Just got back home from the festival one of the last shows of this film.
I had seen the trailer, and was very excited about this film. I had to write a review which I usually don't even do, but since this film has been getting so much over hype I think it is fair to say something.
The CGI: I think that the most impressive parts were already in the trailer. I read how they made the film, and I think the uneven quality of the CGI might come from years of development, and so many people working on it. Some parts look like they were from every other fan-made film. I have to say some parts were good, but certainly this film is not comparable to a 100 million dollar Hollywood block-buster in terms of FX. I think the makers must have been getting better towards the end of making these CGI bits. Overall the FX left sort of a mixed feeling.
The plot: It is pretty much what you would expect, except a couple of more twists here and there. I think the first part of the film is better, and towards the ending the film starts getting flatter, and flatter, and yes it is somewhat boring at times. Perhaps this would have made it better if it were a short film of 30-45 minutes. As such there is too much half-written material to fill in the time to make a full feature.
The humor: I have to say that there were perhaps 3-5 good jokes in the whole film, and then tons of bad ones. Although the guys are making a comedy they are seriously not comedians... why didn't they get like some great stand-up comedians to help with the jokes. I would say that the funniness scale is more towards the Simpsons (the new episodes) than that of say South Park. The stereotypes are silly, and don't have that kind of punch that they should. Sarah Palin is funny for the first time, but after-that doesn't really offer that much to the comedy side. I think that the long development time had an impact on the jokes... some of them feel like they would have been funny say three years ago, but don't really ad up anymore. The "criticism" is way easy to be actually "critical", perhaps that's why it is not funny.
Originality and characters: Well even though it was not Hollywood, it could have been one. I mean these guys had all the freedom to do what they liked, and they chose to do this. I find that in a sense even worse. Even casting James with Julia Dietze with into this sexy role is so Hollywood, we'll I have to agree that she does look hot in those Nazi-outfits LOL. I thought that the only good role was Doctor Rikter, but there were not enough of them. Udo Kiers role was missing something... I mean the makers could have put some more evil into the character like that in the Ultimate Hellsing series. His silly moves did not make him believable. The film was not that original I guess...
Overall I don't really know if I feel that much empathy towards the guys who made this film. The film industry especially on the lower end has lots of good talent, and there are many more interesting films, comedies and even sci-fi than this that never got/get any attention.
I would praise the film if it really deserved it, but making a great trailer for promotion is just not enough (sadly that is the game even for Hollywood). I don't think the film is going satisfy the majority of people who see it... or they won't be swept away by it, and the hype is way off. I think if I hadn't seen the trailer I could have given the film one more star.
I think that this film will find its audience (nerd circles), but I believe it to wayyy over hyped.
I had seen the trailer, and was very excited about this film. I had to write a review which I usually don't even do, but since this film has been getting so much over hype I think it is fair to say something.
The CGI: I think that the most impressive parts were already in the trailer. I read how they made the film, and I think the uneven quality of the CGI might come from years of development, and so many people working on it. Some parts look like they were from every other fan-made film. I have to say some parts were good, but certainly this film is not comparable to a 100 million dollar Hollywood block-buster in terms of FX. I think the makers must have been getting better towards the end of making these CGI bits. Overall the FX left sort of a mixed feeling.
The plot: It is pretty much what you would expect, except a couple of more twists here and there. I think the first part of the film is better, and towards the ending the film starts getting flatter, and flatter, and yes it is somewhat boring at times. Perhaps this would have made it better if it were a short film of 30-45 minutes. As such there is too much half-written material to fill in the time to make a full feature.
The humor: I have to say that there were perhaps 3-5 good jokes in the whole film, and then tons of bad ones. Although the guys are making a comedy they are seriously not comedians... why didn't they get like some great stand-up comedians to help with the jokes. I would say that the funniness scale is more towards the Simpsons (the new episodes) than that of say South Park. The stereotypes are silly, and don't have that kind of punch that they should. Sarah Palin is funny for the first time, but after-that doesn't really offer that much to the comedy side. I think that the long development time had an impact on the jokes... some of them feel like they would have been funny say three years ago, but don't really ad up anymore. The "criticism" is way easy to be actually "critical", perhaps that's why it is not funny.
Originality and characters: Well even though it was not Hollywood, it could have been one. I mean these guys had all the freedom to do what they liked, and they chose to do this. I find that in a sense even worse. Even casting James with Julia Dietze with into this sexy role is so Hollywood, we'll I have to agree that she does look hot in those Nazi-outfits LOL. I thought that the only good role was Doctor Rikter, but there were not enough of them. Udo Kiers role was missing something... I mean the makers could have put some more evil into the character like that in the Ultimate Hellsing series. His silly moves did not make him believable. The film was not that original I guess...
Overall I don't really know if I feel that much empathy towards the guys who made this film. The film industry especially on the lower end has lots of good talent, and there are many more interesting films, comedies and even sci-fi than this that never got/get any attention.
I would praise the film if it really deserved it, but making a great trailer for promotion is just not enough (sadly that is the game even for Hollywood). I don't think the film is going satisfy the majority of people who see it... or they won't be swept away by it, and the hype is way off. I think if I hadn't seen the trailer I could have given the film one more star.
I think that this film will find its audience (nerd circles), but I believe it to wayyy over hyped.