We popped in the Blu-Ray and the menu came up as expected. What wasn't expected was the amount of work that went into the menu alone, and this surprise set the tone for what we'd soon discover was true of the entire movie! If I only had one word to sum up this film, it would have to be this: impressive. It delivered an entertaining and engaging story with a fairly high production quality for a tiny fraction of the budget of a mainstream production.
There are some really funny moments of writing in this film. When Gwen says, "Us in charge of the world. What could possibly go wrong?" and then we cut to Denny's teacher writing "Mutually Assured Destruction" on the chalkboard. Tasty. Or when the assassin spits out "Shoot an unarmed man? You don't have the..." (nut shot) "Balls!" I laughed out loud. Or when Archie tries to disappear but belches instead. Too cute. I appreciated the silly moments like these in a film that doesn't take itself too seriously.
As for the film's other accomplishments, here is a modest list: the opening credits, chapter titles and transitions, and the special effects were each masterfully executed, and indistinguishable from those of any mainstream blockbuster hit (though the green screen scenes in the car were fairly obvious). The soundtrack was a pleasant surprise, and the car scene with everyone singing along was just too precious and reminded me of that classic "Tiny Dancer" singalong on the tour bus from Almost Famous. The filming locations were varied and interesting--abandoned fairgrounds? Yes, please. The choreographed fighting and accompanying sound effects were fairly convincing to me. The cinematography was reminiscent of J.J. Abrams with his stunning use of light. One of my favorite moments on film was a gorgeous, slow-motion flashback to a bygone Halloween that sucked me right in with a full dose of nostalgia. It melted me.
There is one major fault of the film that can't be directly attributed to the low budget: with the exception of the main star, some of the performances from each of the actors felt forced from time to time. Naturally, that pulled us out of the story. I'm not in the industry, so I may be wrong, but I don't think this can be attributed to budget because the rest of their performances would suggest these were fully capable actors. With an extra take or two, I think the poorly-delivered lines could have been re-shot (though I'm sure that would probably have its own costs). In my opinion, the relatively high production quality and the original premise and creative script were enough to overlook those occasional insincerely-delivered lines and missed opportunities for directorial intervention.
