Future World Blu Ray Review (Lionsgate)
Future World is a 2018 science fiction film directed by James Franco (The Disaster Artist, The Institute, Child of God, & As I Lay Dying) & Bruce Thierry Cheung (The Color of Time & Don’t Come Back from the Moon). Mankind’s technological breakthroughs in the development of artificial intelligence & robotics eventually lead to a global war. The remnants of humanity struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland while the surviving machines remain hidden. A Warlord (played by: James Franco from The Deuce, 11.22.63, The Interview, & Spring Breakers) raids a settlement that contains a high-tech lab with an android girl named Ash (played by: Suki Waterhouse from The Bad Batch, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Insurgent, & Pusher). In a disastrous zone known as the Oasis, the Prince (played by: Jeffrey Wahlberg from A Feeling from Within, Don’t Come Back from the Moon, & Instant Gratification) needs to find medicine for his sick mother the Queen (played by: Lucy Liu from Kill Bill, Elementary, Charlie’s Angels 1/2, & Lucky Number Slevin).
He ends up at Love Town, it’s ran by pimp Big Daddy Love Lord (played by: Snoop Dogg from Baby Boy, Training Day, Bones, & The Wash) with his associate Tattooed Face (played by: Clifford ‘Method Man’ Smith from How High, Garden State, The Wire, & Oz). Rico (played by: Ben Youcef from Munich, 13 Hours, & The Algerian) helps out the young Prince on his mission to save his mother. Warlord captures Prince & wants to go to the Oasis. Prince gets some unexpected help & ends up meeting the Drug Lord (played by: Milla Jovovich from Resident Evil franchise, The Fifth Element, Ultraviolet, & He Got Game). She has what he is looking for but it won’t come easy. Lei (played by: Margarita Levieva from Adventureland, The Lincoln Lawyer, Knights of Badassdom, & Revenge) repairs Ash’s damaged body after an intense battle. The Drug Lord doesn’t like her new visitors & it causes a huge conflct between them. Warlord shows up & he’s out for revenge! All hell breaks loose & everyone is fighting for their lives. Who will survive this apocalypse? When will all this chaos stop????
After the success of The Disaster Artist, James Franco puts together his own take on the post apocalypse sub genre with Future World. It’s a little bit of a mess & it’s all over the place at times. Besides that, I enjoyed it especially since I am a big fan of that type of film. It has plenty of action & the cinematography looked awesome in this. It had killer set pieces & the atmosphere was really dark. Just a warning, the main actors in this are Jeffrey Wahlberg & Suki Waterhouse so if you are expecting major screen time from the main 3 listed on the front on almost every promotional material for the project you might be a little disappointed because they are just small supporting roles. James Franco is in it more than the other two & he chews the scenery as The Warlord. I’ve never seen him do something like this & he held his own as the villain. It has more than a few familiar faces that pop up in this feature with cameos so that was a nice bonus. The overall production was very impressive. The look of the characters fit this universe perfect & it really gives it a crazy vibe. It’s a chaotic fun ride that will keep you entertained for awhile. Just turn off your brain & enjoy the experience.
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special features from this Lionsgate release. The 1080p (2:40:1) transfer is full of attention grabbing visuals & creative set pieces to keep your eyes glued to the screen. It has style & it looks fantastic. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a little more standard than you would expect for this type of film. It still has some moments that stand out & boost in your system for a little bit. As for the extras go, there’s not much on here. It has the almost 13 minute “Behind-the-Scenes” featurette. Writer/Producer/Director/Actor James Franco chats about the origin of the project & how he wanted to do a science fiction film. He talks about the visual look of the production. He brings up the cast for the film. He gets into the technical aspects of making this. It shows various footage from Future World also. Last but not least, you get a Theatrical Trailer for the film. It also includes a digital copy & a slipcover. It’s available everywhere right now, check it out. Recommended for science fiction, post apocalypse, & James Franco fans!!!!
