I'm not going to say this movie makes the least sense of every movie I've ever seen, because I've seen an awful lot of movies, but it's got to at least be one of the most senseless.
This movie starts quite well with a puzzling but intriguing intro that sets up the film's excellent visual style. In fact, there are a number of really cool moments scattered through the movie.
Unfortunately, Natural City turns out to be a remarkable example of what happens with a writer who can't put together a coherent story proves to also be a director who is unable to tell a story clearly.
Nothing in this movie makes much sense. I don't just mean the story. Once it's all over I can say I at least understand what happened and for the most part why. But character motivations and reactions are inexplicable, the science is ludicrous and the futuristic vision is muddled. This is a movie where a kidnapping is treated like a case of bad manners and the protagonists outrageous behavior causes barely a ripple.
The lead character is unlikeable and outside of Cyon (played very nicely by Jae-un Lee) and some old lady named Bonggong or some such thing, the rest of the cast is underwhelming. The cyborg love interest seems to have the personality of a cocker spaniel, making it difficult to have much feeling for her, and in fact all attempts to wring an emotional reaction from the material fail abysmally.
The movie makes more sense in the last third, becoming a relatively straightforward action picture, but by then you're trapped in a movie with characters you don't care about making everything that happens feel trivial.
The movie is slick and glossy with some nice special effects, which is what kept me from turning it off (that and the hope that somehow it would all come together eventually), but it's just dreadful film making that gets more and more painful as it goes along.
This movie starts quite well with a puzzling but intriguing intro that sets up the film's excellent visual style. In fact, there are a number of really cool moments scattered through the movie.
Unfortunately, Natural City turns out to be a remarkable example of what happens with a writer who can't put together a coherent story proves to also be a director who is unable to tell a story clearly.
Nothing in this movie makes much sense. I don't just mean the story. Once it's all over I can say I at least understand what happened and for the most part why. But character motivations and reactions are inexplicable, the science is ludicrous and the futuristic vision is muddled. This is a movie where a kidnapping is treated like a case of bad manners and the protagonists outrageous behavior causes barely a ripple.
The lead character is unlikeable and outside of Cyon (played very nicely by Jae-un Lee) and some old lady named Bonggong or some such thing, the rest of the cast is underwhelming. The cyborg love interest seems to have the personality of a cocker spaniel, making it difficult to have much feeling for her, and in fact all attempts to wring an emotional reaction from the material fail abysmally.
The movie makes more sense in the last third, becoming a relatively straightforward action picture, but by then you're trapped in a movie with characters you don't care about making everything that happens feel trivial.
The movie is slick and glossy with some nice special effects, which is what kept me from turning it off (that and the hope that somehow it would all come together eventually), but it's just dreadful film making that gets more and more painful as it goes along.