Pandorica (2016)
Starring Jane Hobday, Marc Zammit, Adam Bond
Directed by Tom Paton
I’m always in the mood for a solid, well put-together, panoramic exhibition about a dystopian future riddled with combative entities abound…however, if the dough isn’t there to slap it together and make it look at LEAST somewhat pleasing to the eye, then sorry, Charlie – it’s a lost cause.
Now this isn’t a shot at someone trying to create the most out of a small allocation, but keep it simple if ya got simple dollars – an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller on budget funds? Unfortunately to say, Pandorica is one of those ” wasn’t meant to be” flicks that has just blown away, like ashes in the street. Directed by Tom Paton, the film is set in a time called after “The Great Reset” (boy, could I use one of these), and society has basically been forced to begin over again, with different tribes competing in contests to decide who will become new leaders, as if the elections couldn’t fit the bill! Fire is the new way, and primeval methodology takes over in order to sustain – hey, the film could be looked as somewhat of a precursor to a new time, which is potentially frightening, but there simply seemed to be too many missing pieces. In any event, tribes clash, we see a version of a Pandora’s Box come into play, and while the performances come off a bit stiff, there are some decent action scenes to jump into, although it remains to be seen if this display can hold a torch to some other memorable sci-fi flicks of the past – better to let the people decide.
The film has quite a bit of an intricate story amongst its characters, with a strong female lead (Hobday), a sleazy, underhanded warrior (Zammit) with a quest for ultimate power, and a silent bad-ass (Bond) who’s always ready to mix it up – like I previously stated, solid foundations for its cast, yet the representation was a bit lacking. I’ve seen some people refer to this film as a vague mirroring of the Hunger Games movies, but Paton’s directorial style simply doesn’t allow this film to fall into that trap – hell, he’s got that going for him! One thing that was rather interesting about this film was the language that the “Varosha” tribe broke into when particularly pissed off – nice touch to perk up some otherwise stale dialogue – Valyrians beware!
Look, Pandorica might appeal to those looking for an apocalyptic throw-down on a minuscule budget, and for those who dig it, congrats – I hope this one sits proudly on your shelf for years to come, but for this cat, if this is truly the end of the world…consider me the first one to use my opt-out clause, cause I don’t wanna see anymore.
-
Film
Categorized:Reviews
