Epic fails come in two forms: terrible blockbusters like “Transformers”, which no one really expects much from. And disasters like “Mute”, in which you can still feel the ambition and passion behind this unholy mess. I’ve been a huge Duncan Jones fan ever since he dazzled audiences with his 2009 masterpiece “Moon”, and I still have fond memories of “Source Code” starring Jake Gyllenhaal. But imagine my surprise when Jones teamed up with Netflix to drop a futuristic Sci-Fi film that looks and feels like “Blade Runner” (Jones’ favorite movie of all time by the way), only to realize halfway through that this was a terrible idea. In telling the story of Leo, a mute man who is searching for his missing girlfriend in a futuristic Berlin, Jones throws every cliche in the film noir book, but nothing truly sticks. Nothing. In terms of plot (overstuffed), acting (why is Paul Rudd playing Paul Rudd?), suspense (muted. No pun intended), the movie is a bust. I still admire Jones’ vision, but I want nothing more to do with his latest disaster, a clumsily directed mess that will confuse even the most avid Science-Fiction fans.
Categories: 1.5/4, sci-fi, The Twenty-First Century