Atlantis Down (2010)

Better Late Then Never

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I've watched Atlantis Down at a screening at the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles and got to confess it was quite a surprise. I was expecting something more "Italian" from an Italian director, but there was nothing typically Italian in Max Bartoli's movie. Italians are not big with the Sci-Fi genre and still Atlantis Down is a very good example of how even Italians can produce a pretty good job. Atlantis Down is an American movie.Cleverly written and directed, beautifully photographed, a believable plot that keeps you nailed to your seat until the end, a good cast lead by a solid Michael Rooker, I enjoyed this film a lot even if it showed in some cases the limitations imposed by the low budget. The special effects are average (an in some case a bit less than that) and some of the casting choices are questionable. Don't know when it'll hit Netflix but I strongly recommend to see it there when it does.

As in a wicked game of chess, Atlantis Down strategically zigzags and jumps across a landscape of human frailty and vulnerability, inviting the viewer to question their own potential defenselessness under threat of attack by a 'being' that can't be seen, touched or truly known. This Sci-Fi film cleverly moves towards a subtle, but powerful question: Does one ostensibly have the power to affect outcomes based on the thoughts and the choices they make in the "game" that is life? You need to know where not to move your pieces (or rather your thoughts).This concept creeps up on you. Goose pimples tickle your flesh sort of freezing your mind and body and hold you hostage to its building intensity and wave of surprises. With each "mini"-vignette, and next move, comes the horror that a "force" outside of the normal sphere of life is playing host to your fears—your greatest fears. Michael Rooker's performance as ruthless and reckless "alien" is chilling. Mae Flores (as Rachel Lee) is unforgettable. We understand without a doubt now how fears become real even if the circumstances under which they are experienced are not. Interestingly, even the camera angles seem to mimic a game of chess, moving forward back and sideways to cleverly bring you full circle from haunted pasts to haunting nows. What is, should be or will be the next move? It is truly inspiring to see such a well done film done well in only 13 days and a tight budget. Max Bartoli ingeniously probes our psyches, notably echoing among other observations Winston Churchill's that "those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Atlantis Down is definitely a must see movie. It keeps the suspense very high from the beginning to the end of the story, making you continuously wonder what's coming next. Oftentimes, it reminds of Hitchcock's movies when several possible shocks occur completely breaking the expectation based on the previous scenes. At the end, still many interpretations are plausible. It's a never-ending story, or a story where it's up to the watcher to decide what the most plausible end of the movie should be among the several underlined by the developments.It's intriguing and deep. It makes you think, and you do want to watch it again.

The story is a very original blend of thriller, sci-fi and drama, combining chess and the space shuttle is quite intriguing and it works. As the story unfolds you are taken by surprise by its twists. Things happen to the crew members without a specific reason and you keep wondering why until it all becomes clear at the end.The sound - especially once the characters find themselves zapped on another planet – is terrific. The directing was clean, the acting believable, although some characters veered into one-note territory, like the second in command Mary Bishop. The editing keeps it togetherwith a suspense pacing. Overall, this movie is an entertaining thriller with many potential threads.