The Bad Batch

Hoo boy. This movie requires some effort. What starts off as a brutal exploitation flick, surely to weed out the meek, evolves into an absorbing treatise on primal human conditions in a barren, deserted wasteland.

While Ana Lily Amipour's sophomore effort contains pulpy roots, littered with outrageous characters and circumstances, it also tackles some grand topics. Our white trashy heroine Arlen is unceremoniously turfed out of society to fend for herself behind a Texan fence, where lawlessness and depravity are the rule of the day. She is soon captured by a tribe of cannibals, and mayhem ensues.

Dystopian futures as these don't seem all that far fetched any more. "The Bad Batch" may serve as a warning, but chiefly it serves as dusty entertainment. Much like the "Mad Max" franchise, it is a world full of crazies scrambling to survive in glorious sunbaked vistas.

Sporting a primo porn stash, Keannu Reeves pops up as a bizarro, robe clad cult leader. Giovanni Ribisi slips in several rambling, asylum escapee diatribes, but it is an unrecognizable Jim Carrey who absolutely steals the movie as a wizened bag man.

"The Bad Batch" has the art junk, lost inhibition, drug and music orgy feel of Burning Man, and because it's stealthily asking tough questions, has much more going for it than the cheap veneer may indicate.

I've seen 1 and 2 star reviews, and I've seen 8 or 9 stars. This movie lies somewhere in the middle. There is a ton of talent in this movie, and the story was interesting enough, but there is a ton of wasted potential here. I hope to see this directors next effort as I'm sure the craft will be refined. Overall, it can be a tuff watch, but the performances are outstanding. If you want something original check this out.

I went against my instincts when it came to watching 'The Bad Batch'. Every nerve in my body was telling me it would be dreadful, but the words cannibals, Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves and Giovanni Ribisi kept repeating over and over in my head until I finally gave in and made the fateful mistake of watching it. My god, how is it possible to make a story this boring out of cannibals? Every single thing it tries to make itself interesting with completely falls flat. When you manage to get a completely dull and forgettable performance out of Jim Carrey you know you're doing something terribly wrong.

The film tries to be thought-provoking (at least it seemed like that was what it was going for) but none of the concepts it presents are in any way actually worthy of a second thought. It also goes for a lot of style, however it again falls short. In a futuristic desert wasteland setting there a thousand different concepts you could use to create an interesting story. For some reason 'The Bad Batch' chooses a story that could have been told in any setting and in any time period. That's about as lazy as story-telling gets. If you do make the mistake of selecting this one up on Netflix brace yourself for a long and painful couple of hours.

After watching this film for the first time, I decided to wait a while before saying anything about it. After two months, I watched it again and decided that this was well worth a second view.

The story is pretty typical for the genre of undesirables exiled to a wasteland. Yes, some felt compelled to resort to cannibalism as the easier strategy. And yet, there's a haven of sorts, if one is willing to find it.

The lead character, played by Suki Waterhouse, does an admirable job - but Jim Carrey is the real surprise - dramatically entertaining in a completely unexpected role. Even Keanu Reeves' portrayal of a dubious but benevolent "desert sultan", replete with breeding harem. is spot on. An agreeable fellow who is just too smooth to be truly likable. Jason Momoa's character remains an unpredictable cut-throat who may or may not turn out to be one of the most depraved amongst these outcasts.

I would be tempted to rate the film higher if the story had been a little more imaginative. Kudos to the director for coping with the harsh environment - and the in-camera special effects that largely took care of the scenes that required them. I'll be happy to upgrade my rating in future, if I find that the film continues to grow on me.

I'm very liberal when it comes to rating movies. Not everything can be "The Usual Suspects" - I understand that.

Holy crap, does this thing drag on and, man, is it trying desperately to be hip, edgy, cool, or something. It's like it comes up to the edge and I think, "Ooh, it might happen here!" and then it doesn't.

Dang.

It's not fun. It's not even really fun in a bad way. It's just ... bad.