“More holes than a colander” wrote a reviewer. Another wrote: “Four is the name of an important character in the movie. Apparently, it stands for poor writing, poor directing, poor casting, and poor acting.” I laughed. Maybe that is precisely why I found this film entertaining. Must have been the fact that I am not a purist in terms of sci-fi and the more human content it gets, the better I can connect with such topics. On the other hand, it might just as well have been the appeal I found in the scenes with martial arts (or whatever the name for developing warrior skills might be).
Normally I don´t read others´ reviews to avoid contamination of my own impressions but in this case, considering I don’t normally watch this genre as to have a point of reference, I thought it would be smart to read what others thought about this film to at least be able to compare if my own points of view were on or off the mark.
Reviewers destroyed it, called it mediocre and are dreading a sequel. Versed reviewers referred to this genre as “dystopian science fiction novel”. I raised my eyebrows and acknowledged my own ignorance. What the heck is a dystopian science fiction novel? Utopia, I know but what is dystopia? Wikipedia with that. Here the results:
“The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal society, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction (sometimes referred to as apocalyptic literature) is the opposite: creation of an utterly horrible or degraded society that is generally headed to an irreversible oblivion, or dystopia. Many novels combine both, often as a metaphor for the different directions humanity can take in its choices, ending up with one of two possible futures. Both utopias and dystopias are commonly found in science fiction and other speculative fiction genres, and arguably are by definition a type of speculative fiction.”
Conclusion: This is why I don’t like sci-fi. Give me real life with its pros and cons. Give me challenge and hope. But don’t make me feel it all must belong to either the idyllic or the oblivion. Allow me to make such decisions on case by case basis so I can retain my right to exercise my free will.