If you come into Saints and Soldiers: The Void and watch it for what it is, overall you will be pleased.
(1)The Plot/Dialogue: From beginning to end, the story definitely has direction, as you'd be pressed to find a scene where the narrative feels like it has stalled or is not moving along. Character development is somewhat lacking at the start, but towards the end I feel that Little does a decent job of filling holes. Ben Urie as Lt. Goss and K. Danor Gerald as Jesse Owens do commendable jobs and perform their roles at very respectable levels. Where lines and script may have been cheesy or written poorly, the superb acting of these two cast members definitely cover it up. In total, there are many parts where there could have been extra speech, or could have been rewritten, but nothing too bad that would deter you from watching the film. The "whole concept" from start to finish was nicely done.
(2)Scenery/Setting: As always, Little does a magnificent job at taking the low budget and what little he has to work with and turning in a masterpiece backdrop. Everything from the prop guns, to the tanks, to the uniforms were period-correct and had a real, authentic look and feel. In my opinion, the explosions and special effects may not rival those on the big screen, but they were never anywhere close to looking fake. The blue/gray tint from editing really gives an old war-time look, which also adds to the realism. The only knock I have is some of the props would have benefited from a little dirt, as sometimes they looked to new and not battle-torn, but nonetheless impressive.
Final Thought:Ryan Little has proved once again that he deserves a shot to direct a bigger budget film, albeit with a better script writer, and more well-paid actors. The scenery was outstanding and the special effects were done very well for the budget. If only there were deeper-voiced actors that seemed more battle-tested and a better dialogue for the script, I may have given this movie a 10/10. Not a game-changer, but a credible war movie that does not dishonor the genre.
(1)The Plot/Dialogue: From beginning to end, the story definitely has direction, as you'd be pressed to find a scene where the narrative feels like it has stalled or is not moving along. Character development is somewhat lacking at the start, but towards the end I feel that Little does a decent job of filling holes. Ben Urie as Lt. Goss and K. Danor Gerald as Jesse Owens do commendable jobs and perform their roles at very respectable levels. Where lines and script may have been cheesy or written poorly, the superb acting of these two cast members definitely cover it up. In total, there are many parts where there could have been extra speech, or could have been rewritten, but nothing too bad that would deter you from watching the film. The "whole concept" from start to finish was nicely done.
(2)Scenery/Setting: As always, Little does a magnificent job at taking the low budget and what little he has to work with and turning in a masterpiece backdrop. Everything from the prop guns, to the tanks, to the uniforms were period-correct and had a real, authentic look and feel. In my opinion, the explosions and special effects may not rival those on the big screen, but they were never anywhere close to looking fake. The blue/gray tint from editing really gives an old war-time look, which also adds to the realism. The only knock I have is some of the props would have benefited from a little dirt, as sometimes they looked to new and not battle-torn, but nonetheless impressive.
Final Thought:Ryan Little has proved once again that he deserves a shot to direct a bigger budget film, albeit with a better script writer, and more well-paid actors. The scenery was outstanding and the special effects were done very well for the budget. If only there were deeper-voiced actors that seemed more battle-tested and a better dialogue for the script, I may have given this movie a 10/10. Not a game-changer, but a credible war movie that does not dishonor the genre.