SPECTRAL review
(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
Spectral is a 2016 Netflix original horror/action film directed by Nic Mathieu, produced by Legendary Pictures. Starring James Badge Dale and Emily Mortimer, Spectral is a big-budget sci-fi/war movie with ghostly enemies. Essentially, it's a genre-bender, although it's billed as being an action romp. Coming in, I was expecting cheesy spectacles and a cheeseball movie, and a decent-looker (due to the involvement of Legendary). Which would've been fine, I have no ire against films like that, just generally they aren't well done and are cynical (stuff like Sharknado). Instead, I found myself pleasantly surprised and impressed by just how good Spectral is.
It's a nice-looking movie, no doubt about that. Although it's semi-grounded, the weapons, goggles, gear, and whatnot all have a science-fiction edge. The ghosts look fantastic and are creepily animated. There are some big explosions which are quite nice and not overdone. The sets and costumes are all slick, no qualms there. The action sequences are a bit subdued but feel exhilarating nonetheless. The musical score is excellent with notes of dread as well as grandeur interspersed throughout the runtime. It's adrenaline-pumping goodness where it needs to be but puts your hair on edge in moments of dire.
The narrative of Spectral is relatively straightforward and yet it is compelling due to a nail-biting amount of tension and taut pacing. While it hits similar beats we all know, and I could point out every major character who'd die the moment I saw them, it cranks things up to ten (I wouldn't say it pushes the envelope) and executes everything to a T. There are some chilling moments, helped out by just how disturbing the revenants are. It also has a nice world and razor atmosphere to it, with enough departures from the norm to feel different and to stand well on its own. It strikes the balance of pressure and triumph which Pacific Rim and Gears of War have done so excellently. The pacing is buttery smooth once it starts up, and it keeps you at the edge of your seat.
The acting is nothing to write home about, but the main characters do have charisma and confidence which carry their performances. The dialogue is just fine, but the delivery is quite good. The climax is huge and extremely engaging, with a nice set-up leading to much anticipation. The resolution, however, is profound in multiple ways, it's somewhat unsettling. In a good way.
A conclusion I came to while Spectral was closing is that it's basically World War Z done right. If you look at my ancient review of that, I thought that was a very underwhelming, lackluster movie. I didn't think it was the worst movie ever, it was competent at some things but not enough to be even decent. Spectral fixes a lot of the flaws WWZ had and crafts a legitimately entertaining experience. Spectral gets a 9/10.
Awesome
Summary:
Although fairly rote in its narrative beats, Spectral soars thanks to its masterful pacing, atmosphere, tension, finale, polish, and battles. The acting is good, the dialogue okay, and the world is interesting. Highly recommended if you like Gears of War, Pacific Rim, and wanted to/did enjoy World War Z.
(originally posted: 2/8/2017)
Spectral is a 2016 Netflix original horror/action film directed by Nic Mathieu, produced by Legendary Pictures. Starring James Badge Dale and Emily Mortimer, Spectral is a big-budget sci-fi/war movie with ghostly enemies. Essentially, it's a genre-bender, although it's billed as being an action romp. Coming in, I was expecting cheesy spectacles and a cheeseball movie, and a decent-looker (due to the involvement of Legendary). Which would've been fine, I have no ire against films like that, just generally they aren't well done and are cynical (stuff like Sharknado). Instead, I found myself pleasantly surprised and impressed by just how good Spectral is.
It's a nice-looking movie, no doubt about that. Although it's semi-grounded, the weapons, goggles, gear, and whatnot all have a science-fiction edge. The ghosts look fantastic and are creepily animated. There are some big explosions which are quite nice and not overdone. The sets and costumes are all slick, no qualms there. The action sequences are a bit subdued but feel exhilarating nonetheless. The musical score is excellent with notes of dread as well as grandeur interspersed throughout the runtime. It's adrenaline-pumping goodness where it needs to be but puts your hair on edge in moments of dire.
The narrative of Spectral is relatively straightforward and yet it is compelling due to a nail-biting amount of tension and taut pacing. While it hits similar beats we all know, and I could point out every major character who'd die the moment I saw them, it cranks things up to ten (I wouldn't say it pushes the envelope) and executes everything to a T. There are some chilling moments, helped out by just how disturbing the revenants are. It also has a nice world and razor atmosphere to it, with enough departures from the norm to feel different and to stand well on its own. It strikes the balance of pressure and triumph which Pacific Rim and Gears of War have done so excellently. The pacing is buttery smooth once it starts up, and it keeps you at the edge of your seat.
The acting is nothing to write home about, but the main characters do have charisma and confidence which carry their performances. The dialogue is just fine, but the delivery is quite good. The climax is huge and extremely engaging, with a nice set-up leading to much anticipation. The resolution, however, is profound in multiple ways, it's somewhat unsettling. In a good way.
A conclusion I came to while Spectral was closing is that it's basically World War Z done right. If you look at my ancient review of that, I thought that was a very underwhelming, lackluster movie. I didn't think it was the worst movie ever, it was competent at some things but not enough to be even decent. Spectral fixes a lot of the flaws WWZ had and crafts a legitimately entertaining experience. Spectral gets a 9/10.
Awesome
Summary:
Although fairly rote in its narrative beats, Spectral soars thanks to its masterful pacing, atmosphere, tension, finale, polish, and battles. The acting is good, the dialogue okay, and the world is interesting. Highly recommended if you like Gears of War, Pacific Rim, and wanted to/did enjoy World War Z.
(originally posted: 2/8/2017)
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