| The Covenant; (movie review) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 21 2011, 02:52 PM (249 Views) | |
| Martin Richter | Dec 21 2011, 02:52 PM Post #1 |
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The Too-Observant Human
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This is one of those movies that usually I would never have watched if I weren't sharing the DVD subscription. Since this is the kind of plot I would usually watch, but just had not known about the movie's existance that could be called good fortune. The story is exceedingly simple: There are four families (used to be five) living in the area who posess magical powers - i.e. the firstborn son of every generation does. They get a bit at thirteen and the rest at eighteen [If I had been the scriptwriter I would have put the date at seventeen - much more mystical number and not so tied in with the legal system. How should magic know that nowadays you come of age at eighteen. And since they even specified the minute of the day they were clearly trying for some symbolism.]. The present four boys happen to be all at the same age and going to college. They are good friends, with the occasional squabble of course, but all in all they keep each other in check from overly using their powers. Because there is a catch - the use is addictive, and it rapidly ages the body. Then someone starts wreaking havoc with those powers, and as it turned out that someone is a descendant of a line that had been thought to have ended. The guy is addicted, and he wants more power - the power of one guy who is about to reach the age to ascent. So he does a bunch of crazy things and then threatens the guy's family, friends and girlfriend to force him to surrender his powers. The fight, and the alleged victim's (aged beyond recognition) father in the end tips the scale in the end, by adding his power, so the bad guy is defeated. Personally, I thought that the setup and background story is frantastic. I especially liked that for once there is a real heavy cost to the use of magic. What they made of that backdrop, though, I found a little lacking. The characters remain pale throughout, acting is mediocre, and the story completely predictable. The big battle in the end was .. boring; Awfully drawn out, and I am sure the computer whiz who copied in the effects had some fun, but how often can you blast someone with some invidible force before the audience starts yawning? As I watched, I had a feeling that this was more like a pilot for a series than a movie for the theatres. All in all, a good idea, a great concept that will make an imaginative mind play with it, but I doubt anyone who isn't a roleplayer or loves to get inspired just by settings will get much out of it. |
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9:26 AM Jul 11