Reviews

Like others, I watched this movie with high expectations, especially after the reviews. While already from the beginning, there were red flags, I thought it might still be worth it as it started out with an eerie atmosphere and appealing opening. Then it went downhill right after there, just getting worse and worse.

First, it was the really terrible acting, then it was inconsistent storytelling, then it turned out that there is no story at all, then it turned out that this movie could be a high school project, and even then, it could have been done more meaningful.

It had potential, it really did! If only there was a story, character development, or characters that did not act like sims or two dimensional imbecils. 10 minutes in and you just stop caring what happens - not much happening after the opening scene anyways but you are just hoping in agony.

Take my warning, do not waste your time and do not fall for the reviews, which are probably faked for some reason. I am not even giving out spoilers because practically there is none, and that you can read this as a warning to save yourself some time.

I am a solid horror fan and I was thinking that I am not scared anymore by the super natural horror movies. We all enjoyed the Conjuring or Insidious, at least, in the initial movies, and we know what to expect from this genre.

I watched The Dark and the Wicked with such an expectation but it exceeded my expectations. It scared the hell out of me. Sure, there are expected scare jumps and a lot of sound effects (definitely watch it in the dark and with sound volume high, I mean, if there is no mood, how can you expect the horror experience?), but what made this movie different for me is the integrity of all the tools that the genre can deliver. The darkness and the wickedness prevails from the beginning to the end of the movie. The build up is not kept to the last minute, it is all over the movie. The sound, the mood, the cinematography, and acting... All of these coming together delivered it for me. There might not be much of a story to the background but there is certainly a thematic approach and it works for me. Maybe they can discover it further in a sequel - as I believe there were some hints but anyways, it was still great.

Bad reviews were almost killing this for me but I am glad that I went on watching. I don't know what people were expecting from this, it is not a horror movie and it is not a complete thriller, but it surely gives chills.

I don't want to give spoilers so I will just say that this movie deals with identity mainly and I like the way it does it. The cinematographic details and symbolism work well, neither too complicated nor too shallow.

As for the ending, I think it suits pretty well into the whole of the story, maybe even making it more memorable as there are tons of movies with a similar theme out there.

If you are not looking for a fast-paced movie with lots of happening and if you like substance, give this a shot.

I was scared in the beginning due to the comments here but obviously, people were being way too judgemental when they talk about loose ends and no-plot kind of review. There is definitely a plot here and there is definitely an ending. Just not in the way that we expect it to be. It is not like the girl marries someone or someone dies and it is all resolved, but it is also not in a way that is up in the air.

The viewer with a little bit of historical knowledge and perception of metaphorical storytelling can easily be captivated by this story. I do not want to give away what is happening but nothing that happened in this series seemed out of plot to me.

If you are a viewer that likes reading between the lines and coming up with your interpretations, I would totally recommend this. And those interpretations can still be made with what the series offers you so no art-house ambiguity here.

And satires do not have to make you laugh although there may be bits of light or dark humor here and there. Just as the daily Rip show makes everything sound lighter so that people can buy it, the "comical" side of this movie is not more than a marketing strategy to reach out to a wider audience.

That being said, the movie is greatly reflects of what we have nowadays on the Earth. We keep hearing the same stuff every single day about climate change, yet big decisions are made by power figures and we are in between the decision makers and sides until the issue burns us some day for real with a forest fire or a weather disaster. We are constantly reminded of dangers and do we need to get a similar message from yet another movie? Maybe yes, maybe no but that is not the point. Do we appreciate what we see or the message? Do we let it sink in? And most of all, how much are you bothered to see your reflection as a species in the mirror? This is what I think this movie is doing and that's why I liked it.

This movie is a great depiction of the division between a heterosexual and homosexual day-to-day living. Compared to a heterosexual lifestyle, the gay male gaze in this movie hits right in spot as the process of looking, directly or indirectly, is most of the time will be the only thing you get to fulfil your wishes.

In the movie, the male nudity, being so close to it but you cannot touch it, you can only desire it. The raw instincts between the heterosexual and homosexual male are the same but while one is simply open to it and accessible (like how easily the male and female couples get it on in the movie), the other one requires the right conditions, right place, a lot of judgement and thinking.

In liberated communities, a woman and a man intercourse or flirting can easily be enacted but a homosexual relationship still involves too much at stake.

This movie is all about these and it beautifully depicts unfulfilled desires of this community.

All the script cliches and expected twists can be found in this potentially loaded but unexpectedly lame second season. Furthermore, why would you force on acting more dramatic than necessary? Why would you not discover all the storylines that could go with logical options instead of a total black and white characterization and stupidified character paths?

Just disappointed hugely.

It started out promising; I thought it would be a different touch to the topics that we have already seen in other movies: hunger games, the game, maze, the exam etc. But it never got to the point where all the violence makes sense. Characters do not make sense, scenario do not build up to something meaningful. All that mysterious show-business-kind-of costumes and staging lose their effect when the plot is unable to deliver a meaningful explanation. In each episode until the last scene, I expected a twist or some progress so that I could appreciate all the hype but nope. It did not happen. If the message was injustice and humans gotta make their way with it, that's been done countless times and sorry, this didn't sell it.

I am asking: Matt Damon, were curious about China so you accepted to act in this? Or were you in dire need of some cash? Because there is nothing good about this movie. The direction looks completely rushed, so rushed that the actors look like they are 6 year-olds acting out some made-up game. When a good actor looks like he/she cannot act, I think that it is a bad movie. It is exactly what happens in this movie and I think direction has a big part in it. As for the story line, I choose not to expect too much when I watch the fantastic/action genre just in case because I watch it for the sake of visual pleasure primarily. But man, even the visuals are not good enough to save this movie.

There is nothing good about this movie. The plot is completely meaningless, characters look detached, and every thrilling scene is undermined thanks to the bad sounding choices and cheap dialogue lines. I really can't understand how it has 6.9 points.

The first episode of this series is promising: the style is there, the story is captivating enough to wonder further and it is presented in a way that could even become a deeper storyline with an artistic touch. But that only works for the premise. After that, it is all down the hill.

From the second episode on, there is just David on the name of the screenwriters who cannot decide whether they should make an artistic show (which could be nice if the pyschedelic references were not ruined by other features), or whether they want to create a complicated story for the main character (which could also be nice if there was enough story to care not ruined by a repetitive, inconsistent storytelling).

Dreams sequences, David's mental struggle and mind games, the uncertain connections of him to the other characters work up to some point but the stylistic choices turns into bothersome repetitions and other characters just mumble meaningless lines as they try hard to sound deep.

Nope, I am not going to be able to finish the end of this series. Not even the first season. Giving a 5 for the cast and some psychedelic visual scenes.