Gear (2017) Poster

(2017)

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3/10
No shot at glory
kluseba2 November 2018
When I heard that this independnet Canadian thriller was shown in a small independent movie theater in my region, I decided to give it a shot. When I arrived on a cold Tuesday night, I was told that there were only fifteen seats left and my ticket could only be purchased with the help of the manager's password. I was surprised and excited to hear that this movie could attract such a big crowd on such an unusual day. When I actually entered the cinema, it turned out that only three other people were in the audience with me: a corpulent middle-aged man who nearly fell asleep during the film, a lonely old man and a middle-aged Asian woman. Why am I telling you this anecdote? It's because the movie was a similar letdown as the disappointing audience.

There are only a few positive points to mention about the film. The main idea of the story is intriguing as we follow a driver who is forced to bring his late wife's sister to her execution after he lost a shipment. The movie shows beautiful locations and was mostly shot in Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto. Finally, the camera work was mostly calm and precise.

Everything else was a complete mess. The acting performances were robotic and stiff. All characters were antipathic and one could't empathize with any of them. The movie plodded on with endless driving sequences and vapid dialogues. The story never truly unfolded and even seemed ridiculous at times, especially towards the end. There were no memorable scenes whatsoever. The few action sequences seemed lackluster. The soundtrack reminded me of an untalented teenager creating songs on an old computer in his parents' basement.

When you are an unknown filmmaker with a limited budget, you might only have one shot at glory. You need to produce a film that is convincing, gripping and unique. This movie is worse than most high school film projects I have watched. It's lacking creativity, drive and passion. I have only spent four dollars on watching this flick but even those weren't worth it. You will forget that bland film as soon as it concluded, so there is no need to watch it in the first place.
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10/10
Slow burn but cool crime drama
barneygumball30 November 2018
Saw this in Ottawa, I'm a fan of indie crime thrillers and British gangster films so this was sort of up my alley. It's not a fast paced action film or thriller so if you don't like films that are a bit of a slow burn you may not like Gear.

I found it to be more of a mystery as we learn who the main characters Nate and Zoe are and about their past relationship. They both appear to be on the run and are trying to figure out how to get from Montreal to Toronto in one piece.

It's lower budget for sure so a bit smaller in scope but the cinematography is on point and the performances are solid. If you are thrown off by authentic British accents or have a hard time following what I assume must be true Londoners speak... then you might get a bit lost as there is a lot of dialogue and a decent amount of backstory.

All in all, an enjoyable film that I would call a cross between a road movie and a crime/thriller, so if you like those, check this one out.
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10/10
No fat, lean mean indie
billburrberry4 December 2018
Watched it with the wife, we quite liked it. I'm always for trying indie films to get a taste of something different, and I was quite overall impressed with this tight little drama. No fat, no heavy handedness, and best of all no way to see the ending coming... which is a big plus in my books.

Not a feel good story, not a hollywood ending, just a much tougher film to chew on, so if you like your movies mainstream, you might not get a bang outta this one, but we did and would recommend.
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10/10
Cute lead
bikerchickclub5 December 2018
I actually was able to watch this film at a local film festival in my town and then caught it again in cinemas. I think it's changed a bit since then but I could be wrong as it has been some time.

My biggest take away was the actor playing Nate, the lead who I thought was quite dreamy with his dirty blonde hair and that accent gosh! But besides that, his natural screen presence is more than complemented by his acting chops. I really did think he did a terrific job and would love to see him in more films. I really think he would make an AMAZING young James Bond.

Gear is basically a crime drama that is more about the subtle details, those under the surface elements that not everybody is a fan of, which is fair, but then again others love like me. Takes a bit of investment of concentration in terms of following all the plot points and backstory, but nothing overtly complicated.

The climatic scene at the end is terrific, the cast, writing, and music really comes together in that scene, if you watch it you'll know what I mean.
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10/10
Nice thriller with great cast
mikailmento13 February 2023
Enjoyed this one on amazon prime, has a like a road movie feel to it with a bit of 90s indie style in a way, hard to say why, just a feeling it gave me. I think the cast was great, solid performances. Check it out if you like road movies and unfolding narratives.

I also see that it was shot on the old red one cameras which is pretty impressive cause the image looks great very filmic. I think my favorite part about the film though is that gorgeous old school BMW 7 series its the same one Michael Douglas drove in The Game with Sean Penn. Something about those classic headlights and BMW grill, looks so great on screen, especially in this movie and you get to see it a lot.
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