Rogue Elements: A Ryan Drake Story

Rarely has a crowdfunded project more comprehensively dunked on the mugs who gave it money. But Rouge Elephants goes all-out to subvert expectations by displaying all of the very same tropes that its creator mercilessly mocks when he observes them in others:

An anodyne, anonymous John Guyman lead with no character or presence. I've watched this twice and still couldn't name one trait of Nothing Dork.

Pacing that opens with a mild bang then immediately slips into flashbacks, tell-don't-show, and even as-you-know exposition to pad out the run-time.

Not one but two girlbosses who perform ridiculous feats of combat, when they would be laid flat by the first hand put on them.

Dialogue that's stilted, cheesy, clumsy, interchangeable, repetitive and rambling.

An utterly generic plot that's so genre-compliant that surely it must qualify as parody.

Bear in mint that all this comes from a writer / producer who can recognise all the traits of a great indie production, and yet chooses to use absolutely none of them himself.

It's telling that not one of the creator's circle of content creators has reviewed this short, because there is literally nothing in it to praise, either objectively, or in comparison to any contemporary production like Terminal List or Reacher.

A creator with courage would do a "The Drinker Fixes: Rogue Elements", but we still await that moment of humility and self awareness.

This 'proof of concept' short film/pilot is a bit of a mess.

First up, the dialogue is bad, and the pacing is inconsistent. The music choices and editing adds no subtlety or tension as it is too bombastic, calling attention to itself. The acting varies between formulaic and atrocious. There are some interesting shots, peppered amongst the majority of generic ones. The story is not that gripping, and the lead role has been miscast, with an actor whose varying accent is his most interesting characteristic.

This is a film based on books by, and co-written by a YouTuber of some renown, Will Jordan, a.k.a. The Critical Drinker, so I was surprised and disappointed at the cliche level of dialogue and plot, given his reviews of movies, and his series of videos "the Drinker fixes". Although a lot of the responsibility for these things must also lie with the Director/Co-writer/Editor Travis Grant, as those three roles also play a pivotal part of how a film is made. While some of the fight scenes are okay, most of the pacing is slow, and the blocking/staging boring. More tension could have been added by giving characters things to do, putting them in motion as they speak the exposition necessary to set up the world this story takes place. Things like have the character who is supposed to speak Russian/Estonian actually speak Russian or Estonian to the guards, and not badly accented English. But mainly establish the main character earlier, as well as make him the one the audience wants to watch.

This 40 minute film had a budget of over $300,000, and many clever, inventive, independent feature films have been made for this level of money or less like Clerks, Open Water, Once, Pi, She's Gotta Have It, The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, and one of my favourites - El Mariachi, which had action and gun play.

I found this effort disappointing, and a missed opportunity with a budget not well spent.

I'm actually a fan of Drinker and wanted to support his movie. I'll be fair in my critique, but I have to say upfront that I think this film was poor and reflects what happens when amateurs bite off more than they can chew on their first production.

Conceptually, the movie misunderstood its audience. It seems tailored as a "web movie spinoff" for fans of the Ryan Drake series, yet being released on Drinker's channel meant its core audience wasn't actually fans of the book series, but rather fans of his critiques on modern Hollywood. While the narrative choices might work for established fans of Ryan Drake, they jar with the broader demographic of Drinker's channel and those who crowdfunded the project. The wiser move would have been making the short a proper on-boarding point for new audiences, actually introducing the characters and the world in a clearer way.

The characters could have been conveyed far more interestingly. Think how Bond, Indiana Jones, or even Gene Hunt are introduced: their unique traits are shown through unique memorable action and unexpected character moments. Ryan Drake, in contrast, was presented in a forgettable way. The actor chosen for the role lacked charisma and that X-factor essential to separate this from generic action movies.

As a short, the movie would have been stronger if it focused on character rather than plot. When I think of the recent Mission: Impossible films, the memorable elements aren't just "doing the thing to get the thing." It's the chemistry between Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, and the cast, with relatable, raw moments of humanity and occasional comedy that keep us invested even when the action is intense. This short lacked that personality and character-driven engagement, which was half a writing issue and half a casting one.

On the acting front, most performances felt hammy and over-the-top. Acting isn't about stealing the scene - it's about reacting, about being present. Far too often, each actor seemed to be waiting for their turn to start chewing the scenery, rather than playing off each other. More blocking, rehearsal, and perhaps splitting duties between a VFX-focused director for the action and a drama-focused director for the character work would have helped significantly. That said, Andrea Pavlovic was very good and leagues ahead of the rest of the cast.

The action scenes were competently choreographed but ultimately forgettable. They felt generic, as though they could've taken place anywhere. Redrafting these sequences to better incorporate the environment would have made them feel more original and exciting.

Cinematography was solid but lacked establishing shots, which are essential for setting mood, tone, and spatial awareness. The audience needs wide shots to ground them in the scene before cutting into close-ups. Don't underestimate how atmospheric sound such as distant guard shouts, howling wind, or the creak of a prison gate-can transform a location from generic to immersive.

Which brings me to the weakest and most amateur aspect of the production, without question, the music. The score felt overbearing and cheap, dominating scenes where silence or subtle sound design could have been far more effective. The deathly echo of an empty prison, the sound of ragged breathing, the creaking of rope - these details can elevate a limited budget far better than drowning the entire soundscape in generic music.

All in all, this wasn't the worst short film ever made, but the premise had potential that was undercut by amateur mistakes, and core talent working with a budget far too big for their experience level. The script needed a redraft to better serve new audiences, and the direction was very weak. It's probably a valuable learning experience for Drinker as an executive producer: you can't just rely on a producer to make things cinematic. You need the right producer and the right director - someone who can demonstrate the knowledge and contacts to elevate the production properly.

Lastly, the opening logo was terrible and set a cheap, straight-to-DVD tone from the outset. It was 17 seconds long with clunky, amateurish animation all in a single unbroken static shot. The concept was nice, but next time, invest around £1500 to hire a skilled 3D artist who can create a cinematic photorealistic sequence with sweeping camera movement and a big budget cinematic flare. First impressions matter. Oh - and keep it under 12 seconds. I'm here for the movie, not a showcase of the producers ego.

Anyway, that's all I've got for today. Go away now!

For all the hullabaloo and self congratulatory behaviour surrounded this 'tv concept' thing, it was surprisingly dull affair.

Just a bland, generic special forces mission type thing that helps congest the daytime rota of those strange TV channels that constantly play low budget, low quality tripe.

It makes the Equaliser TV show with that ex rapper look almost like Shakespeare and let's be honest it's not a patch of the original show. I will be surprised if this ever makes it into anything else, be it on TV or the big screen. I believe that there is a series of books with the Nick Drake character, but honestly, I think I could pretty much have a good idea of all the plots going by this.

Overall it was an enjoyable watch if you like fight scenes. It is not a complete story and if you haven't read the books you might be lost. Except for the Ryan character, most of the acting was not up to snuff. Some of the dialogue was stilted and cheesy. Overall this feels like a bunch of guys wanted to make a fighting and shooting short and here's nothing wrong with that! TBH I guess I had the expectation of an actual complete story seeing how it is the Drinker. But that's my fault. My expectations were subverted. The cinematography, coloring, and music are really good. The sound design was mostly good. The music mix was too loud and some of the atmosphere foley was wonky and amateurish. All of the gun sounds and fight sound design were great. The after credit scene with the Drinker at the end was hilarious (probably my favorite scene in the film) but it was totally out of place for the feel of the piece. I hope the Drinker gets a chance to make a full film with a complete story that has character development, arcs, etc. Would love to see what he can do if he gets a say in what shows up on screen. 40 min plus is plenty of time to accomplish this BTW. There are plenty of short films that feel like a complete narrative that are half the length of this film.