Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Movie review: The Beyond

 
 The Beyond, set in the near future, chronicles the appearance of and race to investigate a worm hole that appears close to Earth. Sending astronauts into the Void, the space agency is surprised when they return unexpectedly, beginning a new race to understand what was found on the other side.

David Bailie (Jacob), Jane Perry (Gillian), Brian Deacon (David), Nigel Barber (Alex), Kosha Engler (Jessica 2.0 voice), Noeleen Comiskey (Jessica), Julian Graham (Jim voice), Alexander Clay (Soldier 2.0).

The Beyond begins with the appearance of a worm hole called the Void, and other strange objects in the sky. As a government space agency begins to investigate, the plot gets a bit stronger as focus is shifted slightly to the idea of sending robots or human-hybrids into the Void. Once astronauts are finally sent, the space agency is shocked when they return unexpectedly and races to learn what they saw on the other side. In doing so, we realize things may not be at all as they seem which is confirmed with a nice twist toward the end which also serves to set things up for a sequel.

Acting was okay though approaching this as a documentary caused most of the actors to feel rough and inexperienced. Perry did okay with some sparks of emotion. Barber felt over the top with his intensity much of the time. Comiskey and Engler delivered Jessica 2.0 well. The remainder of the cast was a mix of good and bad.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are both annoying and interesting. The shaking camera approach is completely worn out and adds nothing to the film. Yet, the rough realistic CGI used in video shots fit perfectly. And CGI of the objects above Earth and in other scenes felt unrealistic and cheap compared to other shots. Dialogue was decent, as was sound and soundtrack.

The Beyond sounds much better than it is. While the CGI is decent, and the overall plot interesting, the story plods along at a frustrating pace at times. The characters are very one-dimensional and have little depth. Those who enjoy a mental journey may enjoy this one while those wishing to be visually entertained may be disappointed.

Nothing much to limit audience age so this should be fine for preens and above.

Released: 2017
Reviewed: 8.27.18
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Sci-Fi Drama, Independent Drama

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel

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