I don't like to say that the movies could have been anything else, but this one could have been so much better.
The concept of this movie is good, but its execution is not the best, even though it keeps your attention on the screen all the time. The concept of this movie is a cross between The Matrix, Ready Player One, and Black Mirror, which is a great concept, but the script and direction keep it from being a great movie. The story tells us that everything must be perfect, but in technical aspects, that perfection is rarely appreciated, despite the fact that the relationships of the characters appear to be perfect, the script does not end up developing these relationships in depth. The script does not develop many things in depth either, such as the antagonists, the decisions that are made in the third act and the characters in general, some things are interpretive, as well as the ending, but at those moments the script falls short and no longer continues with that narrative. As for the direction, there are times when it doesn't feel like a psychological thriller, at the beginning it does well, but then the tension decreases, and even though it is present, I was expecting a lot more tension and a more suspenseful atmosphere. The ending seemed spectacular to me, with a lot of tension, but I was surprised how rushed it was, the tension could have been higher, but I think it was enough. Florence Pugh's performance is masterful, the best work of her career so far, Harry Styles is not an actor, therefore, he does not know how to act and here he shows it, the rest of the cast does a fairly good job, but Pugh really is the star of this movie. The production design is flashy, but is not set to feel perfect, the costume design is riveting, and some of the special effects are good. I think that this film was too much for the director, since you can't see her commitment to the concept and to the atmosphere of the thriller genre, it could have been much better if she had also been involved in improving the script, I liked it a lot her first film 'Booksmart' but that was a little simpler and the strength was in the script and in the direction of actors, this concept was too much for Wilde, but not for lack of talent, but for lack of experience in the genre and in the profession of filmmaker.
For me it was an entertaining film, since the concept is interesting and the story is not boring, in addition to a masterful performance by Florence, but considering that it could have been much better, this film falls short, especially for what we have seen before in the genre.
The concept of this movie is good, but its execution is not the best, even though it keeps your attention on the screen all the time. The concept of this movie is a cross between The Matrix, Ready Player One, and Black Mirror, which is a great concept, but the script and direction keep it from being a great movie. The story tells us that everything must be perfect, but in technical aspects, that perfection is rarely appreciated, despite the fact that the relationships of the characters appear to be perfect, the script does not end up developing these relationships in depth. The script does not develop many things in depth either, such as the antagonists, the decisions that are made in the third act and the characters in general, some things are interpretive, as well as the ending, but at those moments the script falls short and no longer continues with that narrative. As for the direction, there are times when it doesn't feel like a psychological thriller, at the beginning it does well, but then the tension decreases, and even though it is present, I was expecting a lot more tension and a more suspenseful atmosphere. The ending seemed spectacular to me, with a lot of tension, but I was surprised how rushed it was, the tension could have been higher, but I think it was enough. Florence Pugh's performance is masterful, the best work of her career so far, Harry Styles is not an actor, therefore, he does not know how to act and here he shows it, the rest of the cast does a fairly good job, but Pugh really is the star of this movie. The production design is flashy, but is not set to feel perfect, the costume design is riveting, and some of the special effects are good. I think that this film was too much for the director, since you can't see her commitment to the concept and to the atmosphere of the thriller genre, it could have been much better if she had also been involved in improving the script, I liked it a lot her first film 'Booksmart' but that was a little simpler and the strength was in the script and in the direction of actors, this concept was too much for Wilde, but not for lack of talent, but for lack of experience in the genre and in the profession of filmmaker.
For me it was an entertaining film, since the concept is interesting and the story is not boring, in addition to a masterful performance by Florence, but considering that it could have been much better, this film falls short, especially for what we have seen before in the genre.