Actually wanted to like '7 Splinters in Time'. The concept was great and there were some really interesting ideas here. Decided to not be swayed by the low rating and lukewarm at best reviews, which did admittedly make me nervous, and see it because there was a good deal of potential here.
'7 Splinters in Time' however managed to be yet another big potential waste and to be a very bad, disappointing film in its own right. It may work for some (will not hold that against anybody who falls under this category), but there are many reasons why it won't work for most, already summed up quite well here. Films revolving around time travel have been very variable, some are good, great even, others are not so good or worse. '7 Splinters in Time' is one of the worst. Was expecting actually to be challenged, engrossed and to have my thought process provoked. Was instead left confused, bored and almost insulted.
There are some nice shots and some atmospheric lighting but that is pretty much it in '7 Splinters in Time's' favour.
It's the story that fails the most here in a film full of failures. It feels over-stretched and like there was nowhere near enough content to fill it, though there are attempts to hide that with overlong and needless padding and including too many things most of which adding nothing or saying nothing new or interesting. Am not easily confused watching films, structurally and narratively '7 Splinters in Time' is incomprehensible with so much glossed over, underdeveloped or unexplained that trying to make sense of all the vagueness is hard.
Nothing new is done with the time travel or personalities and they don't compel or make one feel anything. It all feels bland and bizarre, with a mix of taking things too seriously and being plain silly and weird. On top of that the mystery element lacks suspense or anything unsettling of any kind and has nothing to it, by the time some kind of effort is done with one has stopped caring. The whole thing has a self-indulgent "trying too hard to be something that it's not and making something bigger of limited resources" feel.
Dialogue is verbose and awkward-sounding, the viewer feels like their brains are going in circles trying to understand it sometimes. The characters don't engage or endear the audience at all with sketchy at best development. The direction reeks of "biting much more than they can chew", the pacing is deadly dull from all the padding and aimless going nowhere storytelling and the acting is more wooden than marionettes.
All in all, very bad, a great concept and ideas ruined by bland, dull and incoherent execution. 2/10 Bethany Cox
