Bushwick

The Steadicam work alone is enough to want to watch this film. The way it is shot and the content is amazing. I had no expectations going into this and was blown away.

As for the story, if you think something like this is purely fiction, history says different.

"Bushwick" feels like a low-budget zombie apocalypse movie without the zombies. It's also missing a plot, character arcs, a theme, a moral and other typical cinematic and dramatic elements. The ending feels as if the filmmakers shot the film in sequence and ran out of money before they could complete it. The wrong characters die for the wrong reasons. Bautista is best known for his chiseled larger-than-life physique and his martial arts skills, but displays neither. As he has shown in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, he can handle comedic roles and does a reasonable job here with a role that calls for more emotion than action. While fans may appreciate his dramatic range and nobody would want him to be limited in his career, they may be disappointed that he doesn't do more fighting.

The script is a mess. Nothing makes any sense, from the plot to the military tactics to the motivation of the characters. A hodgepodge of liberal and alt-right political ideologies are presented and seemingly given equal time. I kept imagining Robert Downey Jr. in his Kirk Lazarus role from "Tropic Thunder" urgently whispering, "Never go full-on libtard."

The situation and actions seemed so improbable and unrealistic that I never developed much empathy for the characters.

If "Bushwick" had been shot in a traditional way, I would have given it 6 stars. The story - a survival tale - has been done many times before, and is nothing to write home about.

The use of steady cam is, however. 'Bushwick' is one long continuous shot, where you don't notice the cuts (much like 'Birdman'). You are taken right into the action. There's no shakycam, no quick editing, just a camera constantly hovering beside, in front of and in the back of the action. How refreshing.

I wish that more movies were shot like this.

Clearly a "B" film not meant to be taken seriously but yet, still manages to be entertaining. The action sequences and battle effects are better than I would have expected for a film with limited funding. There are quite a few nonsensical plot sequences, but towards the last half the writers try to inject a little logic to make sense out of what is happening while the two main characters gradually travel through multiple life threatening moments in their effort to reach family and ultimately safety. If you're up for a different "guilty pleasure" watch, then I can recommend watching Bushwick.

Let's be honest here, this movie will never win an Oscar and neither will the two actors, the plot is ridiculous, the acting poor and you find it hard to make out what the lead male is saying half the time.

All that said, it actually works like a video game with the viewer right there in the middle of the action and you actually start liking and wanting the two main players to succeed in their task - its pretty intense and the action never stops and surprisingly, I actually started to enjoy the movie - one of the more enjoyable movies I have seen recently. I would rate more of a 7.5/10 but will go for the higher 8 on the IMDb rating system because I did enjoy it, as stupid as it is!