Echo 8

Overall, the team behind Echo 8 has done exceptionally well considering the limited budget. It's a commendable effort and a solid foundation if the plan is to build a trilogy-but there are some key areas that need improvement moving forward.

The martial arts choreography is already quite good, but for the sequels to really stand out, it needs to elevate from good to great.

The script and storytelling, however, fall short. The pacing is slow, the dialogue occasionally cringeworthy and awkward. The film would benefit from dropping the cheesy one-liners and focusing more on grounded drama and intense action. Characters need to evoke genuine emotion-both from themselves and from the audience.

In terms of performances, most of the cast struggles, but Maria Tran delivers the strongest performance. The actress playing the mother also holds her own, and Mike Leeder brings a photogenic and compelling presence to the screen.

Visually, the poster leans too far into a sci-fi aesthetic-it would be better reimagined in the style of a gritty martial arts action film.

The cinematography is one of the weaker elements, feeling more like a student film or backyard project with an amateur color grade to match. For future installments, bringing in a professional cinematographer could make a huge difference.

That said, this is still a remarkable achievement for indie filmmakers out of Western Sydney, and a milestone for the Asian-Australian creative community.

Hey Screen Australia-maybe it's time to invest in this team instead of continuing to fund content that fails to find an audience. This is the kind of work people want to see.

Maria Tran is absolutely one to watch, and it's exciting to imagine what she could create with proper backing and real investment.

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.

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.

Honestly, Echo 8 didn't exactly grab me with the poster-it looked like your average low-budget indie trying to be more than it is. So I went in with zero expectations... and ended up getting completely blindsided.

Yeah, it starts slow. But give it 15-20 minutes, and suddenly you're hooked into a story that blends solid action with surprising emotional depth. And get this-it was made on a $10K budget. Ten grand. That's insane. The cinematography, fight choreography, and overall production quality are way better than most indie action flicks I've seen with ten times the budget.

Maria Tran leads the charge with a calm, focused energy that works well for her character. Her scenes with the co-star actually land-they've got decent chemistry and some solid back-and-forth that adds charm without forcing it. The writing isn't perfect, but it knows what it's trying to do and hits the mark more often than not.

Echo 8 isn't trying to be a blockbuster-it's an indie film with guts, a bit of heart, and a team clearly giving it their all. If you're into scrappy underdog action films that aren't just mindless brawls, it's absolutely worth a look.

I love independent action and martial arts films like "Echo 8". Many times the cinema of these genres neglects the script and the characters in favor of the action, but sometimes they have a powerful script, well written and developed and with great characters, as is the case. Maria Tran shows that we can have an action and martial arts movie and not just for the action scenes. The story leaves you wanting to know more about all its characters and visually it has nothing to envy of projects with a bigger budget. Maria Tran exudes a lot of charisma and Takashi Hara is perfect in a character that you are not sure if he is good or bad. And we cannot forget the presence of Mike Leeder as Z12, totally mysterious. More cinema like this.