7
out of
7
people found the following review helpful:
Enjoyed the movie - can't wait for the finished product
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
Thirteen year old Han Solo Meets National Lampoon's "Airplane"
The over all premise sounded interesting, futuristic technology in an early 20th century setting got me hooked.
Once I watched the movie, I found the lead character to be way too childish in well... almost everything. It just seemed the he and the supporting cast saw everything in extreme black & white (pun intended, with the overly heavy handed treatment of African Americans in the military)... there were no shades of gray. I just couldn't find myself invested in any of them.
It was also hard to tell if this movie was trying to take itself seriously or if it wanted to be a comedy. The jokes, which seemed to be meant to defray tension, where too obvious and didn't always fit the situation.
Definitely needs a rewrite to flesh out the characters and bring them down from the high and mighty than though feel they had.
More Sky Captain of Tomorrow, less National Lampoon.
"I sure picked the wrong time to quit drinking..." Really? Captain of a secret special forces operation of experimental technology?
Once I watched the movie, I found the lead character to be way too childish in well... almost everything. It just seemed the he and the supporting cast saw everything in extreme black & white (pun intended, with the overly heavy handed treatment of African Americans in the military)... there were no shades of gray. I just couldn't find myself invested in any of them.
It was also hard to tell if this movie was trying to take itself seriously or if it wanted to be a comedy. The jokes, which seemed to be meant to defray tension, where too obvious and didn't always fit the situation.
Definitely needs a rewrite to flesh out the characters and bring them down from the high and mighty than though feel they had.
More Sky Captain of Tomorrow, less National Lampoon.
"I sure picked the wrong time to quit drinking..." Really? Captain of a secret special forces operation of experimental technology?
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
A work in progress
The Naval recruiter is wearing the wrong type of hat, for his rank.
the "bar" weapon should be refered to as an "B. A. R." not bar.
the editing was a little choppy.
the 3D effect were cery good.
Overall very entertaining.
the "bar" weapon should be refered to as an "B. A. R." not bar.
the editing was a little choppy.
the 3D effect were cery good.
Overall very entertaining.
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
Amazon Studios Interactive is the future of Commercial Movies
The power of the Amazon millions (of subscribers) brought together to enhance a movie project is pure brilliance. Not only will you draw upon the intellect of your scores of viewers, but Amazon will leave contributors feeling as though they are part of the project, making their eventual attendance at the theatre far more likely. I noticed that there is a toggle button that upon selection will allow contribtors to follow this project as it advances. This will further assist in bonding viewers to the project, generating excitement and improving the possibility of theatre attendance.
I very much appreciated the movie concept. I have always enjoyed 'Indiana Jones' style movies and this follows that genre beautifully.
My contributions to improvement are:
1. Show how Sarah escapes from the jungle. Even if it is brief, it will help to tie the opening sequence to the remainder of the movie.
2. Be certain to use the most recent film technology on the night scenes so that viewers do not need to strain to see. I noted that there were frequent night scenes that used the cover of darkness to enhance suspense. While this promises to be very effective, it will be important to remember that audiences are frustrated when they are unsure of what is happening and have to struggle to see a too dark scene.
3. Consider refining the role of African-American contributions in WWII. Reflect on the viewers comments and consider that leading pygmy warriors may be too condescending, at least in the manner they are currently portrayed. Perhaps a group of fierce and intelligent Maasai warriors (or whichever people are geographically correct for the area of Africa in question) would make a better statement. This is not a place for 'comic relief'.
4. Strengthining the 'follow the clues' portions of the movie, as done in the 'National Treasure' series might be effective.
5. It might be a nice touch for Sarah to say something at the close of the movie in rememberance of her Dad, who gave his life to protect her and the secrets of the temple.
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this project, I look forward to viewing other Amazon projects! Nan in New Hampshire
I very much appreciated the movie concept. I have always enjoyed 'Indiana Jones' style movies and this follows that genre beautifully.
My contributions to improvement are:
1. Show how Sarah escapes from the jungle. Even if it is brief, it will help to tie the opening sequence to the remainder of the movie.
2. Be certain to use the most recent film technology on the night scenes so that viewers do not need to strain to see. I noted that there were frequent night scenes that used the cover of darkness to enhance suspense. While this promises to be very effective, it will be important to remember that audiences are frustrated when they are unsure of what is happening and have to struggle to see a too dark scene.
3. Consider refining the role of African-American contributions in WWII. Reflect on the viewers comments and consider that leading pygmy warriors may be too condescending, at least in the manner they are currently portrayed. Perhaps a group of fierce and intelligent Maasai warriors (or whichever people are geographically correct for the area of Africa in question) would make a better statement. This is not a place for 'comic relief'.
4. Strengthining the 'follow the clues' portions of the movie, as done in the 'National Treasure' series might be effective.
5. It might be a nice touch for Sarah to say something at the close of the movie in rememberance of her Dad, who gave his life to protect her and the secrets of the temple.
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this project, I look forward to viewing other Amazon projects! Nan in New Hampshire
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
Fun but Stilted
I love the idea. This could be a really fun movie. The premise is insane-wahoo, but that's the heart of its charm. It's simple and direct in its premise, and I think if you punch up the dialogue, you could really have something great here. With a simple, recognizable premise, you can (and probably need to) get a bit fancy with the dialogue. Right now, without a charismatic actor, the character of Jack threatens to come off as a self-centered jerk and you do need us to at least root for the guy. The Nazi dialogue needs some help, especially at the beginning of the movie where it's fairly standard, heard-it-a-million-times-before stuff. The movie's got a good heart and a solid idea, it just needs some sparkling dialogue to really shine.
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
I would pay to see this movie. Twice.
I am a devout fan of Steampunk and I have been waiting for a movie to come along that can capture the ideas of that genre. This idea has promise. Airships, Nazis, lost treasure. I would pay full price to see it more than once and then get the blu-ray. Best of luck!
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
the girl and the guy
The guy who likes the girl..hes like a drama boy . I loved the movie ... great story ...but the way he likes her. And to full of himself..with the girl was way over done...yes I get he is full of himself but to much on LIKING/loving her......but great job,...
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
Oh my. What a disappointment.
I really thought I'd like this movie based on the premise. Unfortunately, I came away fairly disappointed. I did watch the whole thing through, but lost interest about halfway in. I think it has a lot of potential, but will really need a whole lot of work to bring it up to snuff.
Premise:
It seemed like a promising start. Nazis, zeppelins, Africa. Adventure and mystery potential. Unfortunately, it's all been done before in some form or another. This story rips off both the original Indiana Jones as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, particularly the zeppelin sequence. I also saw the Rocketeer in this one, probably as the single most plagiarized source. Atlantis? Come on. WWII? Really? How about some more originality.This territory has been covered exhaustively by so many B-movies from the 80s (King Solomon's Mines, for one) as well as countless video games. After seeing the whole thing, I felt that this wouldn't even make a good video game premise, much less a big budget Hollywood style movie.
Story Structure:
Boy howdy. This thing bogged way down once it hit Africa. The first half of the movie felt like we were skipping along way too fast. No chance to figure out who the people were or why I should give a flip about them. Then we hit Africa and I'm completely lost and confused. None of the story makes sense and it seems like we're just jumping around randomly in some bizarre story. Who are the pigmies and why do I care? They're less interesting than the Ewoks upon whom they're clearly based. I know there's supposed to be some sort of connection to the tribe in the beginning of the movie, but I can't really tell that there is. The whole storyline was herky-jerky and inconsistent. Some parts seem to drag on forever and the rest seems to blow past way too fast. There were times when I was checking the progress bar to see if there was any way they had enough time to complete some sort of story arc because I was sure the end was coming any second. At other times, I was checking to make sure this hadn't gone past the 5 hour mark.
Characters:
I really hated Jack. he was too simplistic, stereotyped, and just plain stupid. I've seen him in so many other, better story lines from other big movies (The Rocketeer, for one) that I'm tired of this. He has neither the intelligence of Indiana Jones, nor the humor and cleverness of a Nathan Drake (of the Uncharted video game series). There was nothing to really like about this guy at all. There really needs to be something done about this lead character to make him likable and interesting. There is no hook at all.
Sara was prissy and whiny and really off-putting. She served mostly to confuse me rather than being something I would be attracted to in reality. She was neither feminine-attractive nor strong female attractive. She was sort of in limbo. Not as bad as Jack, but similarly uninteresting to me. Being the second lead character, she needs as much work as Jack's character does. Give her some semblance of passion or emotion, motives, etc.
Addie was really a completely lost opportunity. Instead of making a likable/interesting character, he ends up being some sort of sidekick/bad stereotype of what white people think black people were like in the 1940s. This combined with the stupid assumptions about what racism and prejudice was at that time just made me nauseated. He ends up being the Jar Jar Binks of this movie when he was apparently intended to be more of a Chewbacca character model, which would also not work well here.
Rheingold, I had to look his name up. I forgot it. He's not interesting, evil, or imposing at all. He comes across as a spoiled rich kid rather than a cerebral arch enemy or even someone capable of rising to his rank and authority. Again we face the stereotype rather than anything even remotely realistic, even within the scope of an action-adventure script. Clearly copied from Indiana Jones' 3's evil Nazi dude, but a pale reflection.
Dialogue:
Bland, predictable, boring. There were no interesting interactions between characters. No one liners to joke about with friends. No insightful commentary. No anything memorable whatsoever. I will have forgotten most of this movie by this weekend.
Emotion:
If the team was going for frustration, confusion, and irritability, I think they succeeded beautifully.
Overall, there are some basic pieces that are salvageable, but there are a lot more details that need to be hashed out. I'd start by changing the setting completely. Kill the Atlantis theme. Possibly consider some other ancient legend, but please find one I've not seen in movies before AND that has some interest to it. Locale is purely a function of subject matter, and Africa is no worse than South America, the Himalayas, or Antarctica. Something original would be nice.
The characters need to be totally revamped. I personally would like to see a lead male character along the lines of Nathan Drake of the Uncharted video game series mixed with Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly fame. The likable scoundrel sort of pioneered by Harrison Ford's Han Solo but with funnier/more clever banter and dialogue and a different past, one that we get a glimpse of. The lead female character needs to be both feminine and yet in some ways a match in strength of character to the lead male role. She need not be too witty in banter, but needs some counterbalance that makes her just as intriguing as the male so that the audience
Addie could be turned into something much more. While I think it's a fine idea to touch on prejudice and racism of the age, please do take a little time and read about the era or talk to people who lived it to get a realistic idea of what a black man in the military might actually experience. Give the man a little sense of pride and inner fortitude that he sorely lacked in this caricature. Make him human and interesting on his own, not because of the circumstances he finds himself in. He should not be the center of attention, and the story should not revolve around the color of his skin or that of the indigenous people, but an interesting side story arc of him succeeding against the artificial odds against him can definitely be created, as opposed to the side show act he plays in this script.
Pacing needs to be smoothed out, and the story arcs need to be handled more effectively. The jumping from parallel arcs to single-mindedness left me feeling schizophrenic.
Oh, and either the name needs to be changed or the script needs to be completely rewritten. Sky Pirates implies a lot of sky and a lot of pirating. Neither happened in this story.
If this were to come to the big screen, it would be a huge flop. Even if a cartoon was made of it and it was released direct to video it wouldn't hold up under the most cursory scrutiny of an 8 year old. You've chosen some good movies to plagiarize, but instead of creating a great adventure, you've created a Frankenstein's Monster of a screenplay that just cannot possibly be brought to life.
Premise:
It seemed like a promising start. Nazis, zeppelins, Africa. Adventure and mystery potential. Unfortunately, it's all been done before in some form or another. This story rips off both the original Indiana Jones as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, particularly the zeppelin sequence. I also saw the Rocketeer in this one, probably as the single most plagiarized source. Atlantis? Come on. WWII? Really? How about some more originality.This territory has been covered exhaustively by so many B-movies from the 80s (King Solomon's Mines, for one) as well as countless video games. After seeing the whole thing, I felt that this wouldn't even make a good video game premise, much less a big budget Hollywood style movie.
Story Structure:
Boy howdy. This thing bogged way down once it hit Africa. The first half of the movie felt like we were skipping along way too fast. No chance to figure out who the people were or why I should give a flip about them. Then we hit Africa and I'm completely lost and confused. None of the story makes sense and it seems like we're just jumping around randomly in some bizarre story. Who are the pigmies and why do I care? They're less interesting than the Ewoks upon whom they're clearly based. I know there's supposed to be some sort of connection to the tribe in the beginning of the movie, but I can't really tell that there is. The whole storyline was herky-jerky and inconsistent. Some parts seem to drag on forever and the rest seems to blow past way too fast. There were times when I was checking the progress bar to see if there was any way they had enough time to complete some sort of story arc because I was sure the end was coming any second. At other times, I was checking to make sure this hadn't gone past the 5 hour mark.
Characters:
I really hated Jack. he was too simplistic, stereotyped, and just plain stupid. I've seen him in so many other, better story lines from other big movies (The Rocketeer, for one) that I'm tired of this. He has neither the intelligence of Indiana Jones, nor the humor and cleverness of a Nathan Drake (of the Uncharted video game series). There was nothing to really like about this guy at all. There really needs to be something done about this lead character to make him likable and interesting. There is no hook at all.
Sara was prissy and whiny and really off-putting. She served mostly to confuse me rather than being something I would be attracted to in reality. She was neither feminine-attractive nor strong female attractive. She was sort of in limbo. Not as bad as Jack, but similarly uninteresting to me. Being the second lead character, she needs as much work as Jack's character does. Give her some semblance of passion or emotion, motives, etc.
Addie was really a completely lost opportunity. Instead of making a likable/interesting character, he ends up being some sort of sidekick/bad stereotype of what white people think black people were like in the 1940s. This combined with the stupid assumptions about what racism and prejudice was at that time just made me nauseated. He ends up being the Jar Jar Binks of this movie when he was apparently intended to be more of a Chewbacca character model, which would also not work well here.
Rheingold, I had to look his name up. I forgot it. He's not interesting, evil, or imposing at all. He comes across as a spoiled rich kid rather than a cerebral arch enemy or even someone capable of rising to his rank and authority. Again we face the stereotype rather than anything even remotely realistic, even within the scope of an action-adventure script. Clearly copied from Indiana Jones' 3's evil Nazi dude, but a pale reflection.
Dialogue:
Bland, predictable, boring. There were no interesting interactions between characters. No one liners to joke about with friends. No insightful commentary. No anything memorable whatsoever. I will have forgotten most of this movie by this weekend.
Emotion:
If the team was going for frustration, confusion, and irritability, I think they succeeded beautifully.
Overall, there are some basic pieces that are salvageable, but there are a lot more details that need to be hashed out. I'd start by changing the setting completely. Kill the Atlantis theme. Possibly consider some other ancient legend, but please find one I've not seen in movies before AND that has some interest to it. Locale is purely a function of subject matter, and Africa is no worse than South America, the Himalayas, or Antarctica. Something original would be nice.
The characters need to be totally revamped. I personally would like to see a lead male character along the lines of Nathan Drake of the Uncharted video game series mixed with Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly fame. The likable scoundrel sort of pioneered by Harrison Ford's Han Solo but with funnier/more clever banter and dialogue and a different past, one that we get a glimpse of. The lead female character needs to be both feminine and yet in some ways a match in strength of character to the lead male role. She need not be too witty in banter, but needs some counterbalance that makes her just as intriguing as the male so that the audience
Addie could be turned into something much more. While I think it's a fine idea to touch on prejudice and racism of the age, please do take a little time and read about the era or talk to people who lived it to get a realistic idea of what a black man in the military might actually experience. Give the man a little sense of pride and inner fortitude that he sorely lacked in this caricature. Make him human and interesting on his own, not because of the circumstances he finds himself in. He should not be the center of attention, and the story should not revolve around the color of his skin or that of the indigenous people, but an interesting side story arc of him succeeding against the artificial odds against him can definitely be created, as opposed to the side show act he plays in this script.
Pacing needs to be smoothed out, and the story arcs need to be handled more effectively. The jumping from parallel arcs to single-mindedness left me feeling schizophrenic.
Oh, and either the name needs to be changed or the script needs to be completely rewritten. Sky Pirates implies a lot of sky and a lot of pirating. Neither happened in this story.
If this were to come to the big screen, it would be a huge flop. Even if a cartoon was made of it and it was released direct to video it wouldn't hold up under the most cursory scrutiny of an 8 year old. You've chosen some good movies to plagiarize, but instead of creating a great adventure, you've created a Frankenstein's Monster of a screenplay that just cannot possibly be brought to life.
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
I can see a three movie series
Overview:
I love adventure movies, especially WWII based movies ones more, so much mystery surrounds the Nazis and the science of the time. America’s involvement in the war prior to declaring war is also another great mystery, so keep it up and let’s see this film on the big screen.
Improvements:
I think the characters are a little rough, but very workable, Major Danger needs the most work. He needs to be a little more of a scoundrel and worry a little about his pretty face. It would be cool if we could see just how lucky he is with a few more scenes, like dropping a smoke grenade in his plane and wrestling to get it out just in time before he hits the ground. During the dog fight, to see a bullet take out something close to his face.
The Girl is good, but she needs more than just the Atlantis story, her father should be working on a few hidden treasures, that she is part of, or had been working on one of her own, when she was called to her father’s side in Africa. Maybe another one of the Atlantis ships in some place like Brazil.
The love story is predicable, but good. It would help if she slapped him at least once or twice for being too forward. Save her kissing him for the end, but they can’t be together because she has to go off on another adventure. Let her turn down the ring proposal.
The side story with the cook is cool too, it is could use a little more oppression and a little more change of heart from the marines in the group. I would like to see him promoted too.
The ending is good, but it needs to leave a little more mystery, maybe a couple of those gold tables survived, with the next adventure.
Keep up the good work. I want to see future productions of this. Thanks.
I love adventure movies, especially WWII based movies ones more, so much mystery surrounds the Nazis and the science of the time. America’s involvement in the war prior to declaring war is also another great mystery, so keep it up and let’s see this film on the big screen.
Improvements:
I think the characters are a little rough, but very workable, Major Danger needs the most work. He needs to be a little more of a scoundrel and worry a little about his pretty face. It would be cool if we could see just how lucky he is with a few more scenes, like dropping a smoke grenade in his plane and wrestling to get it out just in time before he hits the ground. During the dog fight, to see a bullet take out something close to his face.
The Girl is good, but she needs more than just the Atlantis story, her father should be working on a few hidden treasures, that she is part of, or had been working on one of her own, when she was called to her father’s side in Africa. Maybe another one of the Atlantis ships in some place like Brazil.
The love story is predicable, but good. It would help if she slapped him at least once or twice for being too forward. Save her kissing him for the end, but they can’t be together because she has to go off on another adventure. Let her turn down the ring proposal.
The side story with the cook is cool too, it is could use a little more oppression and a little more change of heart from the marines in the group. I would like to see him promoted too.
The ending is good, but it needs to leave a little more mystery, maybe a couple of those gold tables survived, with the next adventure.
Keep up the good work. I want to see future productions of this. Thanks.
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
Not bad at all
Overall would make a very good movie, but leave out the profanity, it degrades and cheapens the dialog.
Reviews for
Finalist: Best Test Movie, Best Actor
Semifinalist: Best Test Movie, Best Actor
There is an opening scene that initially has no clear connection to the remainder of the story. The story also has a side theme which focused on the role (or the lack thereof) of Blacks in WWII. This has been well documented in the stories of the Tuskegee Airmen - but it had ramifications in other arenas as well. This film at least acknowledges the difficulties Black Americans had while serving their country.
My only concern with the story was a small anachronism - the city of Kinshasa was given its name in 1966, 20 years after WWII. During the 1940's the city was known as Leopoldville. I am not an expert in African history, so this detail should be double checked.
As I looked for a free movie using Amazon Prime, I was pleased with my choice. Though others seem to think it a waste of time, I found it of interest and worthy of the 90 minutes I spent watching it. I expect others will as well. I will look forward to seeing the finished film, if it is ever produced.