Far Cry

Moral Rating:

_____

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Moviemaking Quality:

Primary Audience:

Adults, Teens

Genre:

Thriller, Action, Adventure, Drama

Length:

_____

Year of Release:

2008

USA Release:

August 1, 2008

Relevant Issues

How does viewing violence in movies affect the family? Answer

Producer’s Synopsis: This film is based on Crytek's first-person shooter PC game by Ubi Soft Entertainment.

“In a mysterious nearby forest, a group of mercenaries are attacked. A scientist, Dr. Krieger, watches this from a secret research facility, obviously pleased with the results of his work, which is the cause of the death (which is unknown) of the mercenaries. In Seattle, a veteran newspaper editor makes arrangements to send his two archrival reporters, Tom Moore and Valerie Constantine, to check out the mysterious reports coming from an island in the Pacific Northwest.

Once on the island, it doesn't take long for the duo and their Captain, Jack Carver (Schweiger), to find trouble. The main mercenary commander Maria Sanchez immediately tries to capture them. Valerie and Jack manage to escape but Tom is killed. The mercenaries are hot on their heels and Valerie and Jack argue about their plan. Jack wants to get off the island as quickly as possible by reaching his friend Emilio. Valerie, a seasoned reporter, wants to gather more evidence for her story.

After several dramatic chases and an encounter with the strange creatures, Valerie, Jack and Emilio are captured and brought to Kreiger. Krieger wants Valerie to join him in reporting his accomplishments to the world. Meanwhile, in the lab, the creature escapes and tries to kill Jack. Jack and Emilio manage to elude the creature but others in the compound are not as lucky. The creature corners Valerie and she narrowly escapes death as Emilio and Jack reach her just in time. The loss of control sends Sanchez into a fury. Jack and Valerie are pursued by Sanchez as they make a frantic attempt to get off the island and alert the world.”

Neutral - “Far Cry” is my favorite PC Game, so you can imagine my delight when i saw it was a movie at the video store. The storyline has all the elements for a great movie: an Island, a crazy scientist genetically modifying soldiers, mercenaries, a retired Special Forces Officer and the girl to rescue. For me there were two things missing from the movie: firstly girl power. In the PC game, Valerie Constantine was a force to be reckoned with... up there with Lara Croft, yet in this movie she's a bumbling newspaper reporter who can't even throw a grenade without taking the pin out! Her role in the movie was an injustice to the games character, and actor Emmanuelle Vaugier was wasted as the female lead.

Secondly, the genetically modified soldiers were only mildly convincing (actors with body paint and contact lenses). This is understandable for a film with a low budget but some CGI was needed here. And what of the scary Trigens? Not part of this movie.

The original game was huge (20 levels) and it was always going to be a case of what to leave out for the movie. The movie had some elements that were in the game: vehicles, weapons, boat chase, certain characters but i was left wanting more. The bantering between Val and Jack was one thing that was done quite well. Overall not bad but i was expecting a bigger movie and was disappointed. I thought director Uwe Boll did well in his movie “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale,” but for this adaption of a video game it was average fare.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 2½
—MC, age 39 (Australia)