Grade (C-)
Good performances wasted by a script lacking enough substance to build the intended suspense.
Synopsis
In the future there is no breathable air on the earths surface and two engineers in an underground bunker are tasked with protecting the last hope for mankind, while struggling to stay alive themselves.
My Thoughts
I really wanted to like this film. I am a fan of both Reedus as well as Hounsou and the premise gave me the expectation of a tense thriller. It started out interesting enough, but it was not long before the lack of information in the story, and about the characters began to hinder the intrigue and ability of the film to lure me into the setting.
Both Reedus and Hounsou delivered very good performances and they worked extremely well off of one another. The lack of depth in the script however kept then from creating solid characters by giving virtually zero development. But they made the most of the dialogue and thin characters to bring enjoyable performances, that were enough to make the film watchable. But not enough on their own to keep a high amount of intrigue in a story that was hard to connect with in any way.
The premise of the film, why the two characters were chosen for the job they had, how they had known each other (if at all) prior, how long they had been down there and many more topics of the story-line were simply left out. There was really no exposition other than a highly generic snippet of the worlds end early on. I enjoy a script that leaves a few blanks for some provoked thought but in this script it was well beyond that.
There was just such a lack of detail in so many areas that as I watched the film I was simple looking at it rather than pouring my attention into it. The only thoughts being questions about details that would never be answered, details that could have made the script much more compelling.
Also the plot twist and direction the story took were on the recycled side. You could sense the predictability growing in the film as each minute passed. Had this plot built more structure to its story the and the characters the films intention of what character to root for would have come across with much more dramatic impact. This film had its moments and the settings looked great but it was all for the most part wasted by a flat story.
Overall “Air” was not a horrible movie but it failed to captivate like it could have. The theme was an interesting idea, but the creativity in weaving a story around it were clearly lacking, giving the entire project a rushed feel. The performances saved this one however from being a complete waste of time and for most likely having a small budget this film managed to make the finished product look very good. In the end however it was an average science-fiction thriller that could have benefited from much more suspense and in the end simply lacked energy.