise that the VR game they've been invited to participate in is more sinister than it first appeared?

Although this central dilemma is prominent in the first part of the film, once the plot gets going, the action leads and the pace keeps you engaged as the characters are forced to learn quickly and figure out whether to work together or turn against each other. The way that the film's perspective mirrors that of the protagonists as they switch between 'real' and 'virtual' is impressive and compelling to watch.

I would have liked to see a bit more focus on the psychology of the premise, but with a concept of this scope, there's only so much you can cover, and the action-movie elements win out. The effects are impressive for a low-budget debut and I found the acting convincing, although there isn't much nuance to the characters.

Worth a watch if you enjoy action films that make you think.

Not bad at all...See for yourself

[brockleyavenue · 6/10 · 15 June 2016]

I'm a little stunned at some of the bad reviews this movies has had. It isn't that bad at all. It has it's typical character types for a movie of this type to give the story a bit of 'zap' and these characters emerge immediately. It's well done for a low budget movie, with good acting and directing ideas, and for once, I didn't pre-empt what the ending would be like. I was a little surprised, which doesn't happen often, yet viewers will determine the way the movie will go, as that is what it is..a game. I can tell you, there are some shocking movies out there that have ratings too high, with acting so laughable and the directing a nightmare to watch, yet this movie holds it own, actors and direction. See for yourself.

Far too many shill accounts on IMDb to consider reviews honest on new movies

[allenandginter · 3/10 · 25 May 2016]

Well, I knew it was a long shot that a movie with under 20 reviews ( It has 29 at the writing of this) was an honest review. Friends of cast,cast, employees of production companies, etc. I get it though. A falsely inflated review get's you to spend that cash only to be face palming 2 hours later. The Cinematography was solid. No back yard iPhone movie here. The intro CGI was done well. The CGI in the movie was BAD...the acting was worse. Thee were 2 people whom could act, the others...just were bad. Right down to the final, badly written and poorly acted, scene The plot was as transparent as glass with nothing "Surprising" in the entire movie. In my day we would have called it a "Straight to video" movie. IMO, this should have been a straight to youtube movie.

Not Terrible, Not Great

[shanefoutz · 5/10 · 25 September 2016]

This movie has a lot of promise, but it just fails to deliver every time you look. You come into the movie thinking it will be like gamer, and in truth it is to an extent. But something just doesn't seem right as you watch it. Something feels, off.

The plot gives itself away at times but it's not paper thin. Some people will say it is, but that seems more like someone bitter they watched the movie. Overall though, the plot feels very thin. It feels like a movie that could have had more substance but was afraid to. It seemed like while they could have really made something unique, they were too busy catering to the "YEAAAA!!! ACTION!!!" crowd and even that wasn't done well.

The acting... The acting is absolutely dreadful. Nothing feels true throughout the whole movie. Lines delivered poorly, emotion feels completely faked and all motion seems like someone shouted "Now, go to the next room in a hurry!".

It has moments of suspense, moments of action but overall the whole performance falls rather flat. I would really recommend watching it once and then putting it from your mind. It's a movie that can expand your mind, let you think further than the producers did and after that, discard it.

Awful

[bm-ghost-z · 1/10 · 13 August 2016]

I don't give this move a zero because I can't.

This movie is in plain terms, horrible. The script is horrible, the acting too, the whole thing is predictable. We were 3 persons watching it and we were all shocked by this movie, and the ending... No words.

If anyone sees this don't lose your time with this movie, no script, no good acting and the movie itself doesn't even explain what the hell is happening.

We waited for the end to explain something but not, it's just the simplest thing anyone could have thought. When the movie is running, you start thinking that it's going all to be a filler thing until in the end something's explained, but sadly not.

Just don't watch this thing, there are other interesting movies out there.

Nothing exceptional, but actually decent.

[Callista_CM · 7/10 · 3 July 2016]

I really don't get why some people hate this movie so much. The actors are pretty decent for this kind of movie and while you sometime think the characters are being plain stupid, i'd be willing to bet if it happened for real, it would be worse, regular people in life or death situation are scared and dumb.

The character development could be better, but there's enough of it to get the story going, there's the scared youngster, the good guy, the hopeless nerd, the jerk, the ex-soldier... sure it doesn't go real deep into details, but you get a pretty good sense of the kind of people they are.

The plot is interesting, the cgi is good enough, there's plenty of AAA movies that did way worse out there and incoming (supposedly scary cartoony looking neon ghost anyone?).

So yeah, 7/10 for me, i liked it.

How to SCREW UP a nice concept. ----SPOILER ALERT----

[egeerkol · 4/10 · 13 July 2016]

I watched this movie because simulation is a rare and nice concept, if its presented in a good way. But The Call Up is one of the WORST examples of simulation concept.

Character selection is pretty classic. One fat guy, one muscular but angry man, one coward girl, one handsome guy who falls in love with another beautiful girl, one experienced guy who dies in the first 30 minutes. Character stereotypes could be much different.

Sounds are not much catchy, just a disturbing sound when tension rises. (which makes it totally predictable)

The filming was not much more then an amateur job. As I searched the filmography of the director, Charles Baker, I found out that The Call Up was his first long-shot movie experience. The shooting of the city, cars, streets and building in the transitions broke the claustrophobic environment which was created by the script (locked doors,suits which can't be removed), which is a negative point. It was not a disturbing shooting but also not a one that deserves an appreciate.

The story begins with focusing on T3rrorist#1 / Zahid, so it makes the audience think he will have a big role. He starts with a cold- blooded and calm personality, a nice stereotype for cinema. But suddenly, he starts making stupid things and dies. Giving importance to a character and killing it makes the script worse,

The worst part of the story was the final, totally predictable and no sense. The description of Edward makes totally no sense. It just made us find some answers about the script, for example the wrong password thing. As a part of audience, I was expecting a better twist in the ending.

IF YOU ASK ME HOW COULD IT BE A GREAT ENDING: The player who wins the game gets too insane about dead people and things happened, so he/she takes the lead for the next game. The previous winner makes the game stay in its order. In this way, there is an explanation for Edward, that he was the previous winner. And when he's shot, we see that this game has no winners, the winner also dies because of the next winner. By this endless loop, the movie could end with an interesting ending. But it finished with the worst ending possible, that Shelly leaves the building and normal life continues.

PS: I just realized that the story is so similar to The Cube's, according to characterization and writing. I think The Cube was taken as an examples for the scriptwriters. If you like this movie you should also watch The Cube.

Not bad

[Valorum · 6/10 · 29 May 2016]

The cinematography was pretty solid. It starts off well, the concept was decent. A lot more thought went into this then some other big budget movies with logic not completely discarded. Yes it was a little predictable but still entertaining. There was no point where I had the impression of it being "cheap". I think it's unfair to rate it as low as some others have done.

I think resorting to faking the reviews irritates people and is self-destructive in the long run hence why some extreme reactions and very bad reviews.

My only issue was the final 10 seconds of the film. I would have taken "the bag", I think anyone in that position would have. I understand why this wasn't done, "symbolism" but I believe it would have been much more creative to have the person in question go back at the last minute just when everyone would have thought, it wouldn't be the case, and the final final scene is the person leaving with it.

Awful movie!!!

[alecova · 1/10 · 28 May 2016]

I watched it with another gamer and I have to say that we rather watch paint dry on a wall...

The acting is awful, the music sounds a lot like a suspense or horror movie from the 80's! Lousy for this age.

The only thing I liked was the suits. That's it!!

The trailer shows a promising movie but it sucked so much that right after the "game" starts I got so bored I almost felt asleep. I just watched it to see which lousy character/"actor/actress" survived.

As another reviewer said, the good reviews about this movie must be from friends/family/people that worked on the movie...because it really sucks. Too bad, the idea for the movie was good.

Really enjoyed "The Call Up"!

[RobbieSDA · 8/10 · 22 June 2016]

Am glad I watched this movie before reading reviews from this site!

As someone who is not usually much for action movies, but am a gamer and love technology, this movie was very intriguing and enjoyable.

While there may very well have been weaknesses in the film, by allowing myself to feel a part of the experience and engage what was presented, I found the movie to be very good.

I went in with no particular expectations, and walked away sufficiently happy with my viewing, even to the point of encouraging another friend to watch it as well.

Yes, the movie is a bit weak in the acting/story at times, and somewhat predictable. But, if you can watch it for what it is, and enjoy the unique aspects of the movie and set aside the points I mention above, you can also have a positive viewing of this movie.

The Virtual Reality aspect of this movie was what drew me to it, and the presentation of the VR was excellent to me. It looked cool and was believable.

Still find it hard to see why some people are rating this movie so harshly. Was it an Emmy winner? Um, no. Was it a nice sci-fi action flick with a VR twist worth watching? For me, absolutely!

Good ol' unpretentious fun

[rizzileonardo · 7/10 · 7 August 2016]

I saw the film at a sci-fi festival and found the premise absolutely engaging. Without giving away too much of the story, this is one of those movies that grabs something familiar from the contemporary world and takes it to the extreme, with fascinating consequences. Mixing VR and reality is the holy grail of gamers, but the sort of scenario described here is chilling, to say the least. Funnily, the writer-director takes every trope of the first-person shooter and turns it into a clever detail. And that's where most of the fun comes from. The characters conveniently follow the group casting of any slasher, with all the classic types and a couple of surprises. Maybe I would have wished these characters to be a bit more explored and a little less action scenes, but you can't fault this film for doing what most FPS do! Good fun

Bland, boring.

[Lonadaric · 1/10 · 6 June 2016]

The movie started as what could have been an awesome Gamer + Cube mix. You can actually see it's a low budget film since the very beginning, but it makes extremely good efforts to disguise it, specially with CGI and SFX.

** SPOILERS BEGIN HERE **

20 minutes into the movie it still hasn't built up. The characters have still not been properly introduced and their personalities are hollow and bland. Action feels anti-climatic and the whole movie feels empty.

The only reason why I didn't stop it halfway through is because, deep inside of me, I really really wanted to like the movie. I waited until the end for that "bling" moment, but there's none.

Terrible and Boring

[jeckelmail · 2/10 · 29 May 2016]

**** SPOILERS ****

This movie was terrible and commits the greatest offense a movie can commit: it was just plain boring.

It starts interesting enough. Several gamers are brought together to participate in a contest to win some money. The contest is to survive VR simulation combat. Then things go wrong and they start dying for real from what happens in the simulation.

However, there is no mystery or thriller aspect to the movie, no character development to speak of, no exciting action, no interesting deaths, there is nothing of interest at all really.

The characters don't try to figure out what is going on or make more than a passing attempt to subvert or destroy the system, they just continue to play the game and die in uninteresting ways. Similarly, the characters know from the beginning that one of their number is a plant of the people behind the game, but again there is nothing more than a cursory attempt to identify which of them is the bad guy.

Overall, the movie reminds me of watching a friend play an FPS when they are skipping all the cutscenes.

SPOILERS: The end doesn't make the movie worthwhile and answers absolutely no questions about why any of this has happened, committing the second greatest sin of a movie in providing no closure. The only bright spot was the small twist of the one surviving character killing the character that was secretly the bad guy all along.

This movie was boring, boring, boring. If you really want to watch it, then watch the beginning and when you get bored of watching the characters wander through the game, just skipped to the end and save yourself some time.

It really is that bad. This movie is a deliberate insult to gamers.

[sinrise · 1/10 · 12 July 2016]

TL;DR: This movie is an awful disaster; maybe barely a step above Christian YouTube cinema. It is an incomprehensible nightmare and I absolutely do not understand why anyone would honestly give it more than one star.

I don't write a lot of reviews, but I often come to this site to check out a user review of two. Based on the most recommended, with 10 out of 10 stars, I was quite hopeful. Abandon hope. That review must have been written by the producer, or whoever invested in this train wreck.

I'm having a hard time trying to figure this movie out. I'm not talking about the plot. I'm talking about the way they seemed to have chosen to spend the bulk of the money they raised on the FX. The actors-- I mean, the actors must have been volunteers. Every scene feels like a first take. The cinematography is equally abysmal. The CGI is really on-point, so it's a strangely confusing experience. Usually all the elements of a movie are somewhat on par with each other. Not in this movie. I have seen YouTube movies with better acting and camera work. It just doesn't fit with the FX and art direction.

OK on to the plot, and I promise no spoilers. Not a single moment is dedicated to the characters' different motivations. They seemed to be written as interchangeable line-delivery vehicles. Not that mysterious characters are necessarily a bad thing, if you write the story in such a way the character's individual stories emerge. None of that ever happens in this movie. I'm not even sure what particular stereotype or cliché you could possibly even attempt to attach to any of the characters in this thing. You can't even call them one-dimensional. They lack almost all dimension entirely. The robots in iRobot have more personality. Literally the most interesting thing about them is how it is possible to do that consistently that bad of a job delivering every line, and every action. The actual story line itself is not at all a terrible premise, it just couldn't have conceivably been executed more poorly.

The acting is so bad, the actors themselves seem to have trouble simply moving from one point in space to another. Literally all of their physical actions seems forced and awkward. I really try not to hate on any actors. Even if they aren't all Oscar-worthy, you can at least detect a measure of professional effort. Not with this group. Maybe the director is such an over-the-top weirdo the actors couldn't get comfortable in their own skin at any point during filming. Either that, or the editor deliberately and maliciously cut together all the worst possible takes. It really is that bad.

This is how I imagine production of this film went: The people who made this movie, except the CGI people, all wake up in a room together. They discover they all have amnesia; no memory of who they are or how they got there. The room is locked and they are trapped. Everything needed to make a movie is there in the room, along with a short note telling them they have 3 days to make a movie about elite gamers in a VR world or they would all be gassed to death. For reference, they are given the box to the first Halo game, a Green Lantern comic and a box of NES light guns. Since they have no memories, they just delegate all the different jobs including acting to whoever is willing to do it. That took two and a half days. In a race against time, they proceeded to use the last twelve hours to make this movie. Then they were freed and the footage given to some top-notch CGI company, then edited by Satan.

The absolute worst part, by far, is the clear lack of consulting from actual gamers. Rest assured no gamers were harmed in the making of this movie. The creators of this "movie" I think may have seen some video of a kid playing Call of Duty at Walmart and decided to make a movie based solely on that. On that note, I don't think they have ever even seen an actual movie-- not a whole one, anyway.

It's really not clear what the makers of this film know less about: gaming, or movies. It's a complete disaster, please don't watch it. I has literally no redeeming qualities.

Interesting premise that was poorly executed with bad CGI, acting and soundtrack

[tecnogaming · 3/10 · 27 July 2016]

Since IMDb is filled now with fake reviews and comments about this movie I feel compelled to write my opinion, trying to balance the force a little.

I tried the movie with my kid, I got the title and was very intrigued that it's gonna be an Occulus 3.0 experience or something of the sort.

I gotta say this, because this is a review and I'm gonna be honest, the premise was good, the first act (the preparation) was solid but the director slipped through it's fingers some errors that are worth checking.

First of all, this is a movie about Gamers that somehow are living in a future earth, so, they have super advanced smartphones and cards with screens but they somehow have video games with pre-xbox360 graphics (despicted on the game-play from the screen of one of the character's home).

The movie proceed then to a nice first act in which we see the Gamers prepping for the game. The offices, the suits and the helmets were a nice touch and I must say they were a good fit to the movie (if not one of the strongest points).

BUT As soon as the actions starts (the first 10 minutes of VR) you kinda see what the rest of the movie will be like.

The scenery is EXTREMELY limited, the script is non-existent, the "missions" stops being missions and starts being just "walk and kill", not a single video game of this era will support this kind of nonsense gaming, they need to have a plausible argument.

In this movie, the director switches the argument for the character development, he places all the stereotypical ones, the shy girl, the psycho, the ego-maniac fat guy who lives in the basement, the.. you get the point. Not a single stereotype was missing, this.. was not a good starting point, to be honest.

Since the movie is all about them, we get lost in a sea of corridors, switching from room A to room B and then to Room C, but then you kinda get the point. There is NO room D ! The whole movie is filmed in no more than 3 rooms, and 1 or 2 corridors with very poor scenery, they even had the guts to film several scenes with the same rooms in the same angle !. IF you're going to film a movie with few rooms at least try to switch angles.

Tip to the director: YOU CAN make a good movie with no scenery at all, I know you know because this movie seems to follow the same progression as the movie THE CUBE. Yes, you can bet. Those who saw the movie will see the similarities.

The ending was good but again, too similar to the movie THE CUBE.

For anyone reading this review, if you somehow liked the premise and you still didn't know what THE CUBE is, go watch it and you'll be amazed, that's a serious SCI FI horror movie worth of your consideration.

This movie could of been so much better if they hired better actors, Morfydd Clark was the only one doing a good job, all the rest was mediocre, being the guy who acted as "the Sargent" one of the worse actors I ever seen in my life.

Finally, I would not dare to speak too much about the music because I do really believe that the musician is just incompetent. Trying to make a soundtrack about a VR video game with CASIO tone music from the 80's is only gonna make Gamers more angry at you.

Gamers are not dumb stereotypes like the ones in the movie, that listen to CASIO tone music, stuck in a basement and still playing 1995 games. The world has changed, video game industry has evolved to a point in which soundtracks are becoming an essential part of any video game. I've seen incredible soundtracks from games where the budget was 3 times less than budget movies so this is really not an excuse to make an horrible soundtrack.

Talking about FX on this one is like talking about how does a video game looked 5 years ago, because, seriously, the CGI was so bad that my Xbox can render better in-game graphics than some of the scenes of this movie, specially the "exteriors". They could be avoided and we should of get a much better product. Bad FX tend to somehow hurt a movie much more than it should.

Good movies could be made with almost no special effects and there are plenty of examples out there. As a rule of thumb, if you're not going to produce an acceptable FX, it's better not to do it and hide it, it's gonna be a much better overall execution than to do it badly, tons of directors did great things following this path.

All in all, the movie premise was good, the execution was really poor, all the middle is just expendable material and the ending is good but since it's almost a ripoff from THE CUBE and others, it doesn't create a rewarding experience.

The only redeeming factors of this movie are: the first minutes, the concept, some bits of the ending and the legs of Morfydd Clark on that amazing suit, that's it.

The movie is a solid 3/10 If you somehow are a fan of budget movies, there are WAY better movies out there. You can start by watching Kill Command for example.

Not great, but not bad

[jamesalexanderdickerson · 7/10 · 18 October 2016]

Some of the people writing reviews obviously didn't understand the film. It's definitely not a bad film, although it was a bit cliché in some areas.

***SPOILER ALERT***

A group of various gamers have volunteered for a chance to win $100,000. They first arrive not knowing what to expect. They are given special suits and begin a VR simulation. They eventually discover that if you die in the game, you die in real life.

***ENDING SPOILER***

One of the gamers is a routine player (rich upper class) who gets his/her sick thrills from playing and winning.

This Movie is TOTALLY AWESOME DUDE

[dalysimon · 1/10 · 12 June 2016]

"This movie is totally awesome" If you are 11 in 2016 Otherwise its a horrible waste of your life.

The characters are very poorly developed, the story is predictable (spoiler Alert) The story ends with the last survivor killing the person who set up the deadly game of VR death match.

In about 3 months I imagine the concepts will be superseded by better, more original imaginings of how VR can be exciting and deadly stories.

I expected this would offer more but the reviews that this was great are very misleading. I can't give this more than 3 but I gave it 1 to counteract the reviewer who gave it 9.

The only good thing about this movie was the end. I am amazed someone bankrolled it, because its mostly down to a shockingly poor script, poor actors and poor directing. CGI is OK, cinematography is not bad and the lighting guys did their job.

The biggest let down is from both the writing and the directing. There is not a single stand out line in the movie - in fact the resolution of the 4th act seems to mimic the standards of some very badly worked Asian cinema with a mind-numbing bad end. But I was at least grateful it came.

When it comes down to it you have two choices- Watch this movie or alternatively get a pen, stab yourself in the hand very hard, then get yourself off to the A&E and enjoy a much better time than you otherwise would have with this hackneyed crap.

Not Bad - Very Reminiscent of "The Subjects" (2015)

[abrogaten · 6/10 · 17 June 2016]

Its an alright last resort when you're out of other movies to watch I guess.

Like "The Subjects", people (loners that no one will look for) are lured in by money to become subjects for what seems like a test/experiment that they were never explained about.

Many archetypal characters are involved like the annoying, whining, panicky, ones and false tough guys, the instantaneous couple, the one competent guy, UK's gratuitous minority of a misunderstood middle eastern.

The movie tries to explore topics of humanity in distress, man is the real monster, what we'll do to survive or to feel relevant/significant and some slight redeeming features. Not sure what their stance or conclusion on this is suppose to be, and I suppose they are relevant topics beaten to the death with a stick.

I may sound cynical and sarcastic but I'm a cine-phile so I've seen one too many of this. Overall its not a bad watch, even though it tries to make the viewers think, I personally didn't.

Wasted opportunity

[demanufacturer · 5/10 · 24 September 2016]

Well shot and composed with good colors and contrast. Appropriate solid special effects and motion graphics, not over the top at all.

Yes these are aesthetic observations but aesthetics are important, especially in Sci-Fi. They're also the only good thing I can say about the movie.

Horrible acting and a horrible script. I don't know whats worse, the script or the casting. The stereotypes are also poorly written. For stereotypes. All the building blocks were there for something more coherent and edgy. A tighter script with some better casting could have turned this into a cult classic.

The missed opportunity is highlighted even more by the solid production work. Unfortunate.

Very Good! Those who left low ratings shouldn't have done so.

[peetamellarkmail · 8/10 · 23 June 2016]

This movie is full of action and suspense. Haves some similarities of the Cube series, but while being very different. If you like Cube, then you'll probably like this. I'm not going to post anything about the movie containing spoilers. You'll have to watch it yourself! That being said, don't join a contest without looking into it! Also, don't be stupid and try your best! This movie contains footage of gamer noobs doing stupid things like wasting grenades, wasting ammo, and making unnecessary noises, and being bad team members is general. Viewer discretion is advised! I rate this movie PG for no pornographic scenes, but usage of colorful language.

Good movie. Don't get all the hate.

[Ryan-lindsey1 · 7/10 · 14 June 2017]

Don't really understand why this movie has so many bad reviews, or such a low rating. It's no big blockbuster, but it isn't a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. I actually really enjoyed it. I recommend it to anyone who likes original concept movies. I've certain never seen anything like it before.

Poor act, poor script low budget. Waste of time

[candogancan · 2/10 · 8 August 2017]

Gamers will hate this movie. Very poor acting. Script is totally full of mistakes. It is so bad that hard to criticize. Final scene is a disaster. It is very hard to say anything good about this movie. The only thing I liked is the subject of the movie, I hope one day a better director with better players and with a strong script we watch a better version of this movie.

A rip-off movie !!!

[legend-is-alive · 1/10 · 25 May 2016]

• There is a manga, anime and movie called GANTZ which is pretty interesting (The manga) !!!

• This movie is a total rip-off of that manga and little from the move called The Cube (last one) !!!

• Anyways even if it was not a rip-off it is a really bad directed, acted, and written movie (some acting are OK)!!!

• Predictable ending, cliché action, boring pointless conversations !!!

• However, this movie is a very low budget movie, so expecting something good for a sci-fi, action movie is absurd from the beginning !!!

• Watch or read the GANTZ or The Cube trilogy instead, they are way better then this rip-off !!!

Skilled Video Gamers Answer The Call...

[WalkdenEntertainment · 2/10 · 10 January 2019]

A group of skilled video gamers are invited to try and test a new virtual reality video game. The prize? $100,000. Sounds easy and fun right? Well, things take a turn for worse when these players discover they will be fighting for their real lives.

This isn't just any video game.

The Call Up has a great idea for a film and... that's it. With the world of Video games getting bigger every day, including new VR technology on PS4, it wouldn't surprise me if one day we get to walk in a room, all wear helmets, run around and shoot each other.

But sadly as a film, we are viewing a hot mess. The title "The Call Up" makes no sense to me and doesn't relate to the film at all. Our characters are found in a room at the start of the film and that's all the development and emotions we are provided with. But that's ok, because with even little information to the audience, we can work out who is going to betray others in the team, who is going to win and the list goes on. The film carries one twist but it just doesn't make sense and doesn't add up.

The film's low budget also shows. I can be happy with poor effects and a low budget in a film. When the film has actors shoot at nothing and we are to assume they just shot someone down more than once, to me it can feel very empty and hollow. The film's soundtrack is also a disappointment. Consider it a down graded of Tron the soundtrack. A film which is set up in the present day, has a whole futuristic tone and it just doesn't work. The music also never stops or rests and tries way too hard to be present in every scene.

The Call Up does have a creative story that we would all love to see in a motion film. This type of film should be fun, fresh and suspenseful, but sadly it's anything but.

1.9/10 Walkden Entertainment