Future World - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Future World

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I was originally drawn to Future World (not to be confused with the 1967 film Futureworld) mainly due to the cast more than anything. James Franco has proven himself to be very capable both in front of and behind the camera (although his choice in comedy roles sometimes leaves something to be desired, and with the inclusion of Lucy Liu I felt a sense of legitimacy. Milla Jovovich is usually fun in this post apocalyptic action flicks (I mean, she was the heart and soul of the Resident Evil series), but I was a bit worried by the trailer. It promised hints of the Van Damme flick Cyborg, with Mad Max, and even some of Logan’s Run thrown in for good measure, but with some choppy editing (for the trailer at least) and a definite DTV flair to it. That being said, I didn’t expect a whole lot besides some mindless “end of the world” entertainment, and still came away hugely disappointed and borderline insulted. I won’t say that Future World is a bad movie, as that would be an insult to bad movies, especially bad movies that are actually entertaining. Future World is one of those movies that is so bad that you actually feel sorry for the actors for having to get through this mess while waiting for their minuscule paycheck at the end of the 3 week filming stint.

Well, it’s not exactly a bastion of high art here, but Future World copies the age old “end of the world” formula to a T. A young boy by the name of Prince (Jeffrey Wahlberg, yes, he’s the nephew of Mark and Donnie Wahlberg) who is watching his mother Queen (they all go by their roles in the movie as titles, since they’re pretty much unnamed), played by Lucy Liu, die of some unknown disease in a post apocalyptic world. Refusing to believe that nothing can be done, Prince heads off on a quest to a mythical “safe zone” where a cure might be found. Along the way he comes across one of the last of the “synthetics (AI bots) named Ash (Suki Waterhouse), who is herself running from a Warlord (James Franco). Long story short, the two team up to get to our mythical safe space, but have to dodge the warlord, a drug lord (Milla Jovovich), the Love Lord (Snoop Doog), get the cure before it’s too late to save Queen.

Oh boy, where do I begin. Future World is just a mess of a film. Franco has had some solid entries behind the cameras, but for some reason he completely botches this one. Playing The Warlord like a violent version of his The Interview character is jarring to say the least, and the rest of the acting is decidedly sub par. Jeffrey Wahlberg is actually not too bad, but he’s a young boy in a DTV film, so he’s not exactly given a lot of coaching in his acting skills. Lucy Liu is literally an extended cameo, although she out acts everyone else in the movie even being as sick as she is (and still one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen). Snoop dog…...well...he’s Snoop Dog and makes for a couple of chuckle worthy scenes. Milla Jovovich is the only one who rivals Lucy for actually turning in a decent performance, but her scene is sadly wasted, being nothing but fuel to show more blood and gore before the Warlord shows up to claim his robotic “prize”.

Suki Waterhouse is in BAD need of acting lessons here, but it’s not just her fault. Or even the fault of the other actors. The film is directed and edited in such a sloppy way that you wince watching. The action sequences were poorly choreographed (except for Milla and Franco’s fight, which was actually not bad), the editing choppy, and the budget so low I’m almost wondering if the actors accepted a burger and fries as their form of a “bonus”. I tried to not be so hard on the movie being that I really like low budget action films, but Future World is a giant mess that belongs in the same category as The Scorpion King DTV sequels, just without the campy fun.




Rating:

Rated R for violence, sexual content/nudity, language and drug use




Video:

Future World is a low budget DTV flick, and it naturally gets a decent digitally photographed look that is quite pleasing on Blu-ray. The movie is graded with a lot of earth tones and some heavy orange grading that makes the film look more “post apocalyptic” I guess. Details are fine, with up close facial shots looking the best, while the background tends to look a little bit softer. Blacks are deep and mostly solid, but there is some decent crush going on in some of the really dark shots (when Ash is locked up on in the drug dealer’s lair for one). It’s not an overly vivid film, but Future World ticks off enough check boxes to be a visually good looking film at the very least, despite the very obvious lack of funds for anything remotely digital.





Audio:

Following with the “rule of 4”, The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track manages to please as much as the video encode does. The mix is a bit more front heavy than I was expecting, but the dialog was pleasantly clean, and the front of the room is filled with enough action to spice things up. The surrounds are mainly relegated to the core aspects of the ambiance, with the rumbling sound of motorcycles, or the hustle and bustle of the Love Lord’s lair. LFE is tight and clean, but never wildly aggressive. It does add some nice punch to the bikes and quads used throughout, and some of the impacts during battle scenes rather powerful. It’s not the most overly aggressive and immersive action track, but it does the job well enough to be a fun mix.







Extras:

• “Behind the Scenes Featuring Interview with James Franco” Featurette

Final Score: ​

Future World really puzzled me. Now I understand that this was never meant to be a blockbuster film, or even a good movie, but I was expecting a bit more from the likes of James Franco, Lucy Liu, and Milla Jovovich. The film is plagued with story issues (ranging from cliched backgrounds, to a HILARIOUSLY awkward lesbian scene between our robot heroine and one of the drug dealer’s minions), as well as bad acting, bad directing, AND bad editing. I would normally put this in the “so bad it’s kinda fun” genre, like the The Scorpion King sequels, but Future World is so cringe worthy that there’s not even any campy fun left in it. Lionsgate does a solid job with the audio/video aspects of the movie, but the extras (and the film itself) are bottom of the barrel. Personally I would just skip it.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: James Franco, Lucy Liu, Milla Jovovich
Directed by: James Franco, Bruce Thierry Cheung
Written by: Jeremy Cheung, Jay Davis, Bruce Thierry Cheung
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 90 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: July 10th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Skip It

 

[Todd Anderson]

Just ordered 10 copies!

 

[Michael Scott]

don't make me smack you Todd

 

[Todd Anderson]

I gotta have something in stock to give to my enemies during the holidays!

 

[Michael Scott]

I gotta have something in stock to give to my enemies during the holidays!

This would certainly count

 

[Todd Anderson]

I think James Franco should stick to acting...

Was this direct to disc? I don’t remember this thing sniffing commercial cinema time.

 

[Todd Anderson]

By the way... this marks flick review 494 on AV NIRVANA.

Tip of the cap, Mike. You’re one of the best, your film knowledge is massively impressive!!!

 

[Michael Scott]

I think James Franco should stick to acting...

Was this direct to disc? I don’t remember this thing sniffing commercial cinema time.

Yes it is. Most of his directing work has been documentary's and TV movies (which he's done decent in). This is one of his few feature film attempts.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Is there a website that tracks DTD or DTV sales? I’d be curious to see what kind of damage this thing does

 

[Michael Scott]

not that I know of. At least not DIRECTLY. Box Office Mojo tracks them though. You just have to know what to search for

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will skip it based on your recommendation.