S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of the Zone

I've played everything in the S. T. A. L. K. E. R. Franchise. I'll rate 2 starts for the atmosphere. Not a single eastern made weapon or car in sight. I strongly believe that some fan made movie with soft air weapons, a bit of cosplay and even filmed with a smartphone would most probably get better results with a bit of respect to the franchise. Reading through other reviews I'm amazed how little people know about S. T. A. L. K. E. R. But are ready to shoot good numbers at this mess of a movie. They either new to this or hired bots. Next time put everyone on set play at least an hour of any of the games in the series.

I have been waiting for the release of this film since it's announcement and I have not been left disappointed

From the very start of this film, it grips you with a well choreographed action scene steeped in an knowledgeable amount of realism you don't see everywhere and the rest of the action in the film follow suit.

The story is easy to follow and straight forward but is by no means lacking, every exposition through dialogue or through the scene feels natural and each scene leaves onto the next leaving the former with distinction.

The cast are brilliant although the dialogue between them is mostly kept brief it's perfect for the setting and keeps everything left to the point. The scenes where Russian is spoken it never feels uncanny and it feels like it really made a big difference. The sets and locations feel like you are in the Exclusion Zone and help you place yourself in the setting.

The costumes and gear are a bit clean especially for the Monolith agents but the gear and weapons feel appropriate and the vests and rigging look full and like they are actually being used properly.

The whole film had me gripped tightly for the approximate hour it took to watch and I will watch it again. Massive props to all the crew for all the hard work they put in. It has paid off, I want to see these folks succeed and move on to bigger things.

I've never played the STALKER games but I loved the book Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers, which is very clearly what the game is based on. This takes a more paramilitary approach to the zone than the book, factions fighting over territory with some sporadic anomalies. That's where I was somewhat disappointed.

I enjoyed the paramilitary stuff, I can feel how this is emulating a video game, but I would have liked more anomalies. In this they seem like a bit of a nuisance that can be avoided if you're careful, where in the book they're beyond human understand entirely and the stalkers are simply the people who have good instincts and recognize patterns well enough to get through the zone. Until they eventually don't.

So if you're looking for a Roadside Picnic adaptation this probably won't scratch the itch, but I thought it was better than the Tarkovsky movie. Maybe not as faithful, but certainly more entertaining.

As a long time fan of the game series, directors and actors both did source material justice while providing a new spin on, what would be just one of the stories happening within the Zone, and provided they are a small studio with limited funds and resources, they did amazing job portraying life and dangers in the Zone! I honestly wish they would get proper funding and access to resources to do a full fledged 2-3 hour movie because 1 hour is just not enough for the huge potential that Stalker world offers, and that is also my only complaint, that the runtime is too short for the action - horror - adventure type, but also I understand why that is.

Production quality is top notch for a guerilla studio, however, the authenticity to the source material leaves much to be desired. Especially when it comes to costume design for the main cast, Their gear is not conducive to what mercenaries wore in the games and in the time frame of the series, the general aesthetic seemed more to in line with escape from Tarkov than any of the main stalker games. Only Brain and Crow was remotely close to the designs of their video game counterparts (Ecologist and Loner). Not to mention the lack of mutants, and only ONE appearance from an actual anomaly that appeared in the video game. Disappointing watch for veteran viewers, very pleasing for entrance level/outsider viewing.