Life (the existance)
Life starts out with an abrupt, if not overly gory opening, no pun intended. It's pretty clear from the start that the makers of this farce/comedy/drama are really trying to ham the whole thing up. The script, if there even was one, is horribly written, with predictable plot points, whose sole purpose appears to be torturing the unsuspecting lead character. The FX are spot on, but the cinematographer appears to have been so bland and unimaginative, that he could only manage one camera angle throughout the whole thing.
Life starts out, simply enough, with the character's birth, and follows them up into teenage life. Though this reviewer is still in the act of 'experiencing' life, I can be certain that I know the ending already. Like all campy, predictable pieces of money-making pap, this one will no doubt end with the lead's death. What gets me about these types of projects, is the aparent utter lack of care for the characters or what happens to them. The makers are obviosuly so dull, that they had to line up an entire string of supporting cast and extras, but not make the viewer care one bit about them. Sure the dialogue tells us these people are important to the lead character, but how do we KNOW. It's never explained.
The only really inventive part of the whole thing, is the way of giving 'Life' back-story. Rather than give us flowing, warbly screens, with shadowed flash backs, the creators obviosuly had the ability to force out just enough creativity to draw outside that line. Instead, the lead is exposed to 'History Books', and 'the Bible'; well disguised ways of explaining how the whole story came about. This is supposed to give a point to the story, or at least continuity, but unfortuanetly, the story falls completely apart at that point.
The real mistake in 'Life', is not in the visuals, which are stunning sometimes, or the characters, who are almost always cruel and two faced, or the acting, which is often over-done, but the story. The story is a compete failure. There is no central, or even basic for that matter, point to 'Life'. It just meanders along, hitting the ocasional high or low point, but there just isn't a reason to prolong it at all. The lead character either does what others order him to do, or what he thinks is right; but it is painfully obvious that the decisions of the lead are completely inane, becuase anyone outsid of this fake, dualistic, petty, silly, unbelievable, and sad world could tell it was coming a mile away.
'Life is barely worth continuing. Unfortunately, I can't just shut 'Life' off, whenever it gets boring. For some reason, something just keeps me in the seat. I might be wrong, but it looks like 'Life' will be the biggest flop since 'Reality' or 'Time'.
Added: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 Reviewer: Brian Score: Hits: 1047
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