Uranus 2324 (2024)

It’s not FreenBecky’s fault…

…it’s the writers’ and post production teams’.

[TL;DR, Spoiler free]
I commend FreenBecky’s improvement since GAP. I can see that their execution is good. They’ve internalized all of their characters so well and I love them for that!!! The action scenes AND THEIR CHEMISTRY are just *chef’s kiss* 🤌🏽🤌🏽

HOWEVER… the almost 3-hour movie just didn’t deliver for me. The time jumps were confusing and I felt that the conclusion was really rushed. I swear, the story flow were incomprehensible at times. It also didn’t balance the sci-fi and rom-drama genres.

————————————————————————————————————————————

[MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!]

There are a lot of things that needs improvement:
- The sequencing shots of the parallel world travel confused me A LOT, especially when THERE’S LITERALLY THE SAME COLOR GRADING EXCEPT FOR KATH’S LAST TRAVEL (since it took place on the world war era)! If it wasn’t for my friend who also watched the movie with me (and for Kath and Lin’s wigs lol), I’d be lost at times. The contrast between the “worlds”/“eras” only has subtle differences and happens out of the blue, so you need to be more observant to connect the storyline.

Also, just when I was about to engage and symphatize with the leads in that parallel world, the scene just cuts! Just like that conclusion!

- The subtitles doesn’t match what they’re saying in English most of the time. It’s kinda frustrating. The lines that they’re saying (especially in English) sometimes doesn’t feel natural too.

- This isn’t a “sci-fi” movie (which the movie was advertised as). Y’all I was fooled by the movie poster. The movie had more shots around Kath’s diving career than Lin’s astronaut career.

- The CGI in that Tsunami part 😭

But I still liked the space scenes. It feels quite realistic and well produced! Some of the shots and visuals are stunning, too, especially Lin and Kath’s motorcycle scene. I swear, Freen and Beckbeck so far has the most oozing chemistry in all of the GL pairs I’ve watched. They’re also did fan service in this film. Like a lot.

————————————————————————————————————————————

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I still give the studio and the people behind this movie a big thumbs up for their efforts for breaking the stereotypic “romantic plot” movies. They still have a lot to improve, but the movie is a great start. I just hope that they hire better post prod team lol. But still watch it for Freen and Becky.

Lees verder

Feels like a work in progress

I was looking forward to the science fiction multiverse plot and in most ways it didn't disappoint - although there were scenes from the early promos that I liked MUCH better than the ones that actually made it into the movie - or at least the version of the movie I saw - there may be a different version in another part of the multiverse.

The unifying element of the multiple universes is Kath's consciousness of all the worlds and the relentlessness of her determination to be with Lin, and happy with Lin, in at least one of them. That seems a prospect with diminishing odds, given how many times and in how many random ways they are kept apart.

The sheer ambition of the number of scenarios had to be daunting for the production staff and feels like overreach in parts. It's not that they fail to entertain, because each scenario is compelling in itself. It's that, even at just over two hours running, there simply isn't enough time to do them all justice.

And it's that overreach that leaves the ending feeling rushed and ambiguous. It's hard to be reassured when right up to the end we're treated to the cinematic version of 50 ways to leave your lover.

PROS
High marks for story, soundtrack, action, and romance, and ultra high marks for angst.

The technical production was near flawless; the location scenery was beautiful; and the space mission special effects were impressive.

Freen Sarocha Chankimha's acting was outstanding, natural and engaging throughout, making each of her characters the focal point of shared scenes.

CONS
In the version I saw, the English dialog didn't match the English subtitles, which is just weird, and the Thai subtitles ran on top of the English subtitles, obscuring the dialog in places. Note: It's likely I saw a version that wasn't supposed to be publicly available. The prominent watermark visible throughout gives it away as a film festival copy.

The Tsunami CGI was awkwardly done.

The actor playing space mission commander is cartoonishly awful in his delivery, which ironically fits with the Spaceman Spiff level dialog he's given.

Co-lead Rebecca Patricia Armstrong's physical acting shows tremendous improvement from earlier projects, but her long term career prospects may hinge on getting some truly professional Hollywood level acting lessons to bring her dialog delivery up to standard.

The ending needed more breathing room. The director surely could have borrowed 30 seconds from somewhere to give the characters the resolution they deserved.

SUMMARY
Given the runtime limitations for a cinematic release, I have no doubt a lot of quality work was left on the metaphorical cutting room floor. A multipart series may have been a better vehicle for a project of this scope. If the cinematic release continues to have trouble getting its legs underneath it, maybe a re-edit into a series could give it new life.

Lees verder