when I left ‘lost lands’, I thought good, at least sure that Paul Ws Anderson would recover money: after all, there was no way that this film could cost more than five or six million dollars. How, if practically all of it is shot in front of a green screen? To my surprise, the budget amounts to 50 million dollarsof which he has recovered, for the moment, less than five. And in this case, nor does it “are so bad that it is good” can save you.
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‘Lost lands’ is based on a short story that George Rr Martin published in 1982, but does not even get to the level of its narrative. He tries, but between the time he spends in continuously explaining everything that happens (without success) and the intrinsic ugliness of each plane, almost as if he were making efforts to achieve the worst frame -and, already put, to take away any hint of chromatism -, it is impossible not to continuously confirm what he wants to tell us. The rhythm, the narrative, the actors exaggerating each phrase, the script, the assembly … There is nothing that can be saved from burning in a film that aims to be much more than it is.
From minute one to 101, Anderson plays strong. It bets everything to an imposted epicity and continuously highlighted by video cluster planes (A term chosen with meticulousness: this is what dozens of direct video films of the 90s always dreamed of being and could not due to lack of means) and a lot of CGI. In fact, anyone would say that history is a mere excuse to hang out with After Effects and try to teach that a film full of good visual effects is also possible with an average budget. And be careful, it is true and we have fabulous examples like ‘The Creator’ to prove it. However, ‘lost lands’ only gets that, instead of diving into a world full of action and fantasy, let’s always see the artifice with a result, at least questionable.
But on the other hand, what did we expect from a Paul Ws Anderson movie, the architect of ‘Monster Hunter’ and four of the six ‘Resident Evil’? There is hardly anything from the director who was when he made ‘final horizon’, and the only comfort that one has left after watching a movie like ‘Lost Lands’ is to believe that at least Dave Bautista, Milla Jovovich and he will have had a good time while rolling. It has good potential times, but A film like this depends totally on the person behind the camera. And in this case, Anderson does not have the ability to turn this script into a movie worthy of being exhibited in a cinema.
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In his favor it must be said that the idea is not bad and, if you overlook continuous visual ugliness, you may even appreciate a pair of moderately surprising script dribbles. It is not that you, as birdwoman spectator, do not know what is going to happen before it happens (what will the witch who meet wishes do but make these always have an ironic outcome?), But the film knows and the movie He plays with this expectation with a curiosity that one would like to have seen more throughout the footage. I wish it would have been a little more revolted, yes: since no one of those involved is taking it seriously at any time, why not neglect the ultra-epic CGI and wink the poor consumer who has paid an entrance and does not want to suffer sinking more and more in the armchair?
Years ago, ‘Lost lands’ would have been a direct premiere to video. But now, in full crisis of creativity, they must have thought that it was also worth the movie theaters. With luck, a good poster that highlights its two stars gets enough clueless people to get profitable. They will not leave the room with nothing: among the horrendous designs and funds made by computer, We can see that the director still has some hand with action scenesespecially in skirmishes, which, in another film, would have been an entertaining fun as fleeting as little memorable. Here is the most remarkable, fulfilling one of the maxims of any movie today: while you can get a continuous decent minute so that later triumphs in Tiktok, which surrounds him gives exactly the same.
‘Lost lands’ is A dark post-apocalyptic magical fantasy between medieval and steampunk. And if you have given you laziness just by reading this phrase, imagine what it is to see this mixture of concepts that has not passed enough time by the blender so that it has some kind of meaning. This is a universe that is guessed coherent in its creator’s mind, but that really does not finish acquiring meaning when it meets, such as trying to put together a puzzle with pieces of different boxes.
The best thing about ‘Lost Lands’ is that it intends to capture the style of the cheap films and novels of the 80s, and achieve it, far, achieving, perhaps, the admiration of those who enjoy this type of stories with more inventiveness and desire than results. Some characters with stone cardboard personality, special effects at medium baking, a script that insists on explaining a world that does not even make sense … I would love to say that the result is a very enjoyable guilty pleasure, but it would be to deceive you and myself: It is a painful entertainment. It is that kind of films that, if you were watching at home, you would have removed halfway saying “another day I finish it.” Knowing perfectly that you will never give him an opportunity for improvement because, as a very bad student when facing a recovery, he has no possibility to finish well.
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