Name: Death Squad [2047: Sights of Death] (2014)
IMDb: link to IMDb
Genres: SciFi, Horror Country of Origin: Italy.
Cast: Stephen Baldwin as Captain Ryan Willburn, Danny Glover as Sponge, Darryl Hannah as Major Anderson, Michael Madsen as Lobo, Rutger Hauer as Colonel Asimov, Neva Leoni as Tuag.
Directed by: Alessandro Capone. Written by: Tommaso Agnese and Luca D'Alisera.
The initial tableaux: Set in 2047, we open with Sponge reminiscing about the disasters that led to the current strongly screwed up Earth. Cities have been largely destroyed and dosed with radiation. Satellites from previous eras fall to Earth now and then; they sometimes land with parts of their technology intact. Captain Ryan Willburn was sent after the latest fall to determine whether any useful technology or data survived the re-entry. After Ryan crashes instead of lands, he meets Tuag, a young mutant woman.
Delineation of conflicts: Sponge and Ryan are part of the Green War front, which opposes the Confederate Central Government, CCG. Just about everyone else is not part of Green War, and would rather shut them down. Colonel Asimov, Major Anderson, and Lobo (leader of a mercenary gang) are out to capture Ryan. Ryan thinks he has evidence from the satellite to bring down the current regime.
Asimov has more in mind than just official duties. He's hired longtime ally Lobo to help him do his extracurricular activities. This involves layers of cover up. Just to make things more fun, the whole area of interaction is laced with some hallucinogen.
Resolution: Look hard. I did not find one. The narration just dried up without any particular conclusion.
One line summary: Murky dystopian elimination derby.
Statistics:
a. Cinematography: 4/10 The focus was usually good, and the cameras were not too shaky. However, the sets were not well-lit, and the set of filters was poor to the point that it might as well have been greyscale. The small number of VFX were rather badly done.
b. Sound: 7/10 The dialog was easy enough to understand. The background music was just so-so.
c. Acting: 1/10 These actors (Glover, Madsen, Hauer, Hannah, Baldwin) have some fine movies in their filmographies. This was not a shining moment for any of them. The plus one was for Darryl Hannah trying now and then.
d. Screenplay: 0/10 Was there a director on set? The screenplay was hardly strong, but the director usually has some responsibility to check that delivery is up to some standard or another. Baldwin's performance could have been topped by almost any high school thespian. All these actors could have done better.
The story sucked rocks. What did the Danny Glover thread have to do with anything? Who were the anarchists? Where was the eastern quadrant or whatever it was? What was Asimov trying to do that needed covering up? Was anything in the narration not hallucination? Why should I care about this self-stultifying mess?
Final rating: 3/10
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