HYPERLIGHT (2018)

HYPERLIGHT (2018)

Tagline: Nope.

(Sci-Fi, Drama, Who Dunnit) [Short]

Note – There was no MPAA rating for this movie, but it would likely have been a PG-13 or R. 

In this one, two top space travelers on a 60-year rescue mission wake up years before they are intended to and they are just floating around in space. Emiliana Newton makes a desperate attempt to save her Astro-partner Philip whose vitals are fading, but is it too late? How did this happen and can anything be done to save him? What will it cost?

First off, this short film is 17 minutes long and still kind of ends feeling like something was missing. I guess the story is complete but leaves you with a pit in your stomach. Perhaps the message was supposed to be that love knows no bounds, but what I got out of it was “science sucks, and I am taking my, “Make Stuff Not Suck Ray”, and I am going to the next interstellar diner”.   

Production-wise this thing is incredible. There is no saying that it isn’t well done because it is. Having said that even if you are going to make a movie that just sucks the life out of the room, at least make it make some sense. I have watched this twice now and I am still completely lost even with the full explanation. Even in sci-fi, there are at least some rules, but even if we threw those out the window, I don’t see how one thing that happens in this film causes or has any relation to the other. 

Without giving too much away, in the MCU, if Gamora dies on that jacked-out planet with Thanos and gets replaced by a Gamora from the multiverse, that’s fine. The two are tied together, they can exist at the same time. On top of that, if Gamora 2 from the multiverse suddenly dies, it doesn’t bring Gamora the original back to life. Just know that when you try and understand this thing. Or if you just want to suspend even your best sci-fi brain for this film, it’s still hampered by a serious lack of morals for pretty much anyone. It’s rough and it’s a downer. 

Acting-wise I have zero complaints. Jeananne Goossen who was in one of my favorite TV shows ever “Alcatraz” is solid in this and Peter Shinkoda who is best known for I, ROBOT, and GODZILLA is incredible in this. We also got some good pacing and they do a great job making you feel the suspense. 

With all that said, outside of just trying to understand this thing, I will never watch it again. It’s a nonsensical waste of time that doesn’t really bring any value to the table. It’s one thing to be “cool”, it’s another thing to bring “value” even if that is just 17 minutes of an awesome story that does just leave you hanging in a pod…floating…in space. 

This is a 4 out of 7 just for the crew that made it. The story is just not any good.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF SECOND TOMORROW STUDIOS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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