The Rise of the Synths

There was so much potential here. It's a crime this documentary showcases just half of the culture of synthwave.

There are some great personalities on screen, amazing quotes about creating art, criticism, coming of age, nostalgia, timeless creations etc.

But some who defined this musical generation -like Mind.in.a.box- or continue it -like Skeler- are missing from the documentary. Celldweller/Scandroid and Perturbator (the more popular ones) have little time on screen. It's a shame cause it looked like they had a lot to say but end up hardly showing up. On the contrary, some artists who aren't really saying anything significant, use much of the documentary's running time.

Also, the thousands of culture references are nowhere to be found. Just to give a few examples, they could have stated Mass Effect trilogy, Cyberpunk 2077 or any sci-fi game that uses synthwave OST, Hotline Miami, the new Blade Runner or Interstellar movies etc.

I'm not saying they should have focused on the newer stuff but the message that synthwave has a way bigger influence than ever before needed backup proof -and there's ton, but not presented in this documentary.

The other negative for me is the way the documentary flows. Sometimes it cuts from one location/person/song to the next, before the previous ones have even began. If you want to enjoy the song being played or get to know the bands and their characters, forget it. Is moves too fast.

Nevertheless, it has great atmosphere and presentation, and really is a great homage to (mainly the '80s) older generations. For anyone thinking that's a problem because they wanted to hear more about synths and less about the culture, well tough luck. I personally thought it was justified.

Overall, I get that the budget was limited due to this being crowdfunded, and I applaud the work done. Rise of the Synths got many things right, and a few things wrong, but definitely needed at least another half hour of screentime to delve a little deeper on the concept of synthwave.