4.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
A young boy searches a future world wasteland for a rumored cure for his dying mother.
Starring: James Franco, Suki Waterhouse, Jeff Wahlberg, Margarita Levieva, Snoop DoggSci-Fi | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
One might be forgiven for assuming that Future World’s co-writers and co-directors James Franco and Bruce Thierry Chung must have simply consumed mass quantities of some controlled (or uncontrolled, as the case may be) substance, watched a double feature of, say, Mad Max and Ex Machina, and then made this weird film before memories of their “trip” completely faded. I jest, of course, but Future World is a patently odd amalgamation of any number of now far beyond hoary clichés in the so-called post-apocalyptic subgenre of science fiction offerings. There’s a brief, shining moment early in the film when the voiceover of an android later given the name of Ash (Suki Waterhouse) describes herself as one of the “synthetic messiahs” when hopeful viewers might think this film has a chance at doing something new with any number of frankly trite elements, but those hopes will probably vanish for most within just a few minutes after an isolated community of survivors (in what looks like a refining plant, not that that particular plot point is ever explained or developed) is attacked by a band of ruffians on motorcycles (I actually thought for a moment that maybe the gang was attacking the facility in order to get fuel for their hogs, but any actual logical thinking like that is missing in action in this film). The leader, who wears a mask with horns because — well, who knows? — is known as Warlord (James Franco), and you can tell he’s no good (aside from the horned masked which unfortunately doesn't hide extremely poor dental hygiene and all) because within moments he and his horde have slaughtered both an old man and a young child. It turns out Warlord is not after fuel, or anything other than the android, which he finds “deactivated” in a big barn like structure. Warlord of course does activate her, turning her into his own personal slave.
Future World is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The closing credits disclose the RED Dragon was utilized, but I haven't been able to find any authoritative information about the resolution of the DI. When Franco and Cheung aren't indulging in "arty" effects (which frankly happens too infrequently in my estimation), the imagery here is very sharp and precise, with excellent fine detail levels and a nicely nuanced palette (the effect with Ash's differently colored eyes is especially evocative). Unfortunately, there are a lot of intentionally hazy, hallucinatory shots throughout the film, and someone must have gotten a deal on a digital lens flare app, as can be made out in some of the screenshots accompanying this review (that's also said in jest, hopefully obviously). Because of those stylistic choices, along with some severe lighting and grading toward dark tones, fine detail levels can ebb pretty dramatically at times.
Future World features an intermittently effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. There are some nice washes of panning score in low frequencies as the film opens, and some of the outdoor material in particular offers good effects, including the roaring engines of Warlord's motorcycle gang, or the raucous atmosphere of Love Town. There are some kind of small scale set pieces, as in a quasi-gladatorial duel late in the film, where good surround activity is also evident. Dialogue (such as it is) is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.
As obviously overamped as much of it was, the visual side of things in Future World actually interested me, maybe because it was so overamped. But the story here is cobbled together from too many elements you've most likely seen before in other, probably more memorable, features. Franco completists may want to check this out, and for those considering a purchase, technical merits are solid.
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