directed by:
Jefford Humes written by: Jefford Humes genre: Sci-Fi |
The biggest problem with "Angel" from Jefford Humes, is that it's not a movie at all. Not really. When considering all I had watched, almost an hour and a half including the ending segment, the biggest factor was deciding if this was, actually, a film. Clearly, I decided it was not and will give my reasons below - but even if I did consider this a film, a lot of the issues I had would still be the same.
The reality is that the line between games and movies is pretty blurry. Most modern games consist of cut scenes that together, could rival or surpass a whole spew of studio productions. Square Enix has always been a pioneering force when blurring gaming and movies but presently, almost any studio produced game can rival many films. Hell, many A-list actors have even made the jump to gaming screens across the world - that proverbial line is that blurry. But "Angel" simply doesn't fall into this category of storytelling. This film is more akin to watching someone play a regular round of Roblox, something I could do just by watching my daughter mess around on her laptop. Seriously. When it comes to the actual plot, I'd be willing to bet that eighty percent of this flick could have been cut out, and the plot would have remained not only comprehensible, but perhaps even fluid. Again, I'll get into that below but anyone looking for a "film" experience with this flick, will not find one. Not even a little. Following Alex, the main character, is more like watching the day-to-day actions of a gamer playing a boring game. I'm not downplaying the effort I have no doubt went into this, I'm only saying that the game elements overtake the story elements. Almost to the point where you forget what the actual plot is. It's all quite surreal and truthfully, it took two sittings to get through this one. So, about this movie feeling more gamey than filmy - you really have to watch to understand. But here's the best way I can describe it. Character voices aside, there is absolutely nothing film like here. The cursor used to control the in-game camera and actions is visible. You can actually watch it zoom around as Humes pans and zooms. Saying it's distracting is an understatement, and I found myself watching and looking for the cursor more than watching what was happening onscreen. Player names and interact buttons are always present - and honestly, it's like an edited screen capture of the actual gameplay. Oh, wait... that's actually just what it is. "Angel" may be far from alone when it comes to movies made from games, but at least in larger productions, there's an effort to make it more movie-like. Such as removing the interact icons and such. Since I'm not a Roblox player, I can't say if Jefford actually added effects and what-not to the screens, so I simply won't comment on that.
Now, there are a few instances where I actually chuckled a little - and yes, everything production-wise isn't all that bad. I just couldn't / can't get past the visual aspects of this movie. I actually did enjoy the last part of this film, which is actually about this film, more than I enjoyed watching the movie. And that's just it isn't it? My entire argument, my entire problematic view of this film, is that it isn't really a film at all. Sure, it follows some rules of filmmaking. A story, some editing techniques, sounds, and mixing - but I just couldn't bring myself to think of this as anything more than screen-captured gameplay. I know there's so much more than that, but that's what I got stuck on. Finishing a feature-length film, of any type, is tough. Huge high fives all around just for the accomplishment. Yet with that said, the overall product - and if it has the ability to entertain and capture a viewer's attention must be considered. I would love to give a five-star rating, on the simple fact this is, in fact, a full film. Yet I simply can't do that on the grounds I don't really consider this a true movie. It's not that it was made with Roblox, it's that nothing was done to separate this film, from being just a screen captured game. Are you a Roblox fan? Is so, you may get more out of this than I did. Since I'm not a gamer, it's really hard to say. |
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