Answer, The (2017)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Austin Hebert, Alexis Carra, David S. Lee
Directed by Iqbal Ahmed
Just cause someone cones off as a loner, doesn’t necessarily mean their life is a dull one, that’s for sure. In director Iqbal Ahmed’s sci-fi/thriller, The Answer, we see a man who holds a powerful secret inside until certain circumstances force his hand, and not to sound like too much of a downer, but the throttle never truly touched the floor in this one for me.
Bridd Cole (Hebert) is the kind of guy that’s just slinking though life – humdrum job, stagnant existence…and a secret that he holds very close inside of him, and it’s one that works to his advantage at times, but also makes him a very large risk to others. With a mind like a supercomputer on speed, Bridd has the capability of processing data insanely quick while time lags in space – he’s the only one that knows of his high-acceleration aptitude (at least he thinks so). One day, a package arrives in the mail that will turn his life upside down: a quick-note and a mysterious electronic gadget sent to him by his mother – interesting fact: his mother has been dead for 20 years…way to go, postal service. As soon as this questionable little contraption is in his mitts does the trouble begin – he’s being stalked by this odder-than-odd tactical-geared group of soldiers with biker helmets and fist-blades, and these guys mean business – they want Bridd erased from reality, and after some bodies turn up with the finger pointing directly at him, he finds himself on the run with his amazingly gorgeous co-worker, Charlotte (Carra) at his side. Seriously (and maybe it’s just me) – this woman LIGHTS up the screen, and I sincerely hope this leads to bigger projects for her in the future where she can continue to illuminate any display she might be cast in.
Okay, now that the pleasantries have been cast to the wayside, let’s jump directly into the issues that I have with this flick: outside of Charlotte (there I go again), the opportunity for any semblance of structure for the other characters (mainly Bridd) just isn’t there. I know that he’s being portrayed as the low man on the totem pole, and we’re supposed to just brush him off as if he’s a non-entity, but it truly makes it that much harder to get behind his cause, and we’re left not really caring if he makes his way out of this mess or not. As for his pursuers – not exactly registering on the “frightening” scale, unless you’ve had bad dreams about being stalked by the biker-guy from The Village People. The film, while traveling quickly at times, frequently needs time to reset itself before it gets back to cruising speed again, and it’s next eventual slow-down. Overall, an interesting storyline and potential character development gets run into the ground by non-imposing baddies and an inconsistent tempo – I’m sure some sci-fi lovers will sink their hooks into this movie for it’s potential merits, but for me it left too much to be hung up on the “what-if” list.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
