Future World (2018) Reviews

• How to make a bad B grade movie with an A grade cast......

  s32761692018-05-25

  Is it possible to take a group of A-list actors and make a really really awful B grade movie? Well yes, yes it is and in my opinion Future World is it. This flicks screenplay, I suspect quite intentionally, tries to pay homage to late 70's dystopian films such as Mad Max and cheesy but watchable 80's sci fi like Cherry 2000. Regrettably, however, this film is more sacrilege than homage. Future World simply fails to appreciate and understand the mechanics of what made these earlier films work. Things like fleshed out characterisations, an interesting, engaging story and decent narrative. Suffice to say, I'd rather revisit the original films, than waste my time on this clumsy facsimile. 1/10 from me.

• How do movies like this get greenlit?

  MongoLloyd2018-05-25

  I am truly baffled as to how anyone would read the script for this film and think it was a worthwhile endeavor. I understand film financiers tend to not read scripts when making a decision to back a film instead going by which A-listers are attached, but honestly, even just on behalf of the cast - why? All the familiar post apocalyptic film tropes are in this dreck: Disparate tribes, complete with of course ultra violent factions Vs. peaceful faction, plenty of post apocalyptic man-leather, gnarly dirt bikes, a sexy android, and somehow - plenty of drugs(?) & a functional nightclub(?) As someone who adores anything post-apocalyptic, who's probably seen every film of that genre, I can state with authority, this isn't even passable entertainment at 3am when you can't sleep.

• A 5th grader could have presented a better screenplay and cinematography.

  TheTopDawgCritic2018-05-26

  I really wanted to like this film, and give it a fair chance with such a great cast (although I feel this was Milla Jovovich's worst acting to date), but it failed. The score was annoying start to finish. The washed out, dim and faded cinematography was the worst I've seen. The directing was ok in some areas, terrible in others - especially the cheesy fade-out/fad-ins. The writing was all over the place and I'm shocked that with 19 producers attached to this project, not once questioned the convoluted screenplay with major plot issues and roller coaster scenes. How difficult was it to alter the fact that Prince walked for days to the drug den with an injured Ash, then days later the bikers all show up? Don't get me started on Ash and Rosie's little ridiculous session in the cell. This film did have its short lived entertaining moments, especially with Snoop Dogg and the post credits scene and some decent location visuals, but it was still an embarrassment to the films it was trying to play homage to. A very generous 3/10 from me.

• Bad Max. Really, Really Bad Max.

  Rob_Taylor2018-05-30

  As a fan of all things post-apocalyptic, I'm willing to give anything in the genre a try. So when I came across this movie which boldly proclaimed it starred James Franco, Lucy Liu, Milla Jovovich and even Snoop Dogg, my interest was piqued. Whilst watching it, however, my interest tanked and, after watching, said interest bid me a scowling farewell and went on a long vacation without telling me if, or even when, it would return. To say this film is bad is an understatement. How it even got made, let alone attracted such stars to its roster, is mind-boggling. A little research reveals it to be some sort of passion project for Franco (whom I've always considered hugely overrated), made almost on a whim. Well, if this is an example of Franco when he's fired up enough to make a movie, I'd hate to see what he'd come up with in the throes of depression. As for those stars... don't expect to see that much of them. Lucy Liu spends the first and last few minutes of the film in a bed, sickly, and is never seen in between. Jovovich gets more time towards the end and Franco rears his overacting head from time to time as "Generic Bad Guy Leader #672". Snoop Dogg has a middle slot in the film, for all of five minutes. Other than that, the entire movie is hung on the shoulders of two young (and at times awfully bad) actors who go about their roles with all the enthusiasm of people who've just been informed they have a terminal illness. They are just woefully unable to carry the movie at all and the result is a dull, tedious slog that has you twitching towards the fast forward controls every other minute. Their attempts aren't helped by the woefully inept story, irritating pseudo-techno music and awful dialogue. Characters have names like War Lord, Drug Lord and Love (can you guess?) Lord. The whole thing is just a mess from start to finish. To make matters worse, as always when you have actors of varying capabilities in the same film, the good actors make the poor ones look worse by comparison. Lucy Liu effortlessly gives us a "sick mother" performance whilst her son (Wahlberg) doesn't even convince us he's awake, let alone concerned for her health. Sets appear to be any old ruined building they could find, or some old junk thrown together to pretend to be a camp. None of it convinces at all and just looks like the cheap solution that it is. If this was an attempt to mimic similar movies from the 80's then it failed dismally. You can't just throw any old crap into a desert setting, have people ride motorbikes around and call it an homage to Mad Max. There is nothing new in this film that you won't have seen done better in any film from that period (and trust me, there were some real stinkers back then, too!) All you will get is the feeling that everyone involved in this production were just going through the motions. No ingenuity. No creativity. Just a whole lot of "Are we done yet? Where's my paycheck?" SUMMARY: Stillborn love child of Mad Max and Cherry 2000 that was buried, then exhumed thirty years later and connected to a car battery to make it twitch spasmodically as if it was alive. Just a boring, irritating mess of badness. Avoid at all costs!

• It's pretty dumb.

  terrencepatrix2018-05-26

  James Franco really doesn't know how to direct and should probably stay away from attempting it in the future. There really aren't many ways to describe this movie other than plain dumb, it's just not that good. It seems like this was more a project for some actors and rappers to goof around and enjoy themselves, which can work, if the story and acting doesn't suck. I was going to write out a movie summary but decided it's really not needed. The movie takes place in essentially 4 "sets", a beautiful grove filled with flowing water and trees, a shack decorated to look like a brothel, an abandoned church in the middle of nowhere, and an abandoned resort in the middle of nowhere. They didn't build any of this, it's clear they filmed in random places they found, they didn't even bother dressing them up. Franco hams it up as the evil bad guy Warlord, Suki Waterhouse is a sexy robot, Snoop Dogg is a pimp (shocker), and Mila Jovavich is a chemist? Or something. I dunno, she somehow makes drugs from the crappiest looking chemistry set I've seen. Another dumb thing that irked me, this movie takes place over several days but not ONCE do they show what people eat or drink or how they get any of their resources. There's NOTHING else but the filming locations and it's all in the middle of nowhere. It a dumb thing to bother me but...3-4 days in the desert without a sip of water and no sign of dehydration? That's just basic character development. Which there is absolutely none of in this movie. So why did I rate it a 4? Two stars for the film because it was shot relatively well, and two stars for Suki Waterhouse and Mila Jovavich looking hot as hell. Honestly just a really amateurish movie. It wants to be campy and cult status invoking...it's not. It's just dumb.