Awesome!
I ended up loving it. It made me love it.
To start writing, let's look at the plot first. Four friends decide to document their lives as they begin to carve into the street fighting in Dark Web. So ambitious and determined to bear whatever it takes, they're looking to make money in an underground fight club. But as they go inside, they gradually realize that they're being consumed by someone that you cannot exactly put your finger on.
Yeah? I think that premise is excellent. I like to see morale in films, because that's what's real. The first act of the movie shows the determination of the group. To fight, to win, to make money, and most interestingly, to be 'The One'. Sums up their ambition. I personally am a sucker for martial arts, so the film managed keep me hooked all the time. It was interesting to see so many different techniques and approaches in fighting, even among the particular group. Job well done in differentiating that and each characters backstories, giving answers to the wondering of the viewer, "what causes people to come down here?".
One thing that I admire is that the director's intention to make the film look like a documentary. We see the movie in first person perspective, and also the shaky camera comes in handy, pulling the viewer into the screen to have a more realistic experience.
That's one thing you should keep in mind while watching, This is nothing glorious. It's 'Raw'. The approach to filmmaking, the characters, and also the fighting. The fighting isn't high-lifted with added sound effects on each punch, So it feels real.
It is flawed, of course. The acting is a bit off at times, there were moments I thought could've been more subtle, but I'm not sure if I can blame that on the actors. I have never heard about them before, and no info on Internet as well. So, no I don't think so. Nevertheless, the casting is well done to create unique characters to one another. There were one or two times I thought the editing could've been better, but that also can be seen as part the whole thing being 'Raw', so it's alright I guess.
It's not what you think it is, I love the way that the movie forcibly changed my perception towards the movie as it's going. My 'moods' got turned and twisted. That's the thing I probably mostly love about this, I mean at one point I wondered why this was labelled as a thriller, but when I finished the movie there was a definite spark in my spine. And also I enjoyed an underlying sense of friendship beneath the surface. Very nice.
The basic theme I guess is, um, to not only make sure you got control over what you're obsessed with, but to double check it, crosscheck it or any damn way make sure what you're doing, because that world is something that you think you know, but really you don't.
The most flaws I noticed, can be actually dismissed considering that this is a first-time like work for the most of the crew. I'm a guy who's very picky about the films I choose to watch, and I'm actually happy that I watched this film. I'm going to look into the director's future projects, because this Movie's premise attracted me enough to point a man with a vision.
