directed by:
King Jeff written by: King Jeff genre: Sci-Fi |
I really enjoyed how this film began with a psychological evaluation to introduce us to the main character, help establish the plotline, and explain the positives and negatives of being a troubleshooter – both of which, incidentally, seem to revolve around saving the world. From the gritty black & white look to it - to the acting you see right from the start, writer/director King Jeff comes into making this film with what feels like a very clear vision of how to present this idea & make the movie he wants to make.
Soon after, we get a Morpheus-like figure at Mr. Wolf's door, and we're launched into a plotline where we find out home invasion robots, designed to protect, are going rogue and hurting the homeowners. While it's fair to say that it becomes relatively apparent pretty quickly that "Troubleshooters" is working with a pretty low budget, you'll also find King Jeff is able to do a lot with what he has. From voice-over warnings coming from above, unique looking space-age pistols, added effects like animated helicopters in the sky, graphic displays to tell ya times & locations…you get the picture. It's all about how you use what you've got to your advantage. "Troubleshooters" had no real issues in drawing me in to watch & stick with it afterward, and you can again point to the cleverness of King Jeff and how he chose to get this story moving & what he chose to show us onscreen. We get just enough of what's very much a timely plotline considering the whole world is just on the precipice of completely freaking out about the advancement of AI; it's part mystery, part Sci-Fi as it first starts out, and that definitely works for me. When we see our first humanoid robot creature, it's cool. I mean, it's freaky looking, but it's cool. If you've been up on your news stories as of late, believe me, what you see in this anti-home invasion robot looks a heck of a lot like the creepy, not-as-human-as-the-designers-probably-wanted type of AI machines we've been seeing in the press lately. As I said, it's a timely film in more ways than one in that regard. All the places scrambling to reveal how clever their technology tends to skimp big-time on the actual look, and honestly, this robot reflects that in its design. We know it's because of budgetary concerns, of course, but shhhh, don't tell anyone. The laser effects were well done…if anything, towards the start of "Troubleshooters," the only thing I felt pushed things a bit too far was the dramatic intensity of the music in the background, which was a bit over the top. Big deal though…ask anyone who has watched "The Firm," & they'll tell ya it happens just as much in giant Hollywood films – and heck, some folks out there genuinely love that audio style. In general, the audio could have used a bit of work & have been refined a little more. Like, personally I really love the fact that we revisit the scenes with Mr. Wolf in his psych evaluations, but the audio quality does noticeably drop in those parts of the film. It's all natural through the camera audio, and there's nothing wrong with going that direction, of course, but it does leave you feeling like a couple of spots come out too low in volume, depending on the scene. Nothing so detrimental that it'd stop me from watching, and I'd imagine the majority of viewers will feel the same way. What King Jeff has gotten "right" outweighs so much of what could be improved, so we tend to just kind of go with it, you know? As the film starts to imply that the overall robot problem could be a lot more widespread than at first assumed, you can get a sense of where "Troubleshooters" is going – more towards a full-scale planetary invasion than just a mere home. I probably would have "not" included so many of the screen wipes and tunnel effects in transition; I think there are times when that's something that would work, but more often than not, filmmakers in the early parts of their careers tend to use the tools they've got access to. Needed or not. Five years from now, King Jeff will most likely prefer other ways of shifting between sets and scenes; he'll upgrade his game with more time and experience. Or keep it as a more refined signature stylistic choice. Only time, and he will know for sure.
Tone-wise, "Troubleshooters" is at its most effective when it's in its mystery mode, but it does end up bringing in a few quality scenes of comic relief that lighten up the vibe too. I really liked how seriously it seems like Mr. Wolf takes this job he's doing, and I might have been tempted to lean even harder on that…those are some really effective scenes for King Jeff as an actor in this film. While the supporting cast does a good job, it's really a King Jeff vehicle on the whole - from start to finish. There are apparently 1.2 million of these robots out there, which is going to make for one massively long day on the job for these hard-workin' "Troubleshooters" - and one intense war on humanity if they can't keep this situation under control. On the bright side of things, they seem to be able to be taken out with the steam of a hot fart, so it should be alright as long as we've got the "Troubleshooters" on the job. What we hear about the robots is much more deadly than what we see, and that would definitely be an area where I'd encourage King Jeff to remember that it's crucial to show us, more than tell us, in that regard. It all seems to wrap up in a bit of a hurry after perhaps dragging a little more than it should in the mid-section of this film, but make sure to stick around post-credits – King Jeff might just be developin' a series about these "Troubleshooters," and this story might continue on from here. I think three stars out of five for this film is a fair rating. You'll know what you're getting yourself into early on, so the low-budget nature of the movie shouldn't be surprising. While there are many things that could be refined and enhanced, this is entertaining at its core - which is what really counts. This title is available to stream for free on Tubi. |
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