I love this movie so much
... View MoreSurprisingly incoherent and boring
... View MoreBeautiful, moving film.
... View MoreThe film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
... View MorePoorly written, poorly performed. While it's trying to present a close bond between crew members, the scenes are superficial and don't do a good job making you believe and feel that they actually care about each other, especially since most of the dialog is basically them putting each other down and being sarcastic. Or maybe that's a failed attempt at teasing banter between friends. Although with an ok-ish mildly captivating plot that could have been spinned into something much better, it fails to convince. I can't believe it's a 2016 release!
... View MoreFan made content is usually way too raw to create an enjoyable experience for me, but ST Horizon definitely sets itself apart and can stand on it's own even by regular standards. The production value is pretty good and I even liked their cinematographic choice of using blur and lens flares to hide imperfections. It may not be everyone's cup of tea and needs some time to get used to, but I think it's better this way than to have distracting green screen sets like they used on Sanctuary (TV show). The acting is also decent, Lang carries the movie quite well and Bussell, Thompson and Kaiser deliver performances around him that really feel like a genuine effort. It still is a bit flat at times and the movie had a few difficulties to evoke emotions in me, but it's absolutely no cringe-fest like lower quality fan content. The story itself is also very good, there are a few flaws in the plot but it's still rock solid and made the movie for me. I got hooked right away and was thoroughly entertained by it. Some of the dialogues could have used some polishing, but that would be nitpicking on an otherwise great experience. Overall, I can highly recommend the movie to fans of the franchise.
... View MoreIt's hard to decide what rating to assign to this Kickstarter-funded Star Trek fan film. The fact that it's been done on an absolute shoe-string budget by commercial Hollywood standards plus that the crew and cast are amateurs means that one is inclined to be generous with the critique.However, a movie deserves an honest review no matter who made it and I wouldn't want to be generous to the point of patronising.Given the humble resources from which it was created, this is really quite a good film. Okay yes, the acting is a little awkward and the dialogue a bit stilted. But lest we forget, some of the original Star Trek cast were a bit hammy (I'm looking at you, Shatner). It also has a tiny cast, so you don't really get the sense of Starfleet...more a sort of Starsquad. Overall, though, it's a huge leap forward from earlier fan film efforts.Unsurprisingly, the film relies heavily on CGI just like its commercial cousins. What is surprising is that it's mostly quite well done, especially the spacecraft. Mostly.By far, by a veritable country mile, the worst thing about this movie is that it's absolutely saturated with lens flares and an almost constant soft-focus haze - perhaps to help disguise the imperfections in the background CGI or scenery? From what I could tell in the few scenes where the blur and lens flares weren't dialled up to eleven, it still looked okay so I really think it was a mistake to go so overboard with the visual distortions.This is especially unfortunate because this movie almost...almost...had me suspending belief and becoming immersed but the god-awful continued glare and flare visual overlays just kept breaking the mood.Final verdict? A flawed but nonetheless very impressive fan film. I doff my hat to Tommy Kraft, his cast and crew.
... View MoreFilled with errors and stilted dialogue, this effort by fans is laudable in its vision. But shaky cam and haze doesn't a good film make.Star Trek: Horizon lacks the grandeur of the feature films: there is no grand stage and Shakespeare feel. What made ST: TWOK great isn't here. There isn't a cracked mirror to see ourselves make things worse: there are ill-fitting uniforms, wooden performances and a very weak enemy. The Romulan Admiral shows how a twenty-something might react to adversity, and probably because the actor playing him is still in his teens.Here's an example of poor writing: Captain Whatsisname orders the crew to abandon ship. But of course, no one does.The ship is out of the fracas: shaky cam is still shivering, swaying and generally producing mal-de-mer.The film would have been better to curb the enthusiasm, spend a little more time on plot, story and dialogue. Who's at fault? The director of course. It *looks* OK on the surface mostly. The CGI effects are compelling, the sets look good, the sound is mostly good. But there is no reason to go beyond the first forty minutes.Lucky for us it's a freebie.
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