12 Horas Para El Fin Del Mundo

This is an overlooked little gem of a film.

Film director Dmitry Kiselyov brings what looks and feels like a multi million dollar production to the screen despite the seemingly low budget

The editing and flow between the early on action is incredible and looks like it was done in one shot. No doubt CGI was involved but it was seamless.

The main characters are excellent and believable. Veronika Ustimova (who plays Valeria "Lera" Arabova) is reported as 'not having any acting abilities'. Wrong!! She is fantastic in this film and hopefully will go on to have a great career.

I'll certainly be scouring the streaming services for other titles.

Directed by Dmitry Kiselyov, Mira is a 2022 sci-fi disaster film centered around the themes of family and survival.

The Story The film follows Lera, a young girl who must find a way to connect with her father, a cosmonaut aboard the space station Mira, after a meteor shower devastates Earth.

What Works Mira is praised for its impressive CGI, particularly in the destruction sequence depicting the meteor shower's impact. The film also features strong performances from its cast, particularly the young actress who portrays Lera.

Overall While not breaking new ground narratively, Mira is a visually stunning sci-fi disaster film with strong performances and exciting action sequences. It's a good option for fans of the genre looking for a thrilling cinematic experience.

Plot: 5/10. Cheesy and unrealistic, a mix between Deep Impact and Geostorm, yet entertaining, although the third act is a bit weak.

Direction and photography: 9/10. Very well made film, with beautiful photography and superb one-shot scenes.

CGI: 9/10. Better than some recent Marvel/DC movies. Close to Gravity. Not a CGI-fest where the plot is driven by special effects.

Acting: 7/10? I've seen the spanish dub, which I think is pretty good. I can't tell about the russian or english dub, so...

In conclusion, a Hollywood's Sci-Fi blockbuster made in Russia, with little to no patriotism. Definitely I recommend it.

This is an interesting showcase of an obviously existing Russian desire to make western high-end spectacle movies. Others of this kind are 'Attraction' 1+2, 'Sputnik', 'The Blackout' series, 'Project Gemini' and 'Guardians'.

They are in the Sci-Fi genre not very innovative, rather simple in plot, well acted and technologically (FX,CGI) on a very high level.

It is to mention that they are in no way as outstanding as the two 'Night Watch' and 'Day Watch' movies from the early 2000s.

'Mira' is here a Russian space stations' AI, and it is also the weakest part of the whole movie, since dialogs with her are mostly cheesy.

The sole star is actually the FX and sound design department, which managed to create a fantastic '2012'-worthy destruction sequence of exhausting and captivating eight minutes length, that intrigued me very much. There is another great sequence, where the daughter is attempting to rescue her little brother, and her father tries a repair of the station, and both action strains, though in very different environments, are visually intertwined in a really wonderful manner. Note that this movie is said to have a budget of sparse 5 M Euros, which I consider as a shoestring, compared to western movies of this scale.

I would say that the acting is ok, the best of it comes from the children. The main actress is a bit too old for my taste, though being 18 playing a 15 or 16-year-old girl should be ok, but maybe I mean 'too experienced'. The main actor reminds me often of Mads Mikkelsen.

The paper-thin plot is just there to keep the story running, The family drama of the past is an unnecessary addition to explain the (in Russian terms) weird psyche of the main character, as in special needs because of PTSD. Supporting characters like the mother or the boyfriend (who lost a hand once) are staying superficial.

This disaster movie relies on the tension of time running out during the constant danger of a major cataclysm, combined with the usual family saving efforts. It is very effective with this and entertains greatly, until the final act, which appears to be superimposed and is not very 'realistic'.

One critical point is, between the many ultra-realistic and impressing cinematic danger situations the main characters have to endure to save their lives and those of others, the design team have obviously forgotten about the physics of fire and what it does in confined spaces to the breathable air.

I give the movie 7 stars rather than 6, for also being totally non-political, and for great atmosphere and good pacing.

Watched in Russian with English subtitles.

MIRA is somewhat of an unexpected thing to behold. While the story is a bit of a knockoff of the Emmerich formula (family, drama, calamity, spectacle, and family), the attention to detail and overall execution is something else, indeed.

There are sequences in this film that are truly remarkable in every aspect, rivalling some of the best Hollywood has ever brought forth. The camera work, the production design, the acting (including the extras) and the VFX in the impact sequence are quite extraordinary, and the more realistic approach results in a fresh new way of witnessing a terrifying disaster.

I really have to stress again how amazing many of the visual effects really are: not flashy and rubbery like so many things we get to see from much bigger films, but seamless and believable. I really wonder how they pulled of a lot of shots that seem like practical effects, which of course they can't be.

Don't expect a perfect film, though. Especially in the third act, the film loses much of its realism and also goes into full cheese mode, but the good aspects easily prevail, at least for me. And so the verdict comes easy: if you're a sci-fi buff like me, you need to watch this.