I saw a prescreening of the movie the other day, I liked what I saw but I did have some issues with the movie.
First off were most of the characters and the storytelling. It wasn't necessarily bad but it just felt so "Hollywood." Especially how some of the scenes were set up. And I really hate to put it like that but its the best way I can describe it. And that ending shot, the very last one, such a "Hollywood" cliche, I knew it was coming I just didn't want to.
The plot and pacing also felt incredibly rushed, they could have gotten that extra half hour then I think things would have turned out a lot better.
Another thing was that it just felt lacking, it was missing something that the short film had but this film didn't. It felt haunting and created a unique eerie atmosphere with just a simple story. For the feature it felt like that essence was drained a bit just like what the Machine does. But well its not surprising to me, this happens a lot for these "extended versions" of short films.
Now onto what I did like:
I really liked the scenery and the visuals, Acker did a good job at trying to replicate a dead world without going over the top. All the characters and equipment looked believable, like you could tell that they were made of everyday junk you probably have inside a drawer somewhere.
The concept of the plot, just the concept, the over all deliverance of it could have been better. It had a timeless and captivating story to tell but it wasn't without its flaws. I think this theme would have been delivered better if it was focused more so on the 9 of them bearing the burden of humanity rather than the new, youthful way of thinking vs the old (ie 9 vs 1).
The characters, actually scratch that, just 9, 2, and The Scientist, the others were all so...typical and again "Hollywood." Not that its a bad thing but its something I've seen way too many times, ESPECIALLY 1, 8, 7, and 6. Elijah Wood played another great flat character, his character was pretty believable and so was 2. You really feel bad for The Scientist, you feel his regret and his pain.
