22 September 2019 | woodgateliam

5 | It's ok, not great

I got a kick out of this film because I like the Red Faction IP even though it has been misused twice with RF2 and RF:Armageddon.



A decent enough sci fi film that doesn't do anything new or different or with any real skill. The plot of the film makes a lot more sense if you know the plot of the series or have at least played RF:Guerrilla. Even if you don't or haven't, the film is easy enough to follow, I watched it with my Dad and he was able to follow it from start to finish with little confusion.



The film is very simple and to the point, it's not on the nose and it doesn't try to be any more than it sets out to be. The acting is alright, a little but dry in places and Danielle Nicolet has some very awkward delivery, but it's mostly fine.



The set design is probably the only highlight, while it never really looks like they are actually on Mars, the sets and interiors all have a very gritty working class style to them which fits in very well with the series. Many of the interiors look like factories or unused assembly lines which does lend well to the styles of the games (the good ones).



I mean, I watched it years ago to pass the time and watched it again today for basically the same reason. You're not going to get much out of this film other than some very basic entertainment and even then the amount you get is based heavily on your familiarity with the IP.



For me this film serves as basic entertainment, when I watched it for the first time I was entertained and when I watched it again for this review I was still entertained, I suppose that you should only consider watched this film if you have nothing else to watch and you just want to be flatly entertained but not really amazed or thrilled. It makes good background entertainment.