Review of The American Astronaut (2001) by Jacob G — 10 Feb 2014
I'm always leery of music-related filmmaking. Too easy for the entire movie to feel like a big, long music video or promo vehicle.
And some of that is evident here.
What is also evident is the rock-bottom budget they had to work with. Not surprising--a sci-fi fanta-western done by a who-are-they band? Of course there is no budget. It shows, but several excellent decisions help keep the viewers from noticing (too much).
The best decision was in filming in black and white. While, yes, black and white can be an artsy decision, here it allowed the lack of special effects and quality to be downplayed by the viewer.
The over all story arc of The American Astronaut is a bit nonsensical and cops out at the end (perhaps out of budget?). But the individual scenes frequently stand tall.
Unfortunately, the strongest of the scenes are in the first half of the movie, letting everything else peter out awkwardly.
Still worth a watch if you're into sci-fi westerns, artsy cinema, or enjoy integration of the music and film formats.
This review of The American Astronaut (2001) was written by Jacob G on 10 Feb 2014.
The American Astronaut has generally received positive reviews.
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