Final Task (2020) User Reviews

Rohit Shivdas' Latest is a Solid Return to Form

[elytracollective · 7/10 · 13 February 2020]

Rohit Shivdas' "Final Task" is about two friends who work as contract killers. Actively competing against other hitmen in a competition named the 'Game of 56', their involvement leads them down a path of betrayal as their final task in this twisted game is to kill one another. Rohit Shivdas (Letterboxd's own Milez Das) is back with his first short film in four years. Almost reaching the heights of 2016's amazing short film "Thoughtless", "Final Task" proves that Milez still has the goods as he delivers one hell of an action thriller that tests how far one is willing to go in the name of honor, commitment and rivalry. Written, produced and directed by Milez; he's a very capable director and guides this solid short film along with finesse. Prathamesh Kulkarni and Atharva Lahurikar lead the film and really sell their camaraderie in an authentic manner. A truly captivating scene set at a restaurant early on establishes the high stakes and gives us enough meat to care about these characters and their fate. While the short admittedly fizzles out a bit by the end, the high point is the existential focus on these characters and their decisions. In a masterful sequence near the end, the characters realize that whatever choice they make, they both won't be succeeding in the way they wanted. With this realization, their options narrow down to death knocking on their doors no matter what. Violence begets violence and the pointlessness of it all is a taxing viewpoint on these characters and their lives. Definitely the biggest highlight of the film. Milez's cinematography looks pretty good throughout for most of the run-time. However, there's a few stale shots here and there that reel it back a bit. The biggest point that needs more attention is the audio and sound for dialogue and music. It's the weakest part of this one and this short film would really benefit largely with more work on that aspect. And if the ending was tighter, "Final Task" would be Milez's best work yet. Very strong follow-up and hopefully, Milez sticks at this because he is a filmmaker with strong potential; armed with a unique eye, a clear skill for storytelling and a deep-rooted care for the characters, Milez will soon be a force to be reckoned with. Milez needs to make more cinematic ventures soon, this is a skill that is always on full display and has to be nurtured to become something truly special. If you have a few minutes, I implore you to check out Milez's latest short. Indie art should always be supported and this is definitely one that deserves love.

Ambitious

[camerontheactor · 6/10 · 24 March 2020]

Final task is an ambitious short film. The establishing black-and-white transformed into color sequence was my favorite moment. I think with this creative addition it engages the audience right at the start. Almost as if a signal that we should expect the unexpected. The acting was nicely done and would like to see them in more of this promising director's films. I also appreciated the semi-abstract scene of the two friends attempting to finished their final task. The only two cons I have is I wish the dialogue was a little more engaging. The dialogue isn't bad, it actually sounds quite natural. It just isn't memorable dialogue to me and relies strictly on the visuals to sell the story, which isn't a bad thing in a visual media like film. I just think if you combine the two of visuals and words we could of had more dynamic characters, knowing what their backstories, how long they have been following these tasks, and what brought them to choose this occupation. Overall, I enjoyed Final Task and can't wait to see the next films of a talented filmmaker.