Zone 414

Worth a watch for scifi fans. This one was not the right fit for Travis Fimmel (Ragnar Lothbrook in Vikings), whose makeup was even more distracting than the weird Viking accent which seemed fake and melodramatic here. Still, there were some redeeming aspects, including the "brother" played by Jonathan Aris, who stole the show as the most interesting character, and overall a high quality production with a cast of other excellent actors worth mentioning: Guy Pierce, Colin Salmon, Ned Dennehy and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, all of whom saving it from being a complete disaster.

I found almost every element in this movie just slightly undercooked. The director has done well to hide an obvious low budget but where it suffers is in the story elements. Obvious comparisons to Blade Runner aside it is not a good detective story, they go here, they go there, they meet whacky weird characters, but no real sense of intrigue or suspense. The main character is a half baked unoriginal copy, the a.i. Character is done well but again, nothing original innovative or different, though very well acted. It was just so very MEH, when the bones were there for something surprising and different i am left knowing i will forget it very soon.

Zone 414: A Blade Runnerish SF thriller set in near future UK. Guy Pearce is David, in the Deckard role and at one stage kills an android but that isn't his real job. He's hired by a billionaire to track down his missing daughter, Melissa. Matilda Lutz is a pleasure model android, more advanced than most, philosophises a lot about her predicament, sees a counsellor. But Lutz is no passive victim, she aids David when he arrives in Zone 414 where humans and android are allowed to interact. Thus begins a dark journey where both human and android life don't count for much. Olwen Fouéré is suitably sinister as the madam for the pleasure models. The budget wasn't quite high enough to achieve a full Cyber Punk aesthetic in Zone 414 (or the cities) but it's suitably run down and grim . A couple of plot twists and some rather violent scenes. Directed by Andrew Baird from a screenplay by Bryan Edward Hill. Saw it on Virgin Media Movies. 7/10.

This is not a perfect movie by any means, however it is better than several of the harsh reviews it seems to be getting.

One reviewer even said "worse than 5th element", which seems like a odd comparison (also, who hates 5th element, and is into scifi?).

If you are at all into Neo-Noir, it is well worth the watch. A bit predictable, and not exactly cyberpunk. More near future I suppose. But maybe that is because of us inching closer and closer to a high-tech dystopia.

It's a fun Bladerunner knockoff, but that isn't a bad thing.

The villain wasn't good, across from Guy Pierce, who is a great actor.

It could have been more visceral, but it wasn't. It could have been great, but it wasn't.

Still worth the watch.