Secret War Journal[6 November 2013][Spoiler Alert]
Formal Review Background
Winning the "Future Film Festival Digital Award" at the Venice Film Festival, this film visualises what happens if there were to be a man-made catastrophe in space.
The film excels on the heavy use of visual effects to depict the various scenes enacted in the film.
Personal Thoughts
I have no idea why this is categorised as a sci-fic thriller. I was certainly not in any way thrilled by the execution of the movie. There was little suspense, little tension and little excitement from the scenes.
I blame it on the way the scenes are played out. Watching the trailer before the screening made matters worse. The trailer shows you how the story would develop, throwing the suspension right out of the window. Most of the time, I had gripes with the pacing of the show because the film goes in circles to get to the point. We all know the satellite is going to be destroyed by the debris. Get on with it. All this adds to the frustration of trying to 'will' the movie to advance with the plot instead of watching the character drifting in space. While I may acknowledge that it is to highlight to the audience that this is space and when you are lost, you simply drift, but it was done too repetitively. Simply said, it was too much and too long.
The plot twists from the various obstacles she faced along her way to escape was quite a let-down, especially when you knew the length of the film. There was no way the main character would escape without a problem since we have like 60 minutes remaining?
I was kind of disappointed that the male lead was killed, however imminent it was. I dislike shows with only one character on screen but I must admit such a plot device helps to improve the realism of the show (which it excels in).
There was a heart attack moment on the audience when nearing the end of the film, all the signs seems to point towards the female character giving up and tries to commit suicide. As my best friend likes to put it, "If she dies, the theater owes me a movie ticket." While this was done to emulate how an actual person would do when all hope is seemingly gone, it is not appropriate in a thriller. What this scene only serves to frustrate the audience who already cannot wait for the conclusion. Instead of creating suspense (from what? What happens after she dies?), tension (tension from who? No one else is alive...), excitement (what's there left when she just wants to ends her life), what is left is disappointment.
Thus I was kinda glad and relieved when she decides not to instead. How she got the brainwave to escape was cliché but bearable.
Overall, I would not recommend watching this. Unless you are an emotional person who likes to empathise with the characters, you should not be watching this. I would not even recommend this to CGI fans. While there may be various eye candy on the effects (as realistic as they may), I believe there are better films out there with as good effects and better plot.
The film excels on the heavy use of visual effects to depict the various scenes enacted in the film.
Personal Thoughts
I have no idea why this is categorised as a sci-fic thriller. I was certainly not in any way thrilled by the execution of the movie. There was little suspense, little tension and little excitement from the scenes.
I blame it on the way the scenes are played out. Watching the trailer before the screening made matters worse. The trailer shows you how the story would develop, throwing the suspension right out of the window. Most of the time, I had gripes with the pacing of the show because the film goes in circles to get to the point. We all know the satellite is going to be destroyed by the debris. Get on with it. All this adds to the frustration of trying to 'will' the movie to advance with the plot instead of watching the character drifting in space. While I may acknowledge that it is to highlight to the audience that this is space and when you are lost, you simply drift, but it was done too repetitively. Simply said, it was too much and too long.
The plot twists from the various obstacles she faced along her way to escape was quite a let-down, especially when you knew the length of the film. There was no way the main character would escape without a problem since we have like 60 minutes remaining?
I was kind of disappointed that the male lead was killed, however imminent it was. I dislike shows with only one character on screen but I must admit such a plot device helps to improve the realism of the show (which it excels in).
There was a heart attack moment on the audience when nearing the end of the film, all the signs seems to point towards the female character giving up and tries to commit suicide. As my best friend likes to put it, "If she dies, the theater owes me a movie ticket." While this was done to emulate how an actual person would do when all hope is seemingly gone, it is not appropriate in a thriller. What this scene only serves to frustrate the audience who already cannot wait for the conclusion. Instead of creating suspense (from what? What happens after she dies?), tension (tension from who? No one else is alive...), excitement (what's there left when she just wants to ends her life), what is left is disappointment.
Thus I was kinda glad and relieved when she decides not to instead. How she got the brainwave to escape was cliché but bearable.
Overall, I would not recommend watching this. Unless you are an emotional person who likes to empathise with the characters, you should not be watching this. I would not even recommend this to CGI fans. While there may be various eye candy on the effects (as realistic as they may), I believe there are better films out there with as good effects and better plot.
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