It doesn't take long before you realize this was once something episodic condensed into a movie. Once you realize that then you get a sense of why it is often disjointed. It changes your mindset and pulls you out from thinking of this as a movie and as a series of episodes. It also explains why we get certain plot elements repeated so as to remind the viewer of something they saw in the last episode as opposed to 5 minutes ago in a movie.
PLOT. We've seen elements of the plot before in other movies and tv shows. There really is nothing especially unique about this. There are some major disconnects that are inexcusable such as the government agents trying to kill two of the characters in a warehouse but without any real explanation, they then want to help them. And I can only assume that the editing process eliminated some connections such as how did Cole come to be with the unconscious sister and why he brought her to the church. Or what happened to the military person who was with Nicole after the grocery store explosion? There is a throw away line about him leaving but we are left with the sense that he imparted wisdom in his 24 hours with them. The plot device with Edward Coleridge was very weak.
But there were many foolish elements to the plot as well.
LOCATION. I don't know Bristol but enjoyed seeing parts of the city and the countryside. We didn't see enough to make me long to visit as I do when I watch some television shows set in certain towns and through the duration of the series - you want to visit.
ACTING. Some acting wasn't very good but I think it was poorer script writing than the acting. But most acting was decent. It is easy for non-actors to criticize actors without realizing that it is not something that comes naturally to everyone. So the fact most of these actors could hold their own was good. I especially liked Kate Speak and would follow her in other roles. I hate to compare actors but she felt in part like a young Diana Rigg. I don't know his name by liked the male actor on the roof in the first part with Katie and others. The guy with the beer bottle. I thought his character was very real. Simon Pengelly played the bad military guy that we've seen in far too many movies but he did it well. I don't think he'll every be a leading man but I can see him as one of those regulars you'd see in war, gangster or invasion types of movie including those with much higher budgets. The actress who played Katie also gave me a sense of a real person. We really never see her again after she cuts her hair but she looks so different, not a young girl anymore, then that it would have been interesting to see her character grow. Initially didn't like the military guy who was with Nicole after the explosion at the grocery store but he wasn't there long but I did like him at the end. I was looking forward to seeing more of him.
CGI/ATMOSPHERE. Overall, for the budget, the CGI wasn't that bad. We have to remember this whole thing was made for a fraction of just one episode of any popular TV series. We only had one scene of the desolation in the city with a lone pigeon on the street and the occasional view of burning buildings. If they wanted to portray a city abandoned then a few more shots like that would have helped. But considering there is no reason for the city to be abandoned and that there would likely be major military presence including fire control then the city should have been in better shape.
SILLY THINGS. I often like to point out some things that really should never have made it into the movie or was missed in editing.
*The panic in the city and the fear to get out of the city before the crowds but we see the car driving to the farm along an empty road that goes on forever. Very pretty but the wrong visual to use esp as they show us another roadway jammed with cars.
*We are to believe the drone ship has sat in what is clearly a well used space and hidden under the smallest amount of debris. He lifts one piece of junk and there is the ship. It's been 200 years. This really was the single dumbest thing in the movie.
*I don't know if it was the same actor but I wasn't going to rewatch to find out but the theft/murderer in the grocery store looks very much like the curator in the museum. So much so that when we first see the latter, I was sure it was the former. Even if they are different actors, they should have cast someone who looked much different. I couldn't tell watching this as a movie - I suspect many thought it as well when watching it as a web series.
*The episode with Steve and Katie tied up was too long and unnecessary. Clearly the actress who played the sister, I think named Sarah, didn't come back and this was the quickest way to write her out of the series. But it could have been a car accident not some nutjob with a gun.
*Also if they were driving to find Stephen and company as they were overdue, then why did they come up behind the car. Shouldn't the car have been facing them?
*At least Independence Day made us understand that the ships were all linked together for the laptop virus to work on everything. In this movie, it was an explosive device that could destroy one ship but why did the sister ship blow up? And if it was so sensitive that it had to be handled careful after being armed, then wouldn't all the electricity going through the ship and the mine set off such a delicate device. Also begs the question if the mine is transported with the ship then is anything else attached to the ship transported too? Loose metal, mouse nest etc.
So overall it wasn't bad to watch. The editing sucks and you'll have to imagine some of the plot linkages. But there are a few actors that are enjoyable to watch but don't expect too much. Considering the budget, the people involved with this should be glad with what they produced.
