Spectral (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – A sci-fi/thriller story centered on a special-ops team that is dispatched to fight supernatural beings.

My Take – We can all agree that the quality of original content released on Netflix varies from excellent to mediocre. Where they keep excelling in bringing out brilliant shows like Narcos, Daredevil, Stranger Things etc and keep setting new standards for rich content on TV, on the other hand their original film section consisting of Adam Sandler films & B level horror films, seem just too lackluster for anyone in the right mind to enjoy. Their documentaries like the white helmets or Making A Murder have also garnered the well deserved attention. With a $90 million budget film ‘Bright’ starring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, and Lucy Fry ready to hit this year, Netflix needs to start building an audience for itself who it trusts for continuous inflow while separating itself from the films released on Sify, and it seems like this Nic Mathieu directed film seems to be a start. The film here in question itself had a bumpy ride on its way to being released as a ‘Netflix-Original’. Starting out as a joint production between Universal and Legendary Films with a budget of 70-million, once completed, Universal wasn’t happy with the final product, & Legendary wasn’t sure how to market it mainly due to the absence of an bankable star, the result, the planned 2016 summer theatrical release was canceled, and after shopping it around for a while, the Chinese-owned Legendary Films sold the rights to Netflix who branded and released the completed film via VOD. Initially I hadn’t heard about the film, and knew nothing about what it was about, prior to getting the chance to sit down and watch it. I did snoop around on IMDb just moments before sitting down to watch it. And what made me stay in the seat was that IMDb mentioned that it was about a special-ops team dispatched to fight supernatural beings. What is not to like about the supernatural? Despite what I read online, I must say this is not bad film, In fact better than some of the huge budget offerings intended for cinema, lately. I was genuinely blown away by the special effects the film implored. One of my favorite themes of fantastic cinema is the basis of this film, an entertaining experience which combines elements of Aliens, Ghostbusters and Black Hawk Down, made with an interesting visual style in extraordinary European locations, even though its irregular screenplay avoids it from being totally great. Isn’t this what Hollywood does best; a massive CGI galore that supplements a mediocre story line yet keeps it engaging.

Set in the near future, the story follows DARPA scientist Dr. Mark Clyne (James Badge Dale) is summoned by General Orland (Bruce Greenwood) to travel to Maldova to be his advisor in the ongoing war. Clyne meets him on the arrival and together with the CIA agent Fran Madison (Emily Mortimer), he sees the images captured by the hyper spectral goggles that he had developed for the soldiers. The images show spectrums with humanoid shape and one of them killing a soldier. Nobody knows what they are there are many beliefs. The residents believe they are ghosts of the war; Madison believes it is a camouflage clogging; but Clyne wants to investigate first. He brings a powerful camera and together with Madison, they join the Delta Force led by Capt. Sessions (Max Martini) in a rescue mission of the Utah Force, while expecting to get footage with better image. When they reach the target, they find the Utah Force annihilated and are attacked by the spectrum. Most of the soldiers die and the survivors seek for shelter while waiting for the rescue team. Despite being terrified & low on resources, the survivors must get to the origins of the creatures & stop them before they cross the parameters into the rest of the world. For a debut, this Nic Mathieu film is one hell of a solid entry, mainly looking like a slick cross between Ridley Scott and Michael Bay. Even though, it felt and a bit too long with too many acts. The overall premise of the film makes for fun viewing. The film’s a fast-paced video game where the viewer doesn’t mind playing the third person role. The moment the team arrives in the building to follow on the rescue of the missing unit is very exciting. I enjoyed the central mystery of the film as well as the main character’s deductions, whose attitude is sober and rational at the beginning, like it corresponds to a scientist, in order to later get into supernatural territory when the evidence becomes undeniable. Don’t get me wrong, it’s got all the usual clichés – A heroic scientist, tough American soldiers who don’t take no shit and distrust heroic scientists, and the tough female agent. It’s also got its plot holes and as is often the case with this genre, the heroes always manage to be stood in the right place to not get killed, while “nameless soldier” gets it! They also love a montage, where incredible weapons and science stuff can be created in only a few hours! But I could forgive all this, because it was fun to watch and didn’t feel like a chore at any point. However, things slow down when they get to the abandoned plant. The film tries to pick things up again for the power plant mission but by then you’re somewhat exhausted. Sure, it won’t fire your brain cells to their full extent, but like I said, it has nice touches and a very nice feel, visually. It is reminiscent of recent computer games, such as Gears of War or Call of Duty, leading me to believe the creators may be gaming fans. The seemingly effortless way weapons are made and retrofitted for fighting the new enemy is a little on the nose, but it’s internally logical and based on some actual science (not made up pseudoscience). The creatures are pretty creepy looking, and their origin is internally consistent too, and kind of icky. I would have liked the female character to be a bit more fleshed out, or to have more females in the cast, but given most of the characters were spec-ops soldiers I suppose that would have been difficult without being super obvious and awkward.

Mathieu‘s constantly-moving camera-work and in-your-face visuals are slick and surprisingly high-quality. The story, however, is nothing more than an outline for the big-bang shoots outs and creepy apparitions. The Delta Force team members are mostly faceless fodder smacking of, but lacking the charisma of, the marines from Aliens; they even rescue a blonde girl who has been scavenging and hiding out safe from the ghosts in the inner workings of an old factory. Later, when Delta has the chance to regroup and restock, they are luckily holed up with enough provisions and workable gear that would make anyone smile with glee, welding torch in hand. It also borrows from previous action/sci-fi films at some stages. I got a feel of Aliens at one point, and the overall story is quite reminiscent of Final Fantasy The Spirits Within. There are lots of little touches throughout, that made me feel I’d been here before, but they never went to the ‘ripping off’ point, but more a nostalgic tip of the hat to previous sci-fi. This in a way hamphers the film too, as the writing is borderline unforgivably bad – with more than a few parts ripped right out of other films. I felt like I was getting hit with a cliché’ club through most of it – and caught myself laughing out loud at how ridiculously bad some of the dialog exchanges were. And while the story briefly describes the how of the ghosts, the why is untouched resulting in an unfulfilled feeling as the convenient fail safe stopping the threat is thrown allowing the credits roll. The quick wrap-up makes you think that if there were a couple more available quarters to feed into the slot, the story could continue with a more satisfying ending. The actors fulfill with the dramatic requirements of the screenplay, starting by James Badge Dale, who credibly integrates his character’s scientific and heroic facets. Meanwhile, Emily Mortimer adds adequate doses of government paranoia, and a warm motherly warmth a la Ripley, when she must take care of Newt (I’m sorry, Sari), the orphan girl rescued from the ruins. Max Martini is bad ass as always, while Clayne Crawford & Cory Hardrict are alright. And finally, Bruce Greenwood also makes a good work as the classic military leader full of courage and determination. But, well despite my complaints, I had a good time watching this film, and I can give it a moderate recommendation because of that plus I’m giving this film extra points for the fascinating science behind it all. I was unfamiliar with this and it is rare that a film actually teachers the audience something new. On the whole, ‘Spectral’ works as a cool science fiction action- thriller & despite its inspired writing is not a disappointing watch.