Echo 8

When I stumbled upon this 2024 movie, I initially thought it was a sci-fi movie, given the movie's cover. And since I had never heard about the movie, I didn't know what I was in for. Of course I had to check it out and opted to give the movie a fair chance.

I must say, though, that I'm usually a bit hesitant about movies that are directed by people also starring in the movie. And such was the case with "Echo 8", as it was directed and starring both Takashi Hara and Maria Tran.

The storyline in the movie was pretty straightforward. Sure, it was watchable, but it was a bit too much on the simplistic side, and that made "Echo 8" feel a bit subpar. And the sluggish narrative didn't really do much to put the audience at the edge of their seats. Writer Elizabeth H. Vu didn't exactly put together the most riveting and thrilling of storylines.

Actually I wasn't familiar wit a single actor or actress on the cast list. And the acting performances in the movie were, for the most parts, fair enough. But there were moments and performances that felt forced and unnatural.

There is a fair amount of action in the movie to help make it more bearable to sit through the 95 minutes that the movie ran for. It was a watchable movie, albeit a bit on the bland side.

My rating of "Echo 8" lands on a four out of ten stars.

The movie's premise is good; a good idea.

The opening is good, the mother's performance is note worthy and believable.

The rest can be better, very caricature-ish acting, in particular the scene at the beginning of the karaoke place, the winy older man with the suitcase on the floor, the commander in the office etc.

A low budget film is evident in the shots and no named actors. With more money and a good cast and story, Echo8 would do better on the world stage. The fighting at the end is good. Again the mother's performance is striking and real. The fighting is good and worth to watch. Cheers mate.

Although Echo 8 may not be a terrific film, it's still quite an achievement when taking into consideration all the limitations the filmmakers had to face and the amount of jobs each crew member undertook by themselves. In regards to Tran, I highly doubt you will see any other filmmaker this year starring, directing, producing, editing and choreographing the fights of their own movie.

Mainstream viewers may be put off by the obvious low budget, and even I would have to admit that it is an obstacle. Still, there is a lot to admire here and would be a perfect film for any potential filmmakers to show what can be done on limited finances.

2023 looks like it should be a good year for Tran. Not only does she have Echo 8 due for release, she also has a supporting role in the upcoming television series Last King of the Cross (2023), where she will be acting alongside the likes of Tim Roth, Matt Nable and Callan Mulvey. Hopefully this will open up Tran to a wider audience, and I look forward to seeing what films she can come up with in the future when giving a larger budget.

This film is different to any other Australian film I've seen. It was refreshing to see something like this, with great, realistic action, suspense, mystery and a touch of humour. I was even more amazed at the high quality of the film when we realised the film makers created it on a micro budget. Would love to see more!

Probably one of the worst movies ever made.

I'm not sure how or why the level of martial arts or acting is thought to be acceptable for a movie here, it's not. A degrading and genre scarring movie... please Just Don't!!

Most action actors have a certain level of talent in the action area, and generally when a good actor engages in action they are forgiven for the lack of physical ability because their dramatic skills are of a high level.

But here unfortunately, the acting is stilted with memorized lines, predetermined deliveries and face pulling antics hijacking characters that are attempted to be portrayed by very poor untrained actors who also suffer from unathletic poorly skilled martial arts choreographry and execution.