Restore Point

I don't remember how this title came to my attention, but I'm glad I watched it.

The premise is nothing new, but the story is carried by decent performances by the (to me) unknown actors, sprinked with noteworthy acting by some of the supporting characters (Iveta Duskova and Jan Vlasak did an especially fine job).

Special effects looked good enough on my small screen. Some cyberpunk scenes are worth remembering - the mute thug with the 7-segment LED dentures is one of them.

Dialogue is average but again there are some noteworthy moments (the contrast between cellular memory and actual memory, for instance, or how Kurlstat discovered that he had gifted himself the memory of how to play piano after having his head slammed on a keyboard).

None of the characters pushed the plot along by doing stupid things, which is always a nice touch.

(IMDB doesn't allow me to use proper accents in the actors' names. Sorry about that.)

No pun intended - you could make the case of police not waiting for others to arrive! This is not the first movie to have the main character being way too anxious (not always with apparent reasons - the first incident ... it makes sense she wants to go in, not wanting to wait ... second one? Well I reckon in the end it makes sense, but she can't know that - also .. "baggage").

All that aside, the movie has quite a few things it does bring across. Having the chance to do things over, is not always the best thing for humans. It may feel like a security blanket ... but we know how this works. There are things, that I am not sure how they ... actually make sense and happen (I reckon technology is involved), but in the end, how much do we remember? How much is true? If we don't remember, did it happen? And are we a different being all of a sudden? A lot of existential question and .. angst as you could say ...

'Restore Point (2023)' is a Czech sci-fi film about a conspiracy surrounding the planned privatization of a technology that allows people to back-up their brains and be brought back from the dead if they're killed via unnatural means (such as murder). Focusing on a detective with a personal vendetta against the terrorist group she's hunting, the flick presents itself as a slow-burning investigative thriller with occasional bursts of action and a couple of neat twists and turns. Its handsome, clean, probing aesthetic is clearly inspired by the likes of 'Blade Runner 2049 (2017)', albeit with less neon and lashings of rain, and its narrative also takes inspiration from that meditative legacy sequel. Thanks to its conceptually interesting and convincingly conveyed technology and architecture, its version of the future is not only compelling but also surprisingly honest. It's feasible that we're heading in the direction it portrays, with its most potent aspects being extensions of what we're already seeing rather than unattainable fantasies of space battles and laser swords (which are also cool, don't get me wrong). The central idea is intriguing to probe, more from a moral standpoint than a technological one, and it leads to some genuinely exciting questions that hint towards what we've always wondered without feeling as though they succumb to cliché. Although it may be a tiny bit forgettable overall, at least in terms of its specific plot and the relatively low-key way in which it unravels, and its ending is a tiny bit underwhelming (especially considering how engaging the various enigmas leading up to it are), but this is ultimately a confident and absorbing detective thriller that's set in a tangible world, poses some potent questions (without necessarily answering them all), and features a few suspenseful sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat by playing with the picture's established rules in an enjoyable way. It's a really entertaining effort, and it's especially impressive for a directorial debut.

Good storyline, very well executed, convincing cast. For a none Hollywood movie and I assume no gazillion Euros budget either, that is quite an impressive and enjoyable movie.

Big respect to Robert Hloz who did a great job, I am sure we'll see more of his work in the future. You could tell that he is a big fan of Denis Villeneuve's "Blade Runner 2049", although the similarities are not imposing, but you could feel that we are not far from that reality, in a brighter and less gloomy future compared to Blade Runner.

I like very much the new everyday technology of 2041 and the performances of the cast and the casual way they were interacting with it, presumably most of it is CGI, but still it was quite convincing and a kind of a glimpse into the not so far possible future.

Very solid performance from all the cast but surely top praise to the lead character played by Andrea Mohylova.

I love it when a movie I know nothing about surprises me the way this movie did, quite a joyful gem.

The special effects and world building in this film were superb! I love how all the sci fi elements were a natural part of that society, even though it was so similar to ours. A lot of things were so subtle.

The story beats weren't anything new and some of the scenes dragged on a bit (probably didn't help that they were showing the film really late and everyone's eyes struggled to read the subtitles nearing midnight) but overall I found watching Restore Point a very enjoyable experience.

More of this type of world building please! :) Big studios really have no excuse for their substandard cgi if yours can look this good.