Potentially, an excellent film with a great concept; however, without any significant push outside the initial concept and, therefore, it feels like a lot is missing like an Act 2 and 3. The painfully obvious finish-though not an ending-leaves the viewer waiting for the next part long after the credits roll, as though the whole thing was an extended pilot episode for a limited series. Indeed, the film suffers from "franchise syndrome": a grave mistake these days. A movie via instalments, which spent most of its time focused on the inciting incident without story progression-or any advancing the plot or character beyond the hook-only works if it can stand as a contained piece, even if it is open ended, at least such works explore, reveal, and resolve, and this one did not. Sadly, this film repeats itself in varying ways without developing beyond the initial premise, and the replication of the "threat-execute-reward" scenario produces a film that's more than a little predictable after 15 minutes or so; oddly, the imaginative setup quickly becomes an unimaginative tumble through the hedgerow of tedious inevitability, which is a shame, as this had remarkable potential; the apparent aim for making a sequel robs this "first film" of content, content that, presumably, may have been withheld in order to stretch the gimmick, leaving this one shallow and superficial.
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