Mutant Chronicles

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Mutant Chronicles
Original title The Mutant Chronicles
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2008
length Blu-Ray: 111: 26 minutes
DVD SPIO / JK: 106: 52 minutes
DVD FSK 18: 106: 19 minutes
Age rating FSK SPIO / JK ( indexed ),
FSK 18 (shortened),
approval from 16 (Pro7)
Rod
Director Simon Hunter
script Philip Eisner
production Stephen Belafonte ,
Tim Dennison ,
Peter La Terriere ,
Pras Michel ,
Edward R. Pressman
music Richard Wells
camera Geoff Boyle
cut Sean Barton ,
Alison Lewis
occupation

Mutant Chronicles (English title: The Mutant Chronicles ) is a British science fiction - steampunk - action film with numerous elements of a war film from 2008 . Directed by Simon Hunter , the screenplay was written by Philip Eisner .

action

The action takes place in the year 2707. The earth is ruled by four powerful corporations. The earth's raw materials were exhausted, which is why mankind colonized other planets, of which Mars plays a particularly important role. Sgt. Mitch Hunter and Captain Nathan Rooker fight as soldiers for one of the corporations, Capitol . During an offensive by Bauhaus , an opposing corporation, artillery fire opened a large seal in the ground and exposed a shaft from which mutants suddenly poured out. Rooker is seriously injured and kidnapped, while Hunter escapes.
The mutants reproduce and cause great damage. The corporate bosses decide to evacuate the planet, knowing full well that it will leave millions of civilians behind. However, Brother Samuel, a member of a religious order, refers to a book that proclaims the arrival of the mutants: Thousands of years ago, a machine from space was born to destroy humanity by turning everyone into mutants. At that time the mutants were defeated and the machine locked under a seal, which has now been destroyed. The mutants are free again. The book also mentions the way to destroy the machine with the help of a device that is mistaken for a bomb. Samuel and a few soldiers from all corporations, including Hunter, go on a suicide mission directly to the machine itself, to destroy it and save the world. On the way, the group witnesses how the crew of a rescue ship auctioned off places on it among civilians. A crew member kills a civilian and is then killed by Hunter; the remaining crew member now agrees to take the civilians on board without further conditions.
The group goes underground. Hunter separates from the group because he discovers his fallen comrade, Rooker. This is dragged to the machine by a mutant. Hunter kills the mutant, but Rooker is too badly injured to join Hunter or even to flee on his own. Rooker asks Hunter to deliver one final message to "his wives". Hunter draws his gun and shoots him.
The rest of the group gets closer and closer to the mutant machine, with the mutants killing almost all of its members, including Brother Samuel. The book is partially destroyed. Hunter falls into one of the devices that turn people into mutants. However, he escapes before the conversion is complete and joins the last two survivors. You reach a platform that contains several controls. Hunter installs the sabotage device he brought with him. The last two members of the expedition fall, including the novice Severian, who is killed by Samuel, who has been transformed into a mutant. Hunter defeats Samuel with Severian's sword, which he uses as a key to activate the device. Brother Samuel, who still has some humanity left, tells Hunter to have faith and jump off the platform. Hunter jumps and lands safely in an underground body of water. The machine turns out to be a spaceship that takes off into space. In the last shot, the injured Hunter tries in vain to light his last cigarette while the spaceship is heading for Mars.

Reviews

Jack Sommersby wrote on eFilmCritic.com on July 10, 2008 that the action was mediocre, while the visual side was monotonous.

Cinema wrote: With the help of monochrome colors from the computer, a series of hearty splatter effects and coarse figures, director Simon Hunter mixes world war scenarios with oppressive visions of the future in this film adaptation of the role play of the same name. The result is an ambitious but mediocre hit: While Hollywood stars like Ron Perlman (" Hellboy ") and John Malkovich (" Con Air ") exude a big budget feeling, the stolen story and monotonously choreographed carnage move on to B- Movie level. ... Conclusion: Bloody and visually interesting end times spectacle, which, however, is based on a less than imaginative story and z. Sometimes, involuntarily, weird dialogues.

backgrounds

The one-game film was first offered to Stephen Norrington , John Carpenter and Roger Christian , all of whom declined.

The film was shot in England , including at Shepperton Studios and on the Isle of Man . The shooting lasted from the end of May 2006 to the end of July 2006. The film opened in Greek cinemas on July 24, 2008, and in Russian - on August 7, 2008. The release in Brazil (on DVD) is for August 13, 2008 planned, the cinema release in the USA - for the year 2008. In Germany the film was released on October 24, 2008 in its uncut version with SPIO / JK seal as a rental DVD and BluRay.

The beginning of the film, with the battles between the Bauhaus and the Capitol, is strongly reminiscent of the trench warfare of the First World War. This includes scenes with poison gas, doctors who amputate the soldiers' body parts, as well as the equipment (which consists of partially oversized grenade launchers and carbines). Furthermore, the temple of the sect is very similar to the New Tower of Babel from Fritz Lang's Metropolis .

The story of the film is loosely based on the background of the role-playing game of the same name , from which the tabletop game Warzone comes.

The technical development shown in the film, which was set in the 28th century, is more reminiscent of the 19th or early 20th century and is strongly linked to elements of the steampunk genre, but the film itself does not explain why humanity will reach this level in 700 years has fallen back. It is only suggested by Samuel that there was a nuclear war at the beginning of the 23rd century (he describes it as "the pitch black winter"; see Nuclear Winter ), but it is also possible that there was a volcanic eruption, the ashes of which became the Sun darkens. This is supported by the fact that the "old city" was buried underground, which the ash rain made possible. According to the role-playing game of the same name , the supernatural energy " Dark Symmetry " and the aura of the Dark Legion influences highly developed computer technology and non-mechanical machines.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. quote on uk.rottentomatoes.com , accessed August 6, 2008
  2. Cinema.de: film review
  3. This and That for The Mutant Chronicles , accessed August 6, 2008
  4. ^ Filming locations for The Mutant Chronicles , accessed August 6, 2008
  5. ^ Box office / business for The Mutant Chronicles , accessed August 6, 2008
  6. Release dates for The Mutant Chronicles , accessed August 6, 2008