2047: Virtual Revolution (2016) User Reviews (46)

Although it's low-budget, I was impressed by the overall look of this ambitious SF.

[peterp-450-298716 · 6/10 · 25 January 2018]

"The year is 2047. A century of technological revolution. The revolution did happen, just not really the way people thought it would."

Apparently there's one thing that'll never change, according to the movie "Virtual Revolution" which takes place in the near future.. And that's the attitude of the political establishment towards the citizens. I concluded that after Dina said the following: "If the politicians want to keep things the way they are, it's because they benefit from it". That's also the most wise thing Dina (Jane Badler) had to tell, because the rest was just irrelevant drivel. But that's the only thing that annoyed me in this rather ambitious science fiction.

The makers have gathered a lot of impressions from other famous SF films. It's obvious they've re-watched "Blade Runner" several times to create a similar atmosphere. Paris from 2047 looks dark and deserted. An utopian city with lots of neon lighting. A big city with sky high futuristic buildings with small spaceships navigating in between them. Believe me, this film has the same appearance as "Blade Runner".

Only Paris seems to be sparsely populated. And this is because the majority of the population stay at home as they are continuously connected to virtual worlds called "verses". Nash (Mike Dopud) is a private detective employed by a multinational who developed and own these virtual worlds. The moment users are being murdered in these virtual worlds, he's sent out to investigate who's behind it. Turns out there's an underground movement of a group of hackers with one main goal : give the connected back their freedom.

"Virtual Revolution" alternately shows images from the real world and the virtual worlds. Honestly, I have to admit that the idea of walking around in such a virtual world sounds incredibly fascinating. Fragging in a Quake-like world or being a firmly muscled adventurer and defeating dragons in a world that resembles Skyrim. I'm sure you'll find me in such a comfy dentist's chair with headphones after a while. And trust me, I will have a swelling around my belly button as well. It all looks interesting. Certainly when you realize, just like Nash discovered to his surprise in a mirror, that you can transform into any desired individual of any gender you want.

Although this is a low-budget SciFi funded by crowdfunding and also the debut of Guy-Roger Duvert as a director, this movie looks impressive and slick. Maybe the story itself isn't groundbreaking and the introduction of a half-dressed virtual heroine waking up in the middle of a lesbian scene, feels like a rather cheap trick. For the rest it's admirable what they've put together. There were certain moments you could compare it with similar Hollywood films with a budget ten times bigger.

But what surprised me the most is the denouement. No predictable end like most blockbusters. It even contains an important message. A message about human liberties and choices that one can make as an individual. Oh well, no big prizes will be won with this movie. But if you come across it somewhere on your VOD service, I would give it a chance. I recommend it and you won't regret it.

More reviews here : movie-freak.be

Watch if you are starting out as a filmmaker.

[robotuser · 4/10 · 11 October 2017]

First, in an effort to be positive: There are so many things in this film done amazingly well - especially considering the budget. The cinematography was quite good, the production design and props were - again, for the money - amazing. Costume department had a strong showing. Well done. The special effects were not groundbreaking, but for groundbreaking special effects, it seems you have to employ 1,000 VFX artists. (You ever count the names in the VFX section of the credits of a blockbuster? That's a small city right there.) In any event, the effects were good enough to not be a distraction.

The creative aspects of this film, sadly, did not live up to the technical achievements. I understand that this film is strongly influenced by Blade Runner, Inception, The Matrix, perhaps the book Ready Player One (which Spielberg has made into a film). No issues there. However, if you're going to play in that space, the characters have to be grounded, they have to pull you into the story. The dialogue has to be believable to the ear. The actors have to sell that world to the audience. This did not happen, as other reviewers have mentioned.

However, if you are starting out as a filmmaker, this is a great film to watch. You get to see that impressive visuals can be achieved with a modest budget ... and think about how much better it could have been if the writing had been a step up.

Definitely worth watching, from that perspective.

I liked the main message and themes

[martin-andersson22 · 6/10 · 19 October 2018]

If you could program a perfect life for yourself, but it wasn't real and you could not go back, would you do it? Is life about experience or is it about soldiering on in the real world, however depressing it might be?

This movie is yet another exploration of this theme. But I think it does it well and has a new take upon it.

The rest of the movie was a nice b-movie, watchable with some weaknesses and some cringe. But I liked the basic theme and I do not regret watching this movie at all. Give it a go if you are into these sort of thing.

Not worth the time

[mgbannert · 1/10 · 11 March 2017]

After reading a number of critic's reviews who raved about how original this film was I decided to give this a go. But unfortunately right from the outset this is just a succession of clichés, borrowed from better movies like Blade Runner.

Even the main character is trying a bad impersonation as a Harrison- Ford-wanna-be, and it's awful.

The dialog is stilted, and the occasional one-liners are unoriginal.

Example; the hero gets beaten up badly early on and his ID and gun taken off him. As he's lying there he mumbles "That was fun..." Are we supposed to laugh? Or admire his stoicism? It gets worse, and this movie is not worth the time spent watching it. You'll just get more and more annoyed as you are bored struggling through the story. Don't bother and avoid this.

Basic Blade Runner knock off

[s3276169 · 5/10 · 14 March 2017]

On the surface Virtual Revolution looks enticing.

Regrettably, the not too shabby special effects and reasonable cast, can't make up for this films conspicuous shortcomings. This flicks biggest flaw is its lack of imagination and originality. Virtual Revolution comes across as a rather basic knock off of films like Blade Runner and any other dystopian, futurist, sci fi, you care to name. Why on earth can't film makers look past older films and come up with some new, fresh ideas, of their own?

Virtual Revolution's cause is not helped by rather uninspiring narrative and scripting either. I found the characters bland and uninteresting, with no real depth or substance to them.

The result is a film that's alright for those who have no point of comparison. Unfortunately for veteran viewers like myself, who have had exposure to superb films like Blade Runner, this one pales into insignificance. A five out of ten from me.

A Movie For The Gamers That Like The Shhot 'Em Up Flicks

[schmidtp-54221 · 3/10 · 19 May 2017]

After reading other reviews I thought I'd give it a go. Really, I didn't find the movie all that appealing - the missus' attention span was sleep - that automatically gives it a thumbs down. It's basically 80% virtual reality shots with a very thin story line stretched out to 90 min. Like many other said, a Blade Runner rip off masquerading as a VR movie. Special effect aren't too bad, but the story line and dialogue are just woeful. Don't waste your 90 minutes which you won't get back and save your money.

Nice independent SciFi movie... And french!

[sokolovitch · 7/10 · 20 March 2017]

I may understand some bad ratings! This movie is like french literature, a bit complicated and intellectual. I agree this will not be the movie of the year, but I acknowledge the effort and the construction : special effects are good, atmosphere is fair, acting is good enough to immerse you in this future, filming is well done, story-line is having a track. This could really be our future some day. The realism of the streets of future Paris is nicely constructed, seems like some 1900 paintings. This is not a blockbuster from Hollywood, this is an independent SciFi movie with a fair budget and to be honest, the money have been invested well. I have been watching the whole entire movie and enjoyed it. I hope people will do so.

I wanted to like it

[SweetMuhfuggah · 3/10 · 19 August 2021]

Potential but ultimately falls short. Crisp CG isn't enough to keep this moving. Stiff dialogue occurs in many scenes that are often far too drawn out. This made keeping engaged with the show very trying. Ultimately, I found it to be draggin like Smaug.

Well made indie movie

[lmstrand · 7/10 · 6 January 2018]

Good plot, good dialog, saves the movie from the obvious low budget. Music suits the movie theme. Composed by the director even. Some visual effects catch your eye for not being "Hollywood standard". I've seen worse visual effects with way more budget. Still impressive piece of work with actors doing their best within what they've given. For a low budget scifi flick I'm more than entertained. The storyline was easy to follow and some minor distractions were saved by lively dialogue (my mother language is not English so I don't pay much detail to subtle nyances in dialogue). Very enjoyable scifi flick to pass the time with a nice thought provoking plot.

Went from great to dubious in a split second...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 25 January 2022]

Granted, I hadn't even heard about writer and director Guy-Roger Duvert's 2016 sci-fi action crime movie "Virtual Revolution" prior to sitting down in 2022 to watch it. I stumbled upon the movie by random chance, and I liked the cover, as it was rather futuristic-looking in an interesting way.

And the movie was off to a great start, and it definitely had a very "Blade Runner" feel to it, and that was definitely something that worked out well to the movie's advantage.

But then the movie slipped and slid downhill fast and never recovered. I just don't know what happened, but the movie went from being interesting and good into becoming confusing and pointless in the blink of an eye. I have never experienced anything like that in all my years of watching movies. An accomplishment in itself, sure, but not a positive accomplishment.

The storyline flipped on the coin, going from being interesting and entertaining to becoming utter rubbish, and I have to admit that the sudden and abrupt change of pace and direction just left me standing at the corner, maw-gaping at what happened. A shame really, because the movie had such potential.

It was nice to see Mike Dopud and Jane Badler in the movie, which coincidentally were also the only familiar faces on the screen, at least for me.

Visually then I will admit that "Virtual Revolution" was interesting, but it all just faded to the background given the abysmal storyline and contents.

"Virtual Revolution" didn't offer much of anything enjoyable with its sudden change of direction and tone, so the movie was a swing and a miss.

I am rating "Virtual Revolution" a generous three out of ten stars.

Nice Surprise

[oobrimah · 8/10 · 26 December 2018]

I cannot really label myself a sci fi aficionado in the sense that I do not go looking for sci fi movies. I generally prefer my sci fi as context, as opposed to focus of a movie.

This movie surprised me because while it was sci fi, the sci fi simultaneously was context for discussion of the state of society, and how trying to fix society without obtaining buy in of society eminently can backfire.

That the ending was somewhat dystopian seemingly was fitting because it was the choice of the people, as opposed to an imposition of say, a dictatorship.

Decent enough sci-fi

[Amadio · 7/10 · 30 June 2018]

The really bad thing about this film is the poor acting in parts. Lines are delivered as if from auto-cue, actors don't show emotion, and the interactions are wooden. Otherwise, it's pretty good! Great sets and visuals, good story, a few interesting characters, and well filmed. Had it been in French it might have been a lot better. If you are into sci-fi, it is worth watching as there are MANY other far worse sci-fi films around.

Good attempt

[rey-olivier · 5/10 · 21 July 2020]

Very inspired by Blade Runner aesthetics, here is a French movie with French messages and French despair. A big work and however the direction remains too soft, and many scene don't reach their full potential. It is not easy to determkne really why. Maybe the virtual life is too caricatural. Maybe the terrorists or the corporation are. Maybe the film hesitates between an action movie and a psychological thriller and a dark tale. Some scene are also too expected, too cliché for the spectator to really get into it. Strange thing, and so French :)

Recycled ideas poorly executed.

[objviewer · 3/10 · 17 April 2022]

Theres a difference between paying homage and just plain copying.

But, that's not so much the problem as the really poor writing and the simplistic attempts at social philosophizing. Reminds me of certain kinds of discussions in junior high; and maybe the movie is aimed at teens (little graphic for that audience, but the message "get off your computer and go outside and play" could be aimed at YA's). Also annoying is that the actors often seem to deliver their lines like they're sitting round the table doing a first read-through.

But honestly, I just couldn't watch the whole thing, maybe I missed the good parts.

Big mistake ever

[paulocabrita-51617 · 1/10 · 31 October 2017]

Before watching this I read some reviews that made me want to check it out. I can only say this: Avoid at all cost. I really mean that. This movie is a total waste of time. The "hero" is a Rick Deckard copy (a bad one). And almost all the movie's lines are a bunch of clichés and the dialogues are really poor... I really can't recommend this to anyone.

Seriously?

[kidpokerfan · 1/10 · 9 March 2019]

How in the world does this have three and a half Stars out of five on Amazon prime? It definitely does not even deserve the 4.9 out of 10 it has on IMDb. anybody that gives more than one or two stars must have been involved in the making of it in some way shape or form. Horrible acting, bad cinematography and extreme low budget quality.

I thought it was fun

[citizenbuck-285-895659 · 7/10 · 7 November 2018]

Movie Math: (Blade Runner 2049 + Ready Player One) Full Moon Features = 2047 Virtual Revolution

I thought it was fun. It reminded me of one Charlie Bands old movies.

Awful

[rcb0421 · 1/10 · 29 November 2018]

Director must be so pround of music and sound effects... hard to understand dialog. The moving camera is stupid... when you talk to people do you move your eyes around? So annoying!

A modest success, very watchable

[mgl-92037 · 6/10 · 10 December 2019]

This movie is not particularly original, but it doesn't slavishly copy any other film. The noir atmosphere is nicely done. The characters are interesting, and really live in the future in believable ways. The plot is decent. There are no big surprises, but my interest was kept until the end. The film ends with an unsettling ambiguity in probably the nicest touch.

Virtual reality indie

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 22 July 2018]

VIRTUAL REVOLUTION is a typical indie science fiction picture, long on computer effects-assisted visuals and short on plotting. The story is about a hunt for terrorists in a world augmented by virtual reality, but for the most part it seems an excuse for lots of low-rent fantasy shots and gratuitous violence and nudity in the GAME OF THRONES mould. The production values are a little better than in most indies.

Like Blade Runner, but more VR

[EggOrChicken · 9/10 · 9 April 2019]

If you read a lot of sci-fi novels, maybe you've seen all this before, but I've never seen anything of this quality on the big screen yet. Most of the world lives in virtual reality and there are many groups that have an opinion (or agenda) about it. It illustrates many current points-of-view, from Government to Public, or Religious to Special interest group. Underneath all the cool sci-fi imagining going on, is a crime/detective plot about who's killing who. If you love sci-fi, I'm not sure you could ask for much more.

Great concept, poor execution

[PanoramicViewer · 7/10 · 22 November 2018]

So, this is a strange one.

Those who compare it with Blade Runner are clueless simpletons. The concept is fantastic. In 2047 most people are connected and on universal basic income, no worries about real-life concerns. The execution, however, is poor and wastes an opportunity to make film history, no exaggeration here. Acting is generally ok, and actually it is good from the main and supporting roles.

However, the screenwriting is severely lacking, and drags everything down. This movie should be structured around the dilemma of whether to free or not the connected people (possibly against their will), and, secondly, on the truth about the protagonist's wife. But we only get a couple of hasty minutes of these themes, and instead *a lot* of exposition on the protagonist's online quests (which I was skipping), which was worthless beyond some point. So much screen time was wasted. The culmination of the movie should undoubtedly be the hacking attempt of the megacorp HQs, but this was also hastily presented in a couple of minutes. .Such a wasted opportunity for an awesome film climax..!

Still, 7/10 for the nice concept and the effort.

Watch something else..

[Haslegutten · 2/10 · 4 July 2020]

This is just a movie full of mostly bad actors. It's a boring film that's way too long! The only reason I give it 2 stars is that we got to see some boobs in the start..

Straight forward sci-fi

[daveshawley · 5/10 · 23 March 2020]

Acting isn't great, but it is passable. The story is quite good -- almost classic sci-fi. Definitely worth the watch.

Nice Idea, Bad Execution (Aside from visual)

[BornKnight · 5/10 · 15 November 2023]

Nice visuals for a low budget cyberpunk neo-noir thriller set in a future Paris where virtual life is so real that most of the people prefer to live in the virtual worlds, getting sick and weaker in real life (they are the Connected that lives on several verses - or virtual worlds).

Then are the hybrid ones part virtual, part real world and the natural world live ones - usually the government, criminal organizations and terrorist hybrid groups.

The story is around (obviously) a detective that lives in a hybrid mode after the loss of his love in a cyber attack that actually killed her and lots of people, doing jobs for several organizations, while trying to solve what happened - and he has a real work hacker that get his live, well hacking.

Her "soul" stays in the virtual world unaware of what happened outside - the cyber-terrorist organizations just want to "free" virtual world people from the addiction. Yes, the plot could be something real nice.

Guy-Roger Duvert (the writer and director) actually does a nice work in this independent movie, but falls shorts on the cliches and TV-like story and acting (trying to do a pseudo-social class deeper movie) - the protagonist Mike Dopud is just terrible.

The score gets half an star more due to the very nice visual effects on the futuristic Paris, on the costume design and gadgets. But I sort get why this one got so many awards and indications.