A very enjoyable Netflix B-movie I must say. Effects were surprisingly good. If all Netflix films had at least this level of enjoyment factor they'd be in pretty good shape.
"Our business requires us to make suppositions.
My business requires us to prove them.
Your technician's job is to find glitches, so, he sees glitches.
Your job is to find the enemy, so, you see the enemy. Locals believe in spirits, so they see spirits.
Everyone is biased, in one way or another.
So, my answer to you right now is that we lack data to support any theory."
I hope Netflix still has a few more similar films up their sleeve, because this was surely excellent work. Not only did it look great. It was also thrilling and action-packed. Unfortunately, the creators of this action-SF are huge admirers of "Aliens" I guess and based their concept a little bit too much on this blockbuster. Again, a group of hard-trained soldiers try to make their way through a war-ravaged metropolis while being harassed by non-human enemies whose touch is sufficient enough to make you fall stone dead on the spot. Even their sophisticated equipment is no match for these supernatural entities. The equivalent of Newt (the charming little girl with that tousled hair) is introduced as well. And of course, this group of soldiers serve one central person, Clyne (James Badge Dale), who has the key to the solution.
The only thing that bothered me somewhat, was the denouement and the final explanation of the particular phenomena. I'm not doubting the intelligence of Dr. Clyne, but the sudden insights he gains here and the naturalness with which he brings forward solutions, is adjacent to the unbelievable. And how he could upgrade the weapons into ultimate defense weapons by using material that was lying around, made him look like a real MacGyver. The scene in the power plant of Masarov wouldn't be out of place in some kind of PS4 game. Only, the final scientific explanation was beyond my hat.
Apparently, Universal Pictures has produced this film and pushed aside the film because they didn't believe in a successful worldwide release in cinemas (disappointing cost-benefit analysis, most likely). Maybe that explains the rather spectacular effects and overall design. Fortunately, Netflix has taken over this not so bad SF and started broadcasting this on their channels, otherwise this film would have died a quiet death. Ignore the coincidences (like the huge camera Clyne has taken with him, even though he didn't know what was going on) and some stupidities, and you'll surely get to see a sound and spectacular-looking SF. I thought the armor and weapons of the advancing troops really looked slick. Not those plastic fake firearms you give your adolescent children as a gift for Christmas. And when the final offensive is deployed, you can expect some decent action scenes.
So! You have a Netflix subscription and you don't know what to do on a Sunday afternoon? Feel free to look for this film and enjoy a decent, cyberpunk war story. And if you have knowledge of the Slovenian language, you'll notice that the Moldovan little girl isn't speaking Moldavian. She speaks Slovene fluently (If I wasn't married to a Slovene girl, I wouldn't have noticed myself). It's these small imperfections that prevents this film to be among the greatest science-fictions. Mind you, the emphasis is on "small" when talking about these imperfections.
Solid genre film. Script nothing special, except where the protagonist uses scientific scepticism to progress the story. This was a welcome change as usually sceptics do not fair well in Hollywood films!
Spectral is a military action movie in which a scientist helps a special ops crew fight ghosts. Yes, ghosts. Well, they do get some kind of scientific rationale, which is about Doctor Who level of believability. Which is perhaps at odds with its procedural tone, but the sf/war/horror mash-up is at least interesting. It's just... It doesn't really give us anything new to sink our teeth into. The effects are surprisingly good for what is essentially a Netflix B-movie, and the ghosts follow the rules set down in the film, leading to logical solutions. But the story structure, the characters, etc. are strictly by the numbers and aren't particularly involving, despite the participation of good recognizable actors like James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer, Bruce Greenwood and Max Martini. Forgettable.
I thought the production was well thought out with ample time for character development. It was hard to predict what these phenomenon were and the end result is intriguing to say the least. However, it felt like it dragged on and personally, this film lacks replay value for me.
Overall, an impressive Netflix Original which was made believable through its special effects and engaging dialogue.
I agree with maasr. It wasn't a bad movie but let's just say that I won't be seeing it again any time soon. Definitely worth a watch if you like sci-fi action.
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Comments 1 - 10 of 10
Jashezilla
Wasn't too bad. Special effects and acting were on point, but the actual story just wasn't quite there.maasr
Kind of a modern B movie. Special effects are well done! Plot is not quite there. Solid B.DaniloFreiles
"Stiamo entrando nella zona abbandonata. Ci aspettiamo una forte presenza degli insorti".... Cosa?!?!DisneyStitch
A very enjoyable Netflix B-movie I must say. Effects were surprisingly good. If all Netflix films had at least this level of enjoyment factor they'd be in pretty good shape.ikkegoemikke
"Our business requires us to make suppositions.My business requires us to prove them.
Your technician's job is to find glitches, so, he sees glitches.
Your job is to find the enemy, so, you see the enemy. Locals believe in spirits, so they see spirits.
Everyone is biased, in one way or another.
So, my answer to you right now is that we lack data to support any theory."
I hope Netflix still has a few more similar films up their sleeve, because this was surely excellent work. Not only did it look great. It was also thrilling and action-packed. Unfortunately, the creators of this action-SF are huge admirers of "Aliens" I guess and based their concept a little bit too much on this blockbuster. Again, a group of hard-trained soldiers try to make their way through a war-ravaged metropolis while being harassed by non-human enemies whose touch is sufficient enough to make you fall stone dead on the spot. Even their sophisticated equipment is no match for these supernatural entities. The equivalent of Newt (the charming little girl with that tousled hair) is introduced as well. And of course, this group of soldiers serve one central person, Clyne (James Badge Dale), who has the key to the solution.
The only thing that bothered me somewhat, was the denouement and the final explanation of the particular phenomena. I'm not doubting the intelligence of Dr. Clyne, but the sudden insights he gains here and the naturalness with which he brings forward solutions, is adjacent to the unbelievable. And how he could upgrade the weapons into ultimate defense weapons by using material that was lying around, made him look like a real MacGyver. The scene in the power plant of Masarov wouldn't be out of place in some kind of PS4 game. Only, the final scientific explanation was beyond my hat.
Apparently, Universal Pictures has produced this film and pushed aside the film because they didn't believe in a successful worldwide release in cinemas (disappointing cost-benefit analysis, most likely). Maybe that explains the rather spectacular effects and overall design. Fortunately, Netflix has taken over this not so bad SF and started broadcasting this on their channels, otherwise this film would have died a quiet death. Ignore the coincidences (like the huge camera Clyne has taken with him, even though he didn't know what was going on) and some stupidities, and you'll surely get to see a sound and spectacular-looking SF. I thought the armor and weapons of the advancing troops really looked slick. Not those plastic fake firearms you give your adolescent children as a gift for Christmas. And when the final offensive is deployed, you can expect some decent action scenes.
So! You have a Netflix subscription and you don't know what to do on a Sunday afternoon? Feel free to look for this film and enjoy a decent, cyberpunk war story. And if you have knowledge of the Slovenian language, you'll notice that the Moldovan little girl isn't speaking Moldavian. She speaks Slovene fluently (If I wasn't married to a Slovene girl, I wouldn't have noticed myself). It's these small imperfections that prevents this film to be among the greatest science-fictions. Mind you, the emphasis is on "small" when talking about these imperfections.
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Marasmusine
Solid genre film. Script nothing special, except where the protagonist uses scientific scepticism to progress the story. This was a welcome change as usually sceptics do not fair well in Hollywood films!Siskoid
Spectral is a military action movie in which a scientist helps a special ops crew fight ghosts. Yes, ghosts. Well, they do get some kind of scientific rationale, which is about Doctor Who level of believability. Which is perhaps at odds with its procedural tone, but the sf/war/horror mash-up is at least interesting. It's just... It doesn't really give us anything new to sink our teeth into. The effects are surprisingly good for what is essentially a Netflix B-movie, and the ghosts follow the rules set down in the film, leading to logical solutions. But the story structure, the characters, etc. are strictly by the numbers and aren't particularly involving, despite the participation of good recognizable actors like James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer, Bruce Greenwood and Max Martini. Forgettable.Jace Lightner
I thought the production was well thought out with ample time for character development. It was hard to predict what these phenomenon were and the end result is intriguing to say the least. However, it felt like it dragged on and personally, this film lacks replay value for me.Overall, an impressive Netflix Original which was made believable through its special effects and engaging dialogue.
bathkuyp
Some pleasant shots of Budapest (very recognizable). The movie itself went from most boring to full retard after twenty minutes.Daizuko
I agree with maasr. It wasn't a bad movie but let's just say that I won't be seeing it again any time soon. Definitely worth a watch if you like sci-fi action.