I’m open to watching science fiction from other countries and this is an ambitious futuristic monster movie made in Hong Kong which is making the rounds.  It’s an action movie made in the grunge style of a lot of post-apocalyptic films, only here the post-apocalyptic area is relatively small, in the middle of a large city.  And its story is strictly routine, which is a shame.

Yuen Fai Ng’s film highlights a city where a meteor has crashed, unleashing a huge alien vine which grows rapidly and expands whenever it rains.  A military unit is dispatched to destroy it before two more rainfalls arrive and set it to growing and demolishing the city once again.  The unit consists of a bunch of soldiers who fly into the affected zone and try to locate the creature’s weakest point to destroy it.  Naturally, all sorts of things go wrong and it comes down to a trio of men, plus one old friend, to save the world.

The story’s premise is at once engaging and ridiculous, and early on it is more than obvious that someone with power wants the mission to fail.  There are few surprises along the way, with everyone acting either brave or frightened, according to their stereotypical characteristics.  This movie lives or dies on the power of its visuals, and, sad to say, these are a mixed bag as well.  The city never looks convincingly real; it never shakes the CGI look (and action) that spoils so many of these stories of devastation.  It’s a nice try, I suppose, but I was never engrossed or compelled by this dusty tale.  ☆ ☆.  27 December 2022.