- S: The film get's away with some things given the unreliable narrator, but then destroys any chance of suspended disbelief by over-explaining the plot in the ending. In particular, the
infection's ability to infect living/dead objects, the infected hosts' choices, the technology present, and decisions with dead bodies. The surgical robot is a particularly glaring mess throughout the film: it only speaks Japanese, doesn't provide anaesthesia for it's operations, and has miraculous capabilities.
- C: Costuming and production design are visually interesting, but the designes create questions as to how things function. There is also a strange blend of old and new technology.
Framing, shot design and visuals are good, but are derivative. In fact, most elements of this film are derivative of other major sci-fi flicks. A prime example is the surgical robot, which is a bad mashup of the Alien franchise surgical machine and some Blade Runner technology.
- E: The film has a huge shift in energy with the change in tone and narrative, which disrupts the flow of the film. This combined with the narrative issues in the second half
make for a somewhat loathesome watch near the end. However, a decent finish (ignoring the post-credits scene) helps redeem the viewing a little. A solid score helps
keep things interesting, but it's far too similar to other sci-fi movies, in particular Blade Runner.
- N: The missing memory portion of the story is interesting. The major downfall of this story is the latter half, which explains way too much, adds unnecessary length, and
creates the majority of the film's inconsistencies.
- T: The film received one bonus point for a great close-up shot of some eyes opening in a field of color-changing grass.
The film had a Beyond the Black Rainbow feel to the first half, but then abandoned it in the second half by over-explaining the previously forgotten events. This
film would have played better with some mysteries left unsolved/unexplained.
Number of Watches: 1
