Rakka is one of several new sci-fi short films from Neill Blomkamp; seemingly all very well resourced and with a lot of ambition. Rakka creates an entire world in a very short period of time – one where lizard-esque aliens have taken over Earth and crushed humanity, apart from very small patches of resistance. The short is in three chapters, and ends in a way to feel like it is a proof-of-concept for something bigger, but at the same time it is pretty satisfying.
The narrative is not really where that occurs, because it is a sci- fi idea that has been done many times with different beasts or robots in the lead role. However the world that the film creates in a short time is fascinating – from the ideas around the aliens, the nature of the resistance, the experiments conducted, and of course just how impressive and committed the visual elements are. All of this is polished very well, leading the film to feel much bigger than it is. The downside of the short running time is that it perhaps doesn't fully satisfying – in particular I thought the ending could have been a bit less open than it was – not for the wider story, but just for this 20 minutes.
In terms of that polish; visually it is very impressive, with great design, sound, music, and atmosphere. The effects are impressive (not "for a short film" but just impressive), and of course having someone like Sigourney Weaver in your lead role can only help. There was one element that gave me pause though, and it was the way the film put the humans into the role of terrorists but yet didn't make that horrific or seem like a terrible but unavoidable cost. It is not an unique idea (Battlestar Galactica did it in its third season), but here the imagery is so clear (beheading, suicide vests) that it is an unavoidable meaning and connection to groups like ISIS, that it is a weird feeling that the film just lets it happen.
This aside, it is an impressive sci-fi short, with lots of polish, ideas, atmosphere, and potential.
The narrative is not really where that occurs, because it is a sci- fi idea that has been done many times with different beasts or robots in the lead role. However the world that the film creates in a short time is fascinating – from the ideas around the aliens, the nature of the resistance, the experiments conducted, and of course just how impressive and committed the visual elements are. All of this is polished very well, leading the film to feel much bigger than it is. The downside of the short running time is that it perhaps doesn't fully satisfying – in particular I thought the ending could have been a bit less open than it was – not for the wider story, but just for this 20 minutes.
In terms of that polish; visually it is very impressive, with great design, sound, music, and atmosphere. The effects are impressive (not "for a short film" but just impressive), and of course having someone like Sigourney Weaver in your lead role can only help. There was one element that gave me pause though, and it was the way the film put the humans into the role of terrorists but yet didn't make that horrific or seem like a terrible but unavoidable cost. It is not an unique idea (Battlestar Galactica did it in its third season), but here the imagery is so clear (beheading, suicide vests) that it is an unavoidable meaning and connection to groups like ISIS, that it is a weird feeling that the film just lets it happen.
This aside, it is an impressive sci-fi short, with lots of polish, ideas, atmosphere, and potential.