Atomica Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Atomica Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 21, 2017

Atomica, one of the latest near zero-sum flicks from SyFy, somehow drifted into theaters for the blink of an eye but was obviously not a major hit for the studio best known for its television films made for a dime or so and offering empty on-and-off, start-it-anywhere, end-it-anywhere sort of come-and-go flicks. The studio's films cobble together just enough plot and characterization to drive the tale and are supported by low-rent sets and low-grade visual effects. Atomica, a story of mystery, claustrophobia, and minimalism in a future-setting power plant, tries its hardest to craft an engaging story and cautionary tale but can't quite find quality on most any front. Admittedly still more thought-provoking than many of the studio's films that usually just serve as mash-ups of random categories and elements, Atomica lures in its audience with the promise of something smart but ultimately succumbs to generalized plot contrivances and characterization that, along with its bland settings and uninteresting photography, make the movie more a task and less a treasure.

In the future, nuclear disasters have left parts of the world radiated and in ruins. Enter Auxilisun, a new major player in the power industry that has developed the "tri-fission engine" that has been built over sites of past nuclear meltdowns that not only offers clean power but also cleans the environment at the same time. When one of the major plants, supposedly fail-safe, begins to fail, the company sends in engineer Abby (Sarah Habel) to patch it up. The facility is largely self-contained and operated. Upon arrival, she meets only one of the two permanent staff, a man named Robinson (Dominic Monaghan) who is obviously suffering from a psychological break from his time in deep isolation. There's no sign of the other employee, Zek. As Abby goes about diagnosing the site's ailments, she realizes that there's something off about Robinson, beyond an emotional breakdown induced by his isolation, and that he may be a greater danger to her than the facility's crumbling technologies.

Atomica’s story is slow to build after the necessary exposition, which is built around a newscast/documentary-type montage that tells the relatively recent (future) history of power, the failures of the old ways, and the promises of new technologies that will clean up the mess and offer a superior product (though one would think that in the future, computer graphics, like those used in the Auxilisun commercials, would look more impressive than something from 1992). What follows is a film built, primarily, around two characters, both of whom are largely predictable vessels though Robinson’s psychological degradation and mysterious back story gives the movie hope for greater exploration of the human condition in isolation and under stress. Whether the movie can do anything with its razor-thin establishing first act is the big question upon heading into the second, but there any forward momentum is stalled by a largely uneventful middle stretch that hints at what’s to come but amounts to little before Tom Sizemore’s story facilitator character shows up. The story eventually turns into a whodunit, and why, as the fail-safe systems in the facility begin to fail, anyway, and much larger questions come into play. Whether the audience will care at the point when all of the dominoes are in place is the movie’s big challenge.

The film accomplishes just enough to maintain a cursory interest in the story. Certainly the (expectedly) shoddy visual effects (which are really only a major component of a few exterior shots) and the seriously bland and empty industrial locations (undoubtedly selected not for aesthetics but rather cost effectiveness) minimize one's ability to maintain engagement. Without any interesting support pieces, the midlevel story and equally midlevel characters and acting just aren't enough to carry the film towards anything of serious value. It's a cheap movie doing its best to disguise itself as a thinking man's drama, and it squeezes out just enough conceptual juiciness to keep the viewer mildly intrigued, but the ultimate payoff doesn't really amount to much, anyway. It’s fun enough to allow some theories to percolate, but the core story isn’t interesting enough to lend it too much brain power. Its stuck in that dreaded middle zone where it's built up enough basic narrative capital to make it worth the investment but struggles to maintain what it has through its poorly paced middle and quickly developing but small payout end. Acting is decent enough; Sarah Habel holds serve and Dominic Monaghan does his best to build up the mysterious and off-kilter Robinson. Sizemore doesn't get enough screen time to accomplish much more than advance the plot when he must.

Atomica Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Atomica's 1080p transfer comes presented at 1.78:1. There appears to be some dissension over the film's original aspect ratio, particularly considering that the included trailer presents at ~2.39:1. 1.78:1 is the typical SyFy made-for-television ratio, but with a theatrical exhibition...who knows. A cursory Google search didn't turn up anything, and nothing appears on the IMDB tech spec page. Regardless, the image as-is on Blu-ray doesn't feel continuously cramped, though there are some instances where it does. Definition is nothing special. Textural robustness is lacking, and the image finds only marginal depth and attention to detail on faces and clothes while even the complex industrial innards seen throughout the facility lack any sort of real, tangible definition that one can really sink their teeth into. Colors are limited to, largely, shades of blue and gray with a few splashes of mostly tepid additional hues appearing here and there. Blacks are serviceable and flesh tones appear fairly dull. Encode issues crop up every now and then. Watch as a frozen background hanging in space moves with Abby in an early shot. It's not pretty, but it's not abysmal. For a low-rent movie, it looks about as expected.

Atomica Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

It probably doesn't come as much of a surprise to hear that Atomica's Blu-ray features no lossless soundtrack and instead settles for a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 experience. That track carries the film fruitfully enough, offering a sufficient sense of space and depth that enhances the basics and does enough to draw the listener into the film. Bass can be strong enough when called upon, delivering big, heavy, throaty effects down in the plant and some decent rumbles at the climax. The track allows for a sense of open space in some of the more cavernous locales and a modest reverberating claustrophobia in some of the more cramped corridors. Blaring alarms early on offer a nicely diffuse surround component. Fair zip accompanies an aircraft carrying Abby to the plant at film's start. Musical clarity and width are fine, and dialogue delivery is enjoyably clear and robust with firm front-center placement and quality prioritization.

Atomica Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Atomica's only extra is the film's trailer, with a SyFy films logo overlaying the entire thing. It's presented in a ~2.39:1 aspect ratio, unlike the film's 1.78:1 Blu-ray presentation. It's in 1080p, but no run time is provided. A DVD copy of the film is included with purchase.

Atomica Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Atomica gets by on concept, a few decent ideas, and a couple of adequate performances. The film is limited by its near-zero budget, bland sets, and overall minimalist approach to both structural integrity and narrative development. To this film's credit, there are certainly many more flashier, bigger-budgeted films that tell lesser stories but spend far more on complex but repetitive and boring visuals, so at least the filmmakers largely get their money's worth. For someone who doesn't mind exceedingly dreary visuals and a decent story built around a modest message and mildly intriguing psychological drama, it's worth checking out. The Blu-ray is rather bland, with merely adequate video, decent 5.1 lossy audio, and no extras of any value. Worth a rental.