I watch a lot of films, and this would have to be one of the worst I've seen in several years.
Not only does this movie suffer under the burden of a terrible script, a total lack of direction, bad editing and average sound editing, it is also riddled with cheesy clichés, terrible acting and really bizarre happenings that just don't make a lot of sense.
In places this movie got so bad I actually found myself laughing out loud at what I was seeing.
Ultimately I think the major flaws in this film are:
1. It's simple and potentially interesting plot was made unnecessarily complicated and boring by the way the story was structured, executed and edited (just consider the number of bad guys and subplots involved in this film - when it should have had a very clear antagonist, and a very straight-forward plot, with maybe one or two minor subplots thrown in to pad out the story)
2. More plot holes than you could poke a stick at, i.e. -Why did the bulletproof vest suddenly work at the end of the movie when it's earlier colossal failure was one of the key plot points? -Who was the guy at the beginning who gave him the Bible? -How did his wife end up becoming a prisoner in the first place? -How did the tongueless prostitute escape, and why did she have a bandage over her mouth? -How did the United Provinces even come into existence? -If food is "impossible to find" (as the DVD cover proclaims) why does every character look well fed, with many actually being overweight -Why do we never see the 'deadlands' which are a central part of the plot? -What are the pills the plague victims are taking, and who made them? -Why does "money hold no worth" (as proclaimed by the DVD cover) even though there is a functioning system of government? -Why don't the people who live in the fertile forest, with lots of clean fresh water, grow their own vegetables, or farm meat, etc?
3. A poorly crafted script riddled with terrible dialog and absolutely no character arc
4. Bad acting. The key issue here was the fact that the main protagonist couldn't actually act very well at all, and this dragged the whole film down. The actress playing the wife didn't do too bad a job, and William Katt's cameo was not bad, however the acting from Gary Weeks was just cringe worthy, and as a result the whole film collapsed - he was the Jar Jar Binks of this production.
5. This movie lacked realism - in the sense that it didn't realistically portray the apocalyptic world that it claimed to be all about. The entire film takes place in a lush and fertile forest, with well fed characters and people who don't actually seem that dissatisfied or distraught by the supposedly "all is lost" world they are living in. Even the great evil of forced prostitution doesn't seem to be that big a deal for the characters. It's hard to accept the core premise of this movie (that it's supposed to take place in a bleak and hopeless post-apocalyptic world ravaged by chaos and suffering) when there is actually a strong system of structured government in place - and without that core premise there is no threat to the characters, and therefore no real drama, and ultimately there is no plot.
This movie was just plain terrible, and I can't help but suspect that the one or two glowing reviews it has received here were actually written by members of the cast and crew - or maybe their mothers.
Not only does this movie suffer under the burden of a terrible script, a total lack of direction, bad editing and average sound editing, it is also riddled with cheesy clichés, terrible acting and really bizarre happenings that just don't make a lot of sense.
In places this movie got so bad I actually found myself laughing out loud at what I was seeing.
Ultimately I think the major flaws in this film are:
1. It's simple and potentially interesting plot was made unnecessarily complicated and boring by the way the story was structured, executed and edited (just consider the number of bad guys and subplots involved in this film - when it should have had a very clear antagonist, and a very straight-forward plot, with maybe one or two minor subplots thrown in to pad out the story)
2. More plot holes than you could poke a stick at, i.e. -Why did the bulletproof vest suddenly work at the end of the movie when it's earlier colossal failure was one of the key plot points? -Who was the guy at the beginning who gave him the Bible? -How did his wife end up becoming a prisoner in the first place? -How did the tongueless prostitute escape, and why did she have a bandage over her mouth? -How did the United Provinces even come into existence? -If food is "impossible to find" (as the DVD cover proclaims) why does every character look well fed, with many actually being overweight -Why do we never see the 'deadlands' which are a central part of the plot? -What are the pills the plague victims are taking, and who made them? -Why does "money hold no worth" (as proclaimed by the DVD cover) even though there is a functioning system of government? -Why don't the people who live in the fertile forest, with lots of clean fresh water, grow their own vegetables, or farm meat, etc?
3. A poorly crafted script riddled with terrible dialog and absolutely no character arc
4. Bad acting. The key issue here was the fact that the main protagonist couldn't actually act very well at all, and this dragged the whole film down. The actress playing the wife didn't do too bad a job, and William Katt's cameo was not bad, however the acting from Gary Weeks was just cringe worthy, and as a result the whole film collapsed - he was the Jar Jar Binks of this production.
5. This movie lacked realism - in the sense that it didn't realistically portray the apocalyptic world that it claimed to be all about. The entire film takes place in a lush and fertile forest, with well fed characters and people who don't actually seem that dissatisfied or distraught by the supposedly "all is lost" world they are living in. Even the great evil of forced prostitution doesn't seem to be that big a deal for the characters. It's hard to accept the core premise of this movie (that it's supposed to take place in a bleak and hopeless post-apocalyptic world ravaged by chaos and suffering) when there is actually a strong system of structured government in place - and without that core premise there is no threat to the characters, and therefore no real drama, and ultimately there is no plot.
This movie was just plain terrible, and I can't help but suspect that the one or two glowing reviews it has received here were actually written by members of the cast and crew - or maybe their mothers.