Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

A movie about the struggles involved in the creative process, both technical and personal, and the problems artists face when expected to deliver something personal and profound with intense public scrutiny, on a constricted schedule, while simultaneously having to deal with their own personal relationships.

I actually didn't write this myself, this is a description from the Wikipedia article about Fellini's prominent movie 8½.

This film takes the public pressure on the write a huge leap further - he's actually not only pressed by some vague 'public' but literally controlled - by you, the viewer. Or maybe not? The film shows how hard it is to tell, and the process of going back and forth in time trying to remake the plot and improve the result is similar to what is happening in the creators mind.

So far so good, a very interesting idea. And of course it would be unfair to compare almost any movie to the rich ingenius and amazing experience of watching Fellini's 8½. So just as a film I watched without such expectations our of curiosity, beside the idea it is a minimalist, dark, moderately interesting film, with a pessimistic feeling that matches the series. Not a highly entertaining experience, but interesting as a pioneering experiment.

The overall idea behind an interactive film is great and it was a good attempt. However, the film kept taking you back to the same options over and over again until you chose the one you hadn't seen yet. So, for me it was dessesperating and I felt like it didn't actually give me much of a choice, if I dint chose what I was "supposed" to, then the film would keep looping. Maybe that's the point but I'm just not a fan, I had bigger hopes for an interactive film.

Despite the hype I see in the comments ("Mind Blown!", etc, etc) and the clever attempt by Brooker to make a multi-pathed story, the end result barely hangs together as a credible plot.

While it is fun to "control" the main character, the novelty soon wears thin and you come to realise you, the viewer/controller, just have the illusion of choice over what the character does when in actual fact you don't.

I suppose that is the point of the film, but it is hardly earth-shattering nor ground-breaking.

I'm giving this 5 stars for at least making a good attempt at a multi-path interactive film. However, as many who are raving about it now will see in time, it really falls far short of a good film. Novelty value can never replace a good story and a good story is something you will not find here.

Bandersnatch feels like something completely new. It was an awesome experience. You are the factor that can alter character's story for better or worse. Even the supporting characters are influenced by the decisions you make. There's a different end for everyone depending on your choices. Netflix says that there are 5 "main endings" with multiple variants of each. When you watch it again after watching, it makes you feel like you're watching a different movie. Netflix has found a way to make it a deeply personal experience. You feel responsible for the character's choices. It's really fun to have the options in the hands of the audience. And for a first attempt, Netflix succeeds. You should watch it. - I saw people who couldn't get the message the movie wanted to give. I recommend that they watch carefully. 9/10

The graphics and music were great, and the transition was smooth at the "crossroads". But the story... It didn't feel like much of a story, and then I felt pushed into making choices that I did not want to make. I think it captured the choose-your-own-path game feeling, but to me that didn't really feel right in a movie, everything felt too simple and a bit too forced. It's great that Black Mirror wanted to do something innovative, which this truly is, but because it is Black Mirror all the endings feel wrong. In a game like this, you play for the best outcome, but here, you just play to see what else you can get.