SmugKitZine
Tied for the best movie I have ever seen
LouHomey
From my favorite movies..
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Hayleigh Joseph
This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
flash3224-153-856190
As I write, I am currently approx 3/4 through the movie and am enjoying it, so far. Perhaps it will be over and I can completely review, but the one thought that has played out in my mind consistently is that it's very much like watching a live action Resident Evil (but better than the Resident Evil movie,) or some other survival horror genre game/film. How this movie DIDN'T become a video game is actually a surprise to me. The atmosphere, story, characters, voice overs, this movie SCREAMS video game. Especially with the amount of cut-scenes they seem to possess now.The story is good, the main characters are likable, the setting is dark (it IS underground after all,) and the score is a perfect fit. Maybe there is an underlying political, or philosophical statement being told, I really don't know. I think some people like to look way too deep into some things. But at face value, it's a good movie to check out if you like sci-fi...or games. Realize what you are getting into before watching, relax and enjoy the ride. Maybe even hold a game controller (or keyboard and mouse if you're a PC gamer) and enjoy the ride.The ending...it is what it is...no spoilers here.
twentystcenturychristian
Looking at the other reviews, this is obviously a Marmite film, you will either love it or hate it. One thing is absolutely certain, you won't understand what's happening at first - you're not meant to. As the making-of documentary explains, you're looking at what's happening through the eyes of the main character and you only ever know as much about the world he finds himself in as he does. If you feel bewildered and a little lost at first, that's a sign of how well directed it is, because that's what you're supposed to feel. If you like films with clear, obvious (boring) A-B-C story lines, where everything is spelled out for you, you may not like this so much. However, if you like thought-provoking films that use different storytelling techniques, you should enjoy it. In a way, it is a similar storytelling style to some Japanese anime films where what the story is about is only revealed bit-by-bit. It is a visually stunning film which has clearly been influenced by dungeon-like role playing games. Yes it's enigmatic and puzzling, but a film doesn't have to be easily understood to be good - think of 2001 A Space Odyssey, for instance.
Knighthawk701
I really wanted to like this movie. However it becomes boring and annoying to keep trying to make sense of stuff.The movie starts out dark and gloomy. You really want to know what is happening. Problem is, it takes ages before answers come. With ages I mean the last 10 minutes of the movie. Until that time it crawls along at a mindboggering speed. I wished I fast-forwarded this movie, actually it is possible since there is almost no dialog! After a long watch looking at more and more darkness and the guy passing out a couple of times, I lost interest in this movie. They try to regain that by some weird rape-scene. Why? No one knows.At the end the situation becomes clearer, but you get the sense this is all just too vague. The movies fails at keeping the audience interested so most people can't really care about the tree and the story around it. They are just glad it's over. I know I was!
rgcustomer
There is a lot to like about this film, particularly the first half of it. Like pretty much all films of the "I just woke up here alone" genre, it's thoughtful and captivating. And it moves nicely into the "yet another zombie movie" genre that these things tend to turn into. But the style and the focus are very, very good. This film deserves to be recognized for that, if nothing else. I also liked that, even though you saw the man's identity coming, it was still satisfying when it was revealed.There were some things I didn't like: (1) The pacing, particularly in the second half, is dreadfully slow, and for no good reason.(2) Many, many, many questions are left unanswered. Why is this man biologically special? If the tree roots feed on humans, why do we need to hang humans in boxes from the branches? What is turning humans into these monsters? Why is level -1 so much higher up from level -2 than any of the other levels were apart? Who is the guy who appeared to be integrated into the wall, and how did he think he was sabotaging things? Why would someone so willingly let himself be experimented on by a stranger wearing a mask? How did he get unclothed in the mud? Why bother with an apparently irrelevant religious quote at the start? What good did growing the tree at the end do? (3) Ultimately, after sitting through a reasonably good zombie mystery, it's incredibly annoying for the payoff to be a lecture on energy use and the world's indigenous poor people. It's not the point of view I have trouble with, but the heavy-handed way it was narrated to us in the last few scenes on level 0. Avatar is a much better example of how to get across a message without being lecturing.
