BEYOND WHITE SPACE (2018)
Tagline: In deep Space, the monsters don't hide in the Dark.
(Adventure, Kaiju, SciFi) [PG-13]
This movie wasn’t given a rating by the MPAA, but it probably best fits in the PG-13 category.
In this one, a group of space pirates are out collecting a payload of small space creatures that basically look like freakin crabs when they encounter a group of other pirates that raid them and steal their payload. Left empty-handed the crew decides its only choice is to try and track down a giant space creature that guards an area called white space. It’s basically the backside of a black hole. Only the actual reason they are going is a bit deeper than that.
There is a smaller studio associated with this film called Spoke Lane Entertainment, but it was also produced by Toho which might explain why this thing has some kick behind it in the CGI and set department. I mean this movie is amazing looking for something I’ve never even heard of prior to this review.
This movie is a short 93 minutes for the amount of story and character building we get. The script includes some pretty fast but serviceable intros to each of the crew members. They feel a bit like what we got in FIREFLY the TV series (only things play out way differently). Captain Richard Bentley’s mannerisms are even consistent with Mal’s character in FIREFLY. A lot of people might draw out that this movie gives nods to Moby Dick and follows a bit of that theme, but don’t expect Moby Dick here. It’s also not your typical B-movie. This thing plays out on SERENITY level effects or better and it’s all pretty freakin impressive.
Choosing Holt McCallany to play the captain was a solid choice and his performance here holds this thing together as the other characters have time to flourish. Mike Genovese is also pretty great as Hawthorne a crusty old crew member who serves as the voice of reason which is a part of trying to absolve himself from past sins. Jocko Sims (best known for DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES) is good in this but isn’t given a ton of dialog, his character's character also sucks. Zulay Henao plays a crazy jealous cook I am sure Gordon Ramsey would love. Her performance stands out because there is a turn in her storyline that calls for a change in demeanor and she handles that excellently. Anyway – you get the idea, this is jam-packed with really good efforts all around.
Plot-wise the motives all make sense, but it some of the actions the captain takes are pretty damn shaky which brings a level of emotion but some of the scenes were unnecessary for moving the storyline forward. This is also another one of those thousands of movies that quotes the Bible and probably doesn’t even know it. Where this movie drops the ball is the ending unless they are planning a sequel. While the very end is somewhat hopeful the path there is super rocky which is probably why this movie got hammered in so many reviews.
As far as under the radar sci-fi flicks go BEYOND WHITE SPACE is amazing visually but emotionally rough which left this viewer wanting more, and not in a good way.
I give BEYOND WHITE SPACE a 3 out of 7. If you ever wanted to see a darker version of FIREFLY where they don’t land anywhere, this thing is for you.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF TOHO COMPANY AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
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