Number Rolled: N/A
Movie Name/Year: ARQ
(2016)
Tagline: None
Genre: Sci-Fi
Thriller
Length: 88
minutes
Rating: TV-MA
Production Companies:
Lost City, XYZ Films, MXN Entertainment
Producer: John
Finemore, Kyle Franke, Elizabeth Grave, James Hoppe, Michelle Knudsen, Mason
Novick, Nick Spicer
Director: Tony
Elliott
Writer: Tony
Elliott
Actors: Robbie
Amell, Rachael Taylor, Gray Powell, Jacob Neayem, Shaun Benson, Adam Butcher,
Jamie Spilchuk
Blurb from Netflix:
Trapped in a lab and stuck in a time loop, a disoriented couple fends off
masked raiders while harboring a new energy source that could save humanity.
Selina’s Point of View:
I’m back.
I’m sporting a couple of new holes in my head, but I am back
and – more importantly – not bogged down by painkillers anymore. I slept so
much, and so strangely, in the past week that I suspect it’ll take forever to
get my sleep schedule back on track… but meh.
In celebration, Cat and I decided not to roll for this post.
Instead, a Netflix original that we wanted to see came out on the 16th, so we
decided to watch that. We’re both really into sci-fi and we both (obviously)
love Netflix. The deciding factor, however, was Robbie Amell (The Tomorrow People, Struck by Lightning,
The Flash) being the lead. We both absolutely adore him.
ARQ felt a bit
par-for-the-course where this kind of time-loop film is concerned, but there
were small twists and differences along the way that kept me interested. I can’t
explain which tropes the film flipped on the audiences without giving spoilers,
but I will say that things didn’t always go exactly as expected.
It was a nice change.
The acting was definitely one of the best parts of the film.
In fact, I don’t think there was a bad actor in the bunch. I believed everyone
at all times. With that kind of acting, even a terrible film would have been
worth watching… but this wasn’t a terrible film.
Although the parts you would expect to get repetitive do
live up to that expectation, the story was engaging and complex and not as
disjointed as you might expect. It was easy to follow and understand.
Some of the foreshadowing was almost a little TOO easy to
pick up on, however. Of course, that’s a hell of a lot better than having no
foreshadowing at all.
I’m glad we watched this film and I’ll be happy to watch it
again in the future.
Cat’s Point of View:
This movie begged to be seen ASAP. It’s a trifecta of
interesting Sci-Fi premise, Netflix Original content, and Robbie Amell (Anatomy of the Tide, Code 8, Nine Lives).
He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite actors – and no, not just because of
his good looks or who his cousin is. He is a rising star and starting to pick
up some real momentum in the industry – and I’d like to think that’s because of
his straight up talent. Sci-fi seems to
be his wheelhouse, so far; though he’s proven to be very versatile with other
genres under his belt.
Sufficed to say, I had high expectations going in to this
movie.
The film didn’t let me down.
The time loop premise has been done before, yes. However,
this movie takes a step beyond the likes of Groundhog
Day (1993) and even Edge of Tomorrow
(2014). Writer and Director Tony Elliott (Almost
Naked Animals, Entangled, Hunters) should definitely be commended here. He
wove an engrossing and nuanced story without overburdening it with extra stuff
it didn’t need. I shouldn’t be entirely surprised, though – he’s one of the
creative minds behind the writing for BBC’s clone series Orphan Black (2013-).
The cast is only slightly smaller than the setting itself.
This narrow scope helped bring out both the actors performances and the little
details that color this dystopian world. There are so many questions that are
left unanswered – and yet just enough blanks get filled in along the way to
keep you looking for the next clue. What was going to change? What was going to
stay the same? What new tidbit was around the corner?
I loved how shifting perspective is used to peel some of the
layers back as the movie progresses. Things are far more complicated than meets
the eye and the journey to figure that out is definitely not dull and boring.
This movie is a mind-gasm.
The science even seemed plausible. Now, I’ll be the first to
admit that I couldn’t tell you if the equations seen scrawled here and there
were gibberish or legit – but the principles actually seen or discussed felt
straight forward and realistic. It wasn’t over-complicated and I didn’t feel
like I was sitting through a quantum physics lecture.
There was a romance story woven through the layers of this
tale and I think that was addressed respectfully. Both leads are good looking
people - and yet, this movie opted out of taking advantage of that. Sorry
folks, no sex or even shirtless scenes here. The progression through the film
of how the dynamic between the characters shift was well done.
The arc of character development for Rachael Taylor’s (See No Evil, The Loft, Jessica Jones)
Hannah is on point. I’ve really enjoyed that actress in the things I’ve seen
her in, and I can’t wait to see more of her in the future. The female leads in
other looping scenarios have had me rolling my eyes at one point or another –
she didn’t.
There’s some violence and some blood – but not anything
over-the-top. I will probably let my 13 year old watch it, if she’s interested.
I would definitely watch it again with her, too. Maybe more than once. I know
there’s more that I can piece together in some of the details I likely missed
in my first watch-through. I’d have to say this is my new favorite time-loop
movie.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 47%
Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 4/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5
Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 4/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score
– 4.5/5
Movie Trailer:
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