Will vs. The Future (2017– ) User Reviews

Extremely positively surprised

[Horst_In_Translation · 8/10 · 20 September 2017]

"Will vs. The Future" is a 24-minute live action short film from very recently as this one was released less than 3 weeks ago. The director is Joe Nussbaum, who actually has a couple other pretty well-known works under his belt. You can see the names on his profile page. I cannot say I am familiar with any of the 2 writers here, but I see that one of them worked a lot in animation and you can see that here as some scenes, if not the entire film, would have worked as an animated movie too. But it is with actors and that was a good choice. As the core actors are children in here, none of the names will probably appear familiar, but that's not a problem at all because it is much more about the story than about individual performances and still the actors are doing fine. Seeing the poster only, I thought the protagonist in front is a girl and the one in the background is a boy (like the title says), but it is exactly the other way around.

I am generally not a great SciFi fan at all, so maybe the simple but great idea of having one character time travel to keep another from becoming evil really impressed me. But there is also great love to detail, many funny moments in the conversations between the two central characters (those on the photo) and I laughed a lot, which is why I also call it a great comedy film. Fans of the "Back to the Future"-trilogy will also be glad to see a familiar face here. Overall, I could come up with a thousand ideas about what they show and focus on if this Amazon original really should get picked up. I truly hope it does because it was a very creative achievement and I could not take my eyes off the screen from start to finish. Until then (when I can call it a series), it is the best short film from 2017 I have seen so far and it's miles ahead of the other one by Amazon starring a trio of kids on the lookout for aliens. You can clearly see the impact of "Stranger Things" on this year's Amazon prospects. Back to this one here, I give it a thumbs-up and highly highly recommend the watch.

So Screwed

[dncorp · 7/10 · 13 September 2017]

Who will William believe The Young Rebel from the Future with a very dysfunctional Robot neighbor of William that has been observing William for a while. Original Mission to Kill William to Save the World.

Or, The School Principle Rhodes that is actually a Robot from the Future built by William sent back in Time to watch over William.

I almost did not watch this "Pilot" from Amazon, and only found out about this after watching the other "Pilot" from Amazon "Skyward" 2017 Season 1 Episode 1 .

Will vs. The Future presents us with a sci-fi show for kids which has some kinks to it but definitely has vast amounts of potential.

[Amari-Sali · 8/10 · 17 September 2017]

Highlights

Athena (Lexi Underwood)

It's difficult to not be excited about the idea of a Black female lead kicking ass. Especially a girl like Athena who was specifically chosen to save the future. Now, granted, when we first meet her, Athena seemed robotic as hell as if Underwood was a stunt actress turned actor. However, it is explained to us that her robotic nature was actually her showing discipline and once she eased up that the only way was to kill Will, we see her soften up. She smiles, seems friendly, and I think as she grows used to the idea of having friends and the privileges the people in the past had, we may very well see Underwood make the most of this role. Perhaps to the point of, when she is older, taking on a Buffy role or becoming one of the few Black women who, in the ilk of Scarlett Johansson or Charlize Theron, alongside Angelina Jolie, can become a go to when it comes to action films.

It's Comical At Times

Though vulgarity is always what gets the quickest and easiest reaction out of me, I won't pretend some of the silliness presented on kids shows don't make me laugh. Take for example how Glenn is handled or how Gary (Braxton Herda), the school bully, are written and performed. Though I'm sure some may find them corny or eye roll inducing, they tickled the hell out of me. Especially Gary and his 20-second countdown to hitting people. That and just how strange Glenn is yet not so strange he seems like he was made to be laughed at.

On The Fence

The Effects Aren't The Best

This isn't a blockbuster. So to expect the special effects to be top notched is ridiculous. However, for a kids' show, I thought they were quite good. Especially Athena fighting off a multi-armed robot in one of the first scenes and her arm gadget. Though, to be completely honest, when she gets shocked by her arm guard the acting was a little side eye worthy. At least from an audience point of view.

Hailey

While it is understood that something between adult Will and Hailey leads to the future Athena is trying to prevent, present day Hailey will give you pause. If only because it really seems someone is trying too hard, between the writer and actress. Because it is clear she is supposed to be this little trouble maker, with her multicolored hair and her trying to make fake hall passes. However, unlike Athena and Will, there is something inauthentic about her – even when you take into consideration the sci-fi elements. For something about her seems like she was written from the perspective of someone who wasn't a troublemaker. Someone who is trying to write based off some ridiculous idea of what a kid troublemaker would look and act like and it sort of takes the show down a notch.

The Adults

On one hand, we have Danielle. She is a mother struggling to pay the bills and you can appreciate this realness. After all, not every kid's show should, or needs to, feature a middle, or upper middle class, family. However, while I enjoy Danielle's representation of adults, unfortunately, Principal Rhodes (Thomas F. Wilson) is a sort of Disney channel version of adults. The bumbling kind who seemingly lucked their way into the position they are in. And while it is kind of explained to us how Principal Rhodes got his job, if you know anything about what it takes to become a principal, much less run a school, it makes it hard to take what this show is selling seriously.

Overall: Positive (Watch This)

I can't necessarily say, Will vs. The Future gets picked up, I'd watch it religiously. However, I'd at least check out episode 2 and 3 for there is definitely some potential here to be more than another kid series made to create merchandise. In terms of representation, it kicks ass. Story wise, Principal Rhodes sort of puts a damper on things, and Hailey needs to be reworked a little bit, but otherwise, it does draw you in to genuinely care what the future may hold.

To the point that I could fully imagine this show going on for a few seasons and becoming a launch pad for the young actors. For the foundation set definitely gives each one something to work with. Be it Will coming from a single parent family (by way of his dad dying) that isn't in the best financial position, Athena coming from a future in which she didn't get to have a childhood and us getting to watch her experience things we take/took for granted for the first time and coming to further understand how Hailey became who she is and what part she may play in the bad future.

Those things, all together, are why I'm hoping this gets picked up. For while I am not that big into sci-fi movies or shows, I do think others could get behind and like this. Especially because it is well cast and only needs a few, easy to do, adjustments to really be a notable kids show.

Funny and different

[bjames-31869 · 10/10 · 16 September 2017]

Wow! I honestly thought this was a very sophisticated show with some great twists built into the pilot. It is up at the kids level and likely to be something that brings the viewers back. It's funny too. The character interplay is excellent. The principal (Tom Wilson) is a driving force in the plot. McGinty and Furg are whacky, off the wall characters which make for something more than a rehashed 70s sci-fi plot.

Give us all these pilot shows

[zachdavidl · 10/10 · 5 May 2019]

I know these shows are still on pilot but I think we have waited 2 years so now they need to be primed. People have already reviewed the same pilot for 2 years. Send in the shows to be primed before the actors get too old to play their parts