And if I were to keep tabs on my favourite movies of the year, this would have been the time to open up a document and start the list, so we’ve got the spectrum covered.
I’d rate this one as a missed opportunity. As i had come across the title of this thread before seeing the movie, i assumed that it felt so underdeveloped because it was trying to condense several books into one movie.
The sterile visuals that worked so well in Ex Machina just made the opening feel utterly lifeless, and the grieving montage at the start just made me cringe. And yes, i get it: Refraction! No need to cram that visual metaphor into every imaginable shot.
I also have to deduct some originality points for having what looks like the Under the Skin alien after an oil spill walk out of an H.R. Giger cave for your grand finale.
That’s funny–as we walked out of the movie, I told my wife they had borrowed too much from Under The Skin.
I was also reminded of this:
The Shepard channeling bear was very similar to Gene Wolfe’s Alzabo.
Well, they should have made the movie this way.
But…they did? From the editing and the choreography to the fact that it reverts to its shadow form there really can’t be any confusing which is which. The rest is just not making up anything that isn’t on screen.
No, they should have done the offscreen replacement. Like in the books. Instead of defeating the shimmer with a grenade.
I love the soundtrack, especially the parts with the guitar. I’ve had this on a loop for the last 10 minutes.
I just watched this and thought it was alright. More than anything, it felt like it borrowed heavily from Roadside Picnic. The whole movie felt like a mishmash of Roadside Picnic, Stalker, and The Last of Us. Had I never read/seen/played those, I probably would have liked it more.
Overall: meh.