After watching "Vigilantes" from writer Michael Mastrangelo, I found myself with a slight dilemma. As fun as this short film was to watch, I really didn't know what to write. It was almost as if my thoughts were spirited away like two of the main characters in the film, taken into a dank basement and locked away inside my mind. Maybe it was the potential scope of this production, or maybe I just hadn't had enough coffee at the time of this writing. Either way, I felt blinded by my own thoughts, with no mission to perform once I finally saw the light. Or maybe I really was on-track. Maybe my lack of a clear cut write-up was based on this short film itself. You see, "Vigilantes" seemed to lack any clear cut plot progression. In the standard sense that is. The underlying story was present, vigilante justice, as it were. Yet strangely, not much was actually accomplished save an introduction of sorts to the characters. I realize this short film is actually a lead-up to a larger episodic series, but even with that said, episodes or short films should still have a clear cut direction. A start, middle and end. This short film felt more like an actual "scene" from a larger movie, than a stand-alone story. The mission was set up and left unfulfilled. The characters themselves only introduced. Even a web series episode should have a clear start, middle and end. They should introduce a problem and solve it. No such luck here. The premise is simple. A group of vigilante ladies scour the globe in search of justice for our planet. In fear of being recognized by their newest mark, they recruit two fresh members to complete their latest mission. Maybe not the most original plot, but a potentially good one none-the-less. And these characters - so many potentially awesome comedic situations are possible! I actually look forward to an ongoing series. With all that said, you should not dismiss this film in any way whatsoever... because it was actually quite fun to watch. I simply wish a more traditional format was used. One that presented a conclusion to a situation, rather than simply set one up. Best way to put it? What happens if this doesn't become an ongoing series? If that happens, we essentially have a useless short film. One not really worth watching because it is not a fully contained story. I personally hope the saga continues, which would give meaning to this film. However, when writing a short film, movie or series, one should always create and wrap up each sub-story. Otherwise... well, you get the idea. Technically, "Vigilantes" is a reasonably sound production. Although maybe a little long winded. For what it ends up being, a two or three minute cut would have created that perfect length, and there are numerous spots a little cutting would go unseen. I also noticed a slightly unnatural feeling with some of the dialog. Mainly, the editing of the lines. People don't generally speak in sequences. Waiting for one person to speak before speaking themselves. We're cluttered beings who tend to interrupt and overlap during conversations quite a bit. A good example would be the "no more questions" dialog used during the basement scene. Naturally, after the first question, and warning, a good use of dialog would be to have the "No more questions/Stop asking questions" actually interrupt the questioning woman. Quicker cuts equal natural sounding conversations. Aside from that, I found the characters funny with loads of potential "interest" points to focus on later. When it's all over, as I wrote above, I enjoyed watching this and had some fun along the way. The characters are so... anti-vigilante, that the ridiculous idea that they are, actually becomes an entertaining one. Never once did I consider fast forwarding or stopping the film. Something exists here that could become a down-right funny series. In the end, I have three words for the cast and crew of this title. Keep it going. Aside from that, there really isn't much left to write.
