Future World

Is the Apocalypse coming soon ?

If you ask American Pastor John Hagee, he would say that the Earth was supposed to end around 3 years ago, and all of mankind would die. He was wrong about this, and i am sure he will be wrong many more times, this is why i love his predictions. If i remember correctly, we were supposed to experience the end of the world during the Blood Moons showing according to John Hagee. That did not happen either, so i have to say Pastor John Hagee seems to be in good shape. No one really knows how the future will be, except we will all all worship Metal icon Fadades of course, the only man who knows how to predict the future.
In Hollywood we have seen so many films that take on the look of the future. Some movies like Blade Runner, or Total Recall, actually made a very impressive futuristic look. I would also like to mention Steven Spielberg´s film Minority Report, a really good science fiction action film, where legendary actor Tom Cruise made a great performance as PreCrime Captain John Anderson. One of the reasons why i think Minority Report still works so well even today, is because that the film is far more intelligent than many science fiction films. Steven Spielberg clearly knew exactly how to construct this film correctly, and i suggest you watch the film on Blu Ray. Speaking about the Apocalypse, whenever i think about movies made with Apocalyptic influences, i always think about The Road Warrior, released in 1981. This is the sequel to the 1979 film Mad Mad. One of the reasons why i always loved The Road Warrior, is because the film had some of the best highway action scenes ever made, compared to many action films made in America back in the 80´s. Australian director George Miller proved to the world, that Australian action films had a completely different style to offer, than most action films. And even if this film is 37 years old now, it still looks really good. Mel Gibson as the silent Mad Max is of course one of the most epic action characters of cinema history, but there is so much more fun characters here to enjoy. Actor Vernon Wells performance as insane psychopath Wez is absolutely brilliant. The action scenes with him is a feast to watch. Let´s not forget to mention Swedish actor Kjell Nilsson who played the epic character The Humungus. His personality and costume design is such a great combination. If you for some reason have not seen The Road Warrior, you need to go and buy a Blu Ray copy. This is the kind of film everyone should own, because this is an action film that will always be loved by fans of all ages. Since i love watching B movies that bring their take on the Apocalypse, i heard about a film called Future World through the YouTube review channel Geek Legion Of Doom. The review may not have been very positive, but i was curious to see this film because of the cast of James Franco, Milla Jovovich, Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Lucy Liu and many others. An Apocalypse sci fi movie with a great cast, could Future World be a future classic in B movies, or is this a film that does not deserve to be mentioned ?

Prince ( Jeffrey Wahlber ) is searching for a cure for his dying mother Queen ( Lucy Liu ). He sets out to find the cure, but the biggest problem is that the evil Warlord ( James Franco ) is trying to make all innocent people suffer, with his criminal gang. He have an android called Ash ( Suki Waterhouse ) that he controls. While Prince is at the whore house of pimp Love Lord ( Snoop Dogg ), he meets Ash for the first time. They have a connection together, and Prince is determined to find the cure, as well as taking care of Ash. But time is running out, and the cure for his mother Queen needs to be in safe hands. 

There is a reason why The Road Warrior ( also known as Mad Max 2 ) is one of the best Australian action films ever made. The action scenes are amazing, for being made on a small budget back in the early 80´s. If the idea was to make something like a Mad Max concept for Future World, it fails. This film does not try to copy Mad Max completely, but you can´t help to feel that they were inspired by the classic films with Mel Gibson, and using some other futuristic elements as well. My biggest problem with Future World, is that this is a sci fi action film that does not know what it wants to be. In some ways this film tries to be an action film, while this film also try to use a classic android theme to make it look cool. And i can´t really see the point with this, unless you know how to make a film like this look good, and make it a fun tribute to classic B movies. Another problem is that the main character Prince, played by actor Jeffrey Wahlberg ( Nephew of actors Mark Wahlberg and Donnie Wahlberg ). Since he is the character you see very often, he is very bleak for so many scenes, and you don´t really care about him. I also don´t feel that the android character Ash ( played by actor Suki Waterhouse ), don´t give this film a stylish look. I know that androids can´t show any human emotions, but i would have liked to see Suki try and work harder on her android character. You can´t really feel pleased with her performance, and this is such a shame. Because i feel that if this android had a stronger personality, it could have helped Future World become more interesting. Now let´s talk about 2 characters i actually enjoyed. First up is legendary hip hop artists Snoop Dogg, who plays the pimp Love Lord. He knows how to look like a pimp, and knows how to act like a pimp, so he is actually right for his character. And of course, his character name is great, who can say no to Love Lord ? And then we have action star Milla Jovovich as Drug Lord, a rough, bad ass woman who knows what she wants. She is actually the highlight of this film, and to see her kick ass again, like in the Resident Evil films, is of course always a pleasure. I will say that actor James Franco ( who was really good in The Disaster Artist ) as the evil Warlord is a fun character, but not the highlight of this film. While some action scenes works for the moment, there are many dialogue scenes that don´t need to be here. I would have liked to see more straight action scenes instead, because this is not the kind of film where dialogue is very important. Directors James Franco and Bruce Thierry Chang have made a B movie that could have been fun, but they made this film way too simple to care about. In the end, Future World is a film you won´t remember, i suggest you watch The Road Warrior on Blu Ray instead, and see how you make an Apocalypse story, that actually works.

Rating: DD