Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		1.5

Future World Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 26, 2020

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.

In just one of several abrupt changes this film lurches into, that particular set up is momentarily jettisoned when several other characters in a completely different environment are introduced. These include Prince (Jeffrey Wahlberg), who has a frankly kind of incestuous seeming relationship with his evidently mortally ill mother, Queen (Lucy Liu, probably wishing Elementary hadn’t stopped production). Prince and Queen live in an oasis known as (yes, you guessed it) The Oasis, a seemingly more inhabitable place than the arid wasteland previously shown in the scene with Warlord and Ash. All is not well, though, as evidenced by Queen’s apparent illness, and Prince wants to get to some supposed utopia known as Paradise Beach, where he is sure he can find a cure for his mother’s ailment (whatever it may be, though assumedly it's a "Red Fever" that is mentioned in Ash's opening narration — literally next to nothing is ever overtly explained throughout this film). When an old traveler known as (yes, you guessed it) Old Traveler (Craig Kline) confirms that “of course” there’s a cure at Paradise Beach but that Prince had better not go there due to some perceived danger, it might seem that Prince’s plans are waylaid. That of course is until Old Traveler simply relents, gives Prince directions on how to get there and provides him with a gun and bullets for the journey. One hopes that Kline at least asked Franco and Chung what his motivation was for this sudden, unexplained change of heart.

Lest it be thought that Franco and Chung completely eschewed the hard won lessons they may have learned from a Syd Field book on screenwriting, these two divergent plot elements do in fact intersect once Prince and his best buds leave The Oasis to find Paradise Beach, stopping along the way at Love Town, a sex emporium that still has a wonderfully lit neon sign advertising itself despite the post-Apocalypse and all. Love Town features a bunch of women sex slaves wearing what are apparently electrically charged collars to keep them in line, all under the watchful eyes of Big Daddy Love Lord (Snoop Dogg). It probably goes without saying that mayhem ensues, with the upshot being Prince and Ash take off on the lam with Warlord and the rest of his crew in hot pursuit.

However, the film almost displays an ADHD sensibility when the villain seems to just magically morph from Warlord to a woman helpfully named Drug Lord (Milla Jovovich) who gets Prince hooked on the hard stuff (and/or stuffs) while also lusting after Ash, who has in the meantime fallen for Drug Lord's unwilling "fix it girl", Lei (Margarita Levieva), after Lei repairs some damage Ash has sustained. All of these convoluted plot dynamics barely hint at some of the stylistic excesses Cheung and Franco employ, though, with some bizarre visuals that might suggest their inspirational "trips" may have been at least partly of the bad variety.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf liked Future World about as much as I did (meaning not much at all). You can read Brian's thoughts here.

Future World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Future World Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 2:09) might offer a brief laugh for some - pay attention to the moment when Ash is revealed.


• Behind the Scenes (1080p; 12:39) is another standard issue EPK, with interviews, snippets from the film and candid footage.

Future World Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.