Alpha Rift (2021) User Reviews

I'm a fan

[iggyzero · 8/10 · 21 November 2021]

I love love loved the chemistry between Dalla Villa and Nielsen, their moments together were definitely the cutest of the movie. If the script had less needless cursing, their scenes could've come across even better, but alas, the film played too much into whatever angle that was. Still though, Henriksen's voice is mesmerizing enough to more than make up for those lines. I'd give it a watch. I mean, it's not a remake, ya know?

Cheesy but fun

[chickengirl-50901 · 6/10 · 14 November 2021]

I watched this with my boyfriend and we didn't take this as a serious movie. Definitely better if you watch it as a comedy. Entertaining and fun. Good to turn off your brain for a couple hours. I'd give it a shot.

acting carries this one

[JoeTeee · 7/10 · 22 November 2021]

Alright so I love an independent film centered on gaming, especially one with Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Predator, The Terminator). I also greatly appreciated the acting of Nielsen (Mare of Easttown) and Dalla Villa too. I thought the three of them in particular elevated a rather average script to have some endearing moments. Despite the fact this film seems not to be able to commit to what it should be (a kid's film in the vein of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" would've been the best approach), I can't help but rate it maybe better than it deserves. The acting by the main three deserves that much, and they made me like this one.

1st half Hokey, second half picked up...

[comicmank1 · 5/10 · 14 November 2021]

It sure won't win any Oscors, and maybe it's just me, ( ok, trolls, ATTACK ) but I didn't think it was that bad. Watch it as a comedy, backed by a not bad story premise at all. And Lance Henriksen was his usual bad ass self. Give it a chance. That's why I'm giving 5 stars to the movie. It deserves that!

I enjoyed it!

[jackiemarino-45946 · 9/10 · 19 November 2021]

Is that knight dude single..? This movie had me hooked. I love the snarky comments throughout it, and there are definitely tons of lovable characters in it. The story revealed twists in a very smooth manner, and even as someone who doesn't usually play fictional games or things of that sort, I found myself drawn to the medieval nature of this story. The director tied in "history" to make the legend real to the characters within the movie. I thought it was very well done.

Decent Story, Action and Folklore

[d20Roller · 7/10 · 21 November 2021]

It plays like a Marvel movie on a budget. The medieval backstory is interesting and the action is really competent. You can tell they didn't have a big Hollywood budget, but the story, characters are solid and I found myself enjoying myself.

It is light hearted, action comedy in the vein of an 80s movie. I could totally see this as a TV series or a couple sequels, mini series, etc.

Lance Henriksen brings gravitas to the movie and the Nolan actors is good.

Know what you're watching!

[llamaslothinc · 9/10 · 20 November 2021]

Generally a fun film, surprisingly not bad graphics for something with a very low budget, and acting that offers some much needed charisma at times (especially Henriksen and Nielsen). I would say on the younger side of the YA age range. Don't expect some dramatic/serious movie that's trying to say a lot - more like an ode to the gaming community (so yes it has some cursing throughout) that you can turn your brain off for and watch it play into its dorkiness. If you go in with the right expectations, I think it's def likable. More movies should be appreciated for what they are, especially independent films.

People are weird

[davyjones-636363 · 9/10 · 26 November 2021]

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and so I've read a lot of the reviews, and I am straight dumbfounded by some. If you don't like the movie just cuz, whatever, that's your opinion, but I have issue with some of the criticisms of this film. For starters, I've seen way too much concern over the cursing. First: there isn't that much. Second: it's a movie seeped in nerd and gaming lore, and one of the action scenes literally has the Nolan character rage as if he were gaming and beat people up - it's funny. Third: do people know how middle schoolers talk? Maybe parents need to spend more time seeing what their kids post on tiktok instead of shielding their wee little innocent ears. I'm in my mid 20s, and I literally never cursed more in my life than when I was in middle school. Then there's this bananas no sense concern over violence I saw in one review - the movie shows literally NO blood! NONE! How are pretty generic fight sequences against basically zombies a concern? What do you think kids watch? Check their youtube history, watch Marvel, watch Stranger Things, Star Wars, LOTR, tell me what popular fantasy kids like doesn't have more violence than this??? And don't get me started on games kids play - does anyone realize there are like fifty COD and first person shooter games out there? GTA??? What in the world could this movie possibly be xposing the kids of America to today they haven't already seen and heard a million times over? And don't get me started on the so called "allusions to sex." There's one kissing scene - that's it! You'll get more sex and violence in Shrek for crying out loud! People upset about anything remotely adultish in this are the kind of people who think Pokemon will inspire third graders to pick up dog fighting or something - it's just completely out of touch with children in every capacity. This is an indie movie sorta like the Brendan Fraser Mummy, just not big budget. And again, if that raises concerns for you for some inane reason that the subpar compared to Marvel CGI will put off kids, first off, there isn't that much CGI actually. Secondly, it's pretty average, not overdone, and guess what! Kids have a better imagination than adults do, believe it or not! Issues with CGI have always been WAY more with adults than children. My GOD people need to chill... I would absolutely love it if my nieces saw this film, and imma have no problem telling their parents all about it, and I'm sure they'll have no problem letting their kids see it either, cuz they're NORMAL. Goodbye peeps.

I thought the movie was entertaining

[newguy-84298 · 10/10 · 18 November 2021]

I gave it a 10. If they were smarter, I would've removed the swearing and made it a G rated video. Sold it to the Disney channel.

Other than that, I thought it was entertaining, there was cool stuff in the movie. I didn't have to sit through mini plots or characters dying off. I didn't know how it was going to end. I didn't sit through it. It took me 3 days to finish but the acting was genuine. Ok Ok. Back to the smut that i watch.

All Around Alright

[ittybittytoilet · 7/10 · 23 November 2021]

Ok so I need to say that this film gets about an average rating from me because it has some problems with knowing what it is. I saw another review on here that said "know what you're watching," but like, did the director know what he wanted us to be watching? The acting is solid by the main cast at least, but all depth is only added through the acting. No real depth wouldn't be a problem if all this was was a fast-paced movie written without much character development made for the attention span of children. However, all the excessive language and allusions to sex then strip this film of being that, and I don't know if I'm supposed to want this to be more or less than what it is? If looking for more, any development by the characters, again, it's the actors who shoulder the burden of finding some development in their characters and trying to make it appear where it isn't in the script. I just think this movie could've been more, but because it couldn't decide what it wanted to be, it was just an alright watch. Nothing more, nothing less.

it was ok

[nublingnoob · 6/10 · 30 November 2021]

It was pretty cheesy and some corny dialogue, the main char was a bit annoying, but it was kind of fun, didnt take itself to seriously, very cliche story thats been told tons of times, i would say its worth a watch, has got some funny moments, and always nice to see lance henriksen, he actually is in the film the whole way through and wasnt just bought in for 1 scene for advertising, then killed of lol.

The adventure I've been waiting for!

[jtrainer-11207 · 9/10 · 22 November 2021]

This film took me back to the originality and excitement of films from the 80's and 90's. It's not a brain bender but it is full of action, comedy and light hearted fun while maintaining high stakes. There is a whole new universe here to explore and I can definitely see a series of sequels to come.

poor Lance Henriksen

[kaefab · 2/10 · 12 November 2021]

Lance Henriksen is such a great talent but yet has spend 20 plus years making z grade movies like this one.

Its really sad to say this man was part of aliens, predator and so many other great movies.

The actors save this

[bitbucketchip · 6/10 · 1 March 2022]

Aaron and Rachel play a pair of game store owners with friendly banter who remind of you of couples you know and enjoy spending time around.

That's the good. It's pretty much straight downhill from there.

The pair hosts tournaments for a cheesy board game called Alpha Rift. Alpha Risk, we are solemnly informed, is by coincidence a cheesy real-life conflict involving four hats, styrofoam swords, a fragile glowing green egg, twelve lame bad guys, and a bunch of other guys who appear not to have been told they are in a movie.

The tone is after-school special, with lilting music, minimal blood, and cartoony violence. It's appropriate, given the hackneyed story, laughable special effects, one-take dialog errors, and unrehearsed scenes.

If you're going to make a movie without a budget or professional script, at least give us a couple likable stars to root for. This movie does that. Six stars for a watchable time waster.

A sub par fantasy movie

[Sergiodave · 3/10 · 21 November 2021]

Saw this movie not knowing anything about it. From the get go it felt like a Highlander re-boot, which wasn't too far from the truth. Instead of using very very cheap special effects, using none and going medieval would have been a better idea. The script needed some polishing and the acting was below average, although Rachel Nielsen was better than the rest. I would say this movie is aimed at young teens although the effects will definitely put them off.

A fun modern day knight story

[johncena-65486 · 8/10 · 31 December 2021]

It is rare to come across a good-natured film that isn't sappy. It is a good action adventure - decent fight choreography, funny jokes, and half-decent VFX. I recommend to any fan of knights or super heroes.

Well, at least Dan Lantz tried...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 6 January 2022]

Needless to say that the main reason for why I sat down to watch the 2021 movie "Alpha Rift" was because the movie had Lance Henriksen on the cast list. However, having read the synopsis and seen the movie's cover, I can't say that I really was expecting much of anything grand here.

And luckily enough, because writer and director Dan Lantz delivered a movie that felt like it was written by a teenager that had just recently stumbled upon his first role-playing game system and decided to make a heroic action movie. Yeah, everything felt out of place, nerdy and just sort of cringeworthy.

The storyline told in "Alpha Rift" wasn't great, yet I managed to sit through the entire movie. However, I can't really claim to have been very entertained by what transpired on the screen. So writer and director Dan Lantz didn't exactly do a homerun here.

The acting performances in the movie were bland, and this was actually just another low budget notch in Lance Henriksen's acting performance. This is far from a being an outstanding movie or a milestone movie for him.

I will say, though, that visually then "Alpha Rift" wasn't actually all that bad.

"Alpha Rift" is not really a movie that I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on.

My rating of "Alpha Rift" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.

Power Rangers Gooooooo!

[kinsellaja · 5/10 · 12 November 2021]

This was like watching a power rangers episode all the way through, cheesy acting, weird choreographed fight scenes and storyline with a few issues I wont mention here. All in all good for the younger audiences if it weren't for the swearing.

Something NEW - Thank God

[threeactman · 7/10 · 13 May 2022]

I am so tired of watching re-hash after re-hash of existing movies and TV franchises. This movie is refreshing to see something new. It's got a decent backstory and good leads. I found it entertaining and fresh. They imply making more of these, but then it becomes as a sequel.... I certainly hope not - make more new stuff.

The acting killed this movie

[eprusulis · 2/10 · 14 November 2021]

The storyline for this movie was actually really good I was actually really interested in it and I was interested in the beginning of the acting by Nolan the male lead in the movie Wasn't so terrible this could've been a good movie I cannot believe this man gets rolls. Also the writing for him was really bad as well so it didn't help things I understand that he's young boy joking type of guy but I mean you're in the middle of a sword fighting you're saying stuff like ass had an old would you think of that just terrible writing they should've made him get serious as the movie went on.

Bad, but not terrible

[fibulator777 · 3/10 · 4 April 2022]

This is one of those extremely rare times when a movie is bad, but not excessively so.

Some of the dialog is decent, some is terrible, most is inbetween.

Same with acting, props, etc.

Several plot holes.

I'd say this would be a really good "film school" quality of movie.

Could have been better (good story)

[DudeTrippy · 6/10 · 14 December 2021]

I feel like the training Nolan went through in the movie was quite short and to me that was a bit underwhelming, I think that if the training was longer and you could see Nolan becoming progressively more serious with his training over a longer period of the story's time then it would have had a nicer build up for Nolan's character. The ending scenario was also quite short, I think that if there was more of a struggle to defeat this evil villain then that would have been nicer I think.

However I really enjoyed the story's direction, and I could imagine that a sequel would hold a greater potential. So I hope that there will be more movies to come for this story.

I didn't really see any problem with any of the acting, overall it was good and I think it was fitting to see Nolan with a quirky personality in the beginning of this story, I would however hope that Nolan gets a more serious personality as his character grows stronger in a sequel.

Aspires for more, but pulls it off

[thanialoharuka · 8/10 · 15 January 2022]

This is an indy movie that would make a great TV series. I think if they had more money, it would give Hollywood a run for its money. It reminds me of an indy comic book - lots of new and fresh ideas, but just short on the resources to envision it all.

Fun to watch. Would make for a great sequel!

[ke-90012 · 10/10 · 22 November 2021]

I really enjoyed the the story line about the Noblemen/Devil Apostles. As someone who loves both fantasy & action movies I thought this was the perfect mix! Gabby and Nolan's friendship also makes for a v relatable modern day love story- will the two stay friends or will they eventually end up together?! After seeing how handsome/charming Nolan is it only makes sense Gabby feels enchanted with him. Nolan was by FAR my favorite actor, and his character development made me like him even more. He initially appears to be your every day American teenager with a love for gaming, but throughout his journey to save the world from darkness he realizes how incredibly special he is deep down. It's almost impossible to not fall in love with him by the end of the movie, and those cheekbones don't help!

Bit cheezy but ok

[gabrielstahl-23240 · 6/10 · 4 January 2022]

Something was a bit off but can't really put my finger on it, acting was decent or above, special effect was reasonable, good camera and costume area was totally fine (bad guy helmet was awesome!) I think the weak point is the script, bit annoying main characters (the actors did good), the idea and lore was quite nice, but as a nerd the main character should have taken it super seriously I believe instead of going full millennial.

Worth to watch overall, seen way worse with way higher budget.