With its stunning visuals and ambitious story, Blame! promises to be a hardcore science-fiction with an important message about technological evolution. Unfortunately, weighed down by some crappy screenplay and a plot that falls foul of cliche, the film never truly gets going. Despite some gritty action scenes and a few meaningful exchanges, I was left feeling stale by the fact that these wonderful animations were being wasted by an ultimately unoriginal plot.
The main criticism I have is the characters - they are all way too similar, each sharing a cause and each sharing their intentions. There's no hostility, there's no disagreement - everything is just a little too perfect. This is in stark contrast with the antagonists of the film - these safeguards who have immense power, and as is atypical with these futuristic science-fictions, have a penchant for eliminating Humans. Genuinely, the exterminators are pretty terrifying, but once you understand their capabilities, there's nothing more to add. A potentially terrifying threat, sidetracked by the fact that they were developed enough. If you just want to see it for the visuals, then that's a big positive. Every shot is made with care - I adore the landscape shots and the vast, dystopian architecture that now appear dilapidated and rusty. They really captured the post-purge atmosphere of the story just through the grimy imagery, and the hostile nature of some of the locations. Whilst the factory looked advanced in technology, it didn't clash with the dirty and hollow depictions of the city outside. The music also gave it that extra factor, hinting at a world that was once prosperous, but is now so changed that it can no longer be considered a safe environment. Plot-wise, the film is lacking. The opening scenes show great potential, and are shot so well that you're deceived into believing that this might be an intelligent, political science-fiction about a futuristic community attempting to adapt to an environment where they're considered illegal. In truth, while we're under the impression that these surviving Humans have adapted, this is no different from a story of survivors who've found refuge from their enemies. On top of the fact that the characters are so under-developed, there's no empathy whatsoever with anyone. They are walking corpses with no personality. I did, however, like the way Cibo was portrayed - a long-forgotten scientist who understands the nature of the hostile safeguards. But, her story quickly deteriorated as we're brought back to the village and she attempts to locate this missing technology that enables Humans to control the machines. This could have been so much better, especially considering the content Netflix have dished out before, but inevitably there are a few that get through and have little too substance. This had class and the visual aesthetic, but very little nuance to pass as top notch sci-fi. Nevertheless, some of it is appealing, and there will be a number of people who enjoy the doom-laden tone of the film as it gradually progresses to a simple, yet dissatisfying, ending. 6/10
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AuthorA very passionate Welsh nerd... Archives
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