It's hard for me to understand how Netflix can allow complete amateurs write movie scripts.
They do it again and again. How can this be a sustainable business model? Put 15 million dollars in a movie based on a script that any 16 years old could have written better.
I mean look at this mess of a script. What is this? Apart from the premise, which is not completely new but interesting, it is just complete garbage. There are no character build ups, there is no interesting dramatic goal, there are not story steps, there isn't even a central conflict, it's just a huge chaos all over the place.
None of the characters come even close to touching us. The antagonist has one single encounter with the hero, where they both say one sentence, no conflict. We never learn what motivates her.
The hero saves a woman that doesn't wanna be saved. His wife. Well, it's said that she is his wife, but we never really come to believe it, as there is zero chemistry between them. They tell each other "I love" you three times in a car, but there is no feeling, it's worse than in a soap opera. Two sex scenes (hello Netflix) add nothing to the chemistry. The actress isn't very convincing, but it's not only her fault. Maybe the makers should have watched some love movies to learn how to establish a bond between a loving couple, especially as this is - or rather should have been - the central motivator of the hero, saving his wife's life.
That's his mission. Unfortunately, she doesn't rally wanna be saved and seems to have given in to her fate. Then she changes her mind and wants to be saved. Then she changes her mind again, because it would mean to harm an innocent person. Then she changes her mind again and almost kills the innocent girl, sleeps with her husband, and finally decides to betray her husband and take the lifetime of the girl, and also break up with the guy who sacrificed his life for her and get pregnant from another guy that appeared out of nowhere (is this the new "female empowerment"?). Frustrated, her now ex-husband joins the terrorist to kill some more people. Why? We never really learn.
It's so bizarre, that it's almost funny. The script actually reminded me of Tommy Wiseau's 2003 film The Room, widely considered the worst film ever made. In this film the actor changes his mind sometimes twice within a scene.
I wonder if the producers come to Netflix with a script so bad, or if the script is okay but Netflix ruins it with their developer team, because they want it to fit their algorithm or whatever.
It's depressing, because the premise would have offered so much potential. For example, only the rich can afford the costly life-time transfer process, and they take it from the poor. Was that too political for Netflix? Why was this huge potential theme never harvested in the movie? Isn't that what's happening right now on this planet, that only the rich can afford top medical care?
Well, but ignoring reality and promoting escapism seems to be the new thing on Netflix, so I guess the filmmakers ran into heavy resistance there. Sad.
Netflix used to be cool, now it's more and more turning into a drug to numb down the oppressed workforce.
