SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Stepan Dyatkovskiy Advice to all: read the book first. I found this movie as a good set of illustrations for book but sometimes we can see a little differences. E.g. under the book Maxim learns the native language by oneself and under the movie he puts "worm-gadget" into ear :-) Most of actors are well for his characters but not all IMHO Guy was showed too crazy. Arkadiy and Boris Strugatskiy are not only sci-fi writers. They are good thinkers too. And in each their book we can find a lot of thoughts. So I think that it was better to create a series of movies. And I even think that this movie should be remaked. At least it should be trilogy... A series of movies allows to save their thoughts and it also allows to remove any differences with book. I think film directors can cut something but they shouldn't add false episodes. Finally I think that it is mediocre movie but a good set of illustrations. So (5 + 9) / 2 = 7 :-) My vote is seven.

xinix111 I am glad i don't mind about bad reviews because i really enjoyed this movie. Why people compare it to the book in a movie-review i don't know. I think it is not relevant. IMDb is a catalog for movie fans and the only thing worth mentioning would be that the book is also worth reading if you ask me. The movie is surrounded by a thick massive sound , the special effects are great. It has amazing colors and the acting is pretty straight forward. Okay, story-wise it may not be as well worked out as the book, but who cares? It is a movie. Also it has this mad-max vibe that is quite rare in movies. I look forward to part two. Well done i would say. If you are a reader you probably don't enjoy this one if i must believe other reviews, but if you are like me more into visuals and sound this is a great must see movie....7 out of 10

graygeneral This attempt at bringing a Strugatski brothers novel to the modern Russian screen is without a doubt a success.A little about the plot: young explorer Maksim Kammerer crash lands on Sarakhsh, a world enveloped by nebula gasses where people have never seen the stars. The Unknown Fathers, a group of powerful oligarchs, brainwash the population to hate other nations. Kammerer, aloof in his superiority, sets out to free the people of Sarahksh of oppression and paranoia. I wont ramble on - suffice to say that Bondarchuk has done well, considering the sheer scale of the novel. Vasiliy Stepanov (as Maksim Kammerer) is sexy, cool and a blond head taller than his alien companions (a fine nod to the novel and a detail I did not expect). He was also most excellent in the action scenes.Bondarchuk shines in his portrayal of Umnik (literally the Clever One). I especially enjoyed the scenes of him writhing in agony in the bath. A great performance. I feel compelled, after reading some of the other comments, to say that the novel, like this movie, is often comical...Direction-wise there are some minor continuity errors and a few places where the pace slows unexpectedly, but the film sticks quite closely to the novel and this may not have been avoidable.Compared Konstantin Lopushansky's 2006 adaptation of Gadkie Lebedi (highly recommended to scifi fans, this brooding picture seems to have slipped the under the radar), the film is of course rather crude and soulless - but that would be like comparing a novel by Banks to one by Lem.I recommend it to everyone and will be waiting for film two (the adaptation can only be truly judged then) and a directors cut of the two together in a nice Hollywood package.

Mokaeff It doesn't help you much that you might have a great novel at your hands if you can’t render it in comprehensive and clear-cut screenplay. Yesterday I watched Inhibited Island (thereafter Island) and could not find the story. It took me half the way through the movie to catch dizzy glimpses of what was happening there. Though, there are many great films where you keep looking for answers even after final credits. Island is, certainly, not one of them.The plot is weak at all points. The characters are cut-outs, one dimensional, lacking any insight. Their actions and motives are not clear, and this is obviously director’s fault and miscalculation. This movie has no suspense. Neither does it any plot twists nor unanticipated revelations. Acting is ludicrous, to say the least. It is very disheartening to watch many good actors drifting towards the borders of emptiness under a great direction of Fedor Bondarchuk. Andrei Merzlikin, for instance, is capable of portraying much more interesting and vivid character. In Island he had to downsize himself to copy-cat Gary Oldman from The Fifth Element. It’s pathetic.It is a risky business to compete head-on with the Hollywood on their own turf. It came as no surprise as Island fell hard on its face when attempted to depict the whole Universe with the brushes which such artists, as George Lucas (Star Wars) and Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) had used up so successfully. Evidently, it is not enough to download Maya or 3D Max. You need to have something else to pull the magic.Second rated TV companies can justifiably claim to have produced much more elaborate and interesting shows in terms of production design, wardrobe, props, and film vehicles. Island has nothing fresh and original to offer. It is all that boring seen-half-million-times-before stuff we’re fed up with. This time it is cheaper and amateurish than ever. It felt phony everywhere.Action scenes. This is my opinion: If you can’t make them work the way in which their superiority stands for a mile, there is no reason to make them. All action scenes here are clumsy, cinematography is boring, editing followed the pattern. When after fist combat you start thinking, ‘Why the heck didn’t they simply shoot him’, It is a clear indication that something’s wrong.If the budget were about $M 3-5 I'd say it is kinda funny movie to watch and forget. With the budget they've had (estimated $M 36-40), I suppose people are to expect much more interesting, intelligent and entertaining show. I didn't read a book this movie is based on. Hence all my comments relate only to movie.