Review of Prospect (2018) by Mmadnessgames — 25 Feb 2019

Mark Duplass (Safety not Guaranteed) is a gem.

His brother, Jay Duplass (Transparent), isn't.

When George Lucas made Star Wars he said he wanted to make a Western in space. But, in Star Wars, they don't talk and act like people on the oldMark Duplass (Safety not Guaranteed) is a gem.

His brother, Jay Duplass (Transparent), isn't.

When George Lucas made Star Wars he said he wanted to make a Western in space. But, in Star Wars, they don't talk and act like people on the old west. In fact, you probably would never consider the original Star Wars trilogy as a space Western.

Many years later came Serenity. The Western themes were no longer subtle. It was a straight up blend of the two genres. But, it still worked.

Prospect is 98% Western and 2% science-fiction. You could easily remove the science fiction parts and the film would still function without any alterations.

The characters in prospect talk and act like people in Westerns, despite this being set in the future... and the only thing that makes the setting alien is some cheap special effects super-imposed over the footage.

The planet looks exactly like Earth, except it has a massive moon.

You could just replace the spaceships with a horse and carriage or a train or something and it wouldn't affect the plot at all. The ONLY thing separating this from a Western - and the only thing the film has going for it - is the Cronenberg-like organs they dig up. This isn't enough (for me) to justify the film. They don't do anything with the idea. It's just there.

This should have been a Western. If it was, I wouldn't have bothered watching it - I don't like Westerns - and I wouldn't have to write this negative review.

I like low budget science fiction, a lot.

The Endless was great.

This isn't great.

It sucks.

The acting is bad. I don't care about any of the characters. But, most importantly, it didn't deserve to get made. It's ill conceived and boring.