This movie felt like the result of combining a music video with a soap opera, competing for a single long-take filming trophy, and it doesn't win in any department. You'd think the director's filmmaking experience is only making music videos and short films. Wait, that's exactly the problem here.
The single-take opening scenes was decent for about five minutes, then it just got monotonous. In the normally comfortable 99 min runtime, there's maybe a 20 min window of relevant story pertaining to the film's conflict. The rest is all just overly stylized filler - mostly ridiculous and riddled with plot holes.
If someone asked me what this movie was about, I'd answer it's about a bunch of angry spoiled Gen Z'ers - with access to endless fireworks, resorting to escalating violence with no regard to any one else or any consequences. Albeit a true evaluation of the times, the fact this film prides itself more on that factor, and displaces any logical attempts at a resolution, really misses the mark for the message it's trying to achieve. As much as I like action in a film, this was more of constant and relentless infantile anarchy, and that is nothing close to any enjoyable action.
Although all casting and performances were great, especially in profiling the different attitudes and beliefs between the the brothers and their agendas, it focused too much on the anger rather than a solution, or any attempt thereof. The writing was just too convenient and scattershot with a bunch of nonsense and infantile themes. What's even worse is the ridiculous dialogue most of the characters had, such as the stepbrother constantly yelling and degrading his gang buddies. But the biggest writing flaw was the ridiculousness of the military brother beating his stepbrother to death. That was just some dumb soap opera antics to get a rise out of the viewers. You're grieving one brother, then the bipolar psycho kicks in and you kill your stepbrother. Then all of a sudden your life is worthless and you want to end it. So what's the point of this film? I could go on with many other plot and technical issues, but there's "no point".
Even the score, albeit fitting, stops complimenting the story and starts to overtake the filming when it just becomes too constant and overbearing. I would've enjoyed this film more by muting it, and playing hip-hop music in the background for a 99 min gang-banger music video. It's a generous 5/10 only for the great performances by mostly newb actors, specifically Sami Slimane as Karim.
The single-take opening scenes was decent for about five minutes, then it just got monotonous. In the normally comfortable 99 min runtime, there's maybe a 20 min window of relevant story pertaining to the film's conflict. The rest is all just overly stylized filler - mostly ridiculous and riddled with plot holes.
If someone asked me what this movie was about, I'd answer it's about a bunch of angry spoiled Gen Z'ers - with access to endless fireworks, resorting to escalating violence with no regard to any one else or any consequences. Albeit a true evaluation of the times, the fact this film prides itself more on that factor, and displaces any logical attempts at a resolution, really misses the mark for the message it's trying to achieve. As much as I like action in a film, this was more of constant and relentless infantile anarchy, and that is nothing close to any enjoyable action.
Although all casting and performances were great, especially in profiling the different attitudes and beliefs between the the brothers and their agendas, it focused too much on the anger rather than a solution, or any attempt thereof. The writing was just too convenient and scattershot with a bunch of nonsense and infantile themes. What's even worse is the ridiculous dialogue most of the characters had, such as the stepbrother constantly yelling and degrading his gang buddies. But the biggest writing flaw was the ridiculousness of the military brother beating his stepbrother to death. That was just some dumb soap opera antics to get a rise out of the viewers. You're grieving one brother, then the bipolar psycho kicks in and you kill your stepbrother. Then all of a sudden your life is worthless and you want to end it. So what's the point of this film? I could go on with many other plot and technical issues, but there's "no point".
Even the score, albeit fitting, stops complimenting the story and starts to overtake the filming when it just becomes too constant and overbearing. I would've enjoyed this film more by muting it, and playing hip-hop music in the background for a 99 min gang-banger music video. It's a generous 5/10 only for the great performances by mostly newb actors, specifically Sami Slimane as Karim.