Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Theatrical review. There may be spoilers. So here it is July 4th weekend. What are the sci-fi choices in theaters now? Well, I could go see the umpteenth version of "Transformers" which is playing in about 30 theater screens within a 5 mile radius of my house. Or, I could drive 10 miles and check out this unusual looking film from South Korean director Joon-ho Bong. It does have Chris Evans, fresh from "Captain America" and Tilda Swenton, last seen as an 80 year old woman in "The Grand Budapest Hotel." I decided to take the drive. First of all, you have to buy into the premise. It's the near future and global warming is for real, so the scientists come up with a solution which, in fact, fixes the problem. They also kill everything on the planet with a catastrophic cold wave. The cockroaches survive as usual as you will find out later in the film. There are survivors who manage to board a train that circles the globe non-stop...forever. The train is the foresight of a man known as Wilford. I usual give actor credits here, but it is suggested I not, as it is a big surprise. It wasn't to me, but if you want to look it up go to IMDb or something. Like much of the world, the train is split up into the "have-nots" led by Curtis (Evans) and his mentor, Gilliam (John Hurt). They live in the back of the train, far removed from the "haves" way up front. The 1 percenters are led by Wilford and his second in command, Mason (Swinton). And before I go much farther, she's a hoot. Especially when the contingent reach the kiddie's classroom. In addition, there are a collection of thugs whose mission is to keep the riff raff in the back where they belong. They live in squalor and get a protein bar for their daily ration. I won't go into the content but it will put your gag reflex in overdrive. As fair warning there are a couple more events that will unsettle most. But the film does do a good job of setting the stage for the conditions these people have been in for 17 years and why they want to escape. Armed with little more than their determination, the rebellion is afoot. One by one the rebels move up car-by-car until they reach the domain of the guy in charge of the locks between the cars. Namgoon Minsoo (Kang-ho Song) is the guy and is aroused from his cryogenic sleep along with his daughter, Yona (Ah-sung Ko). He agrees to help (always in Korean) but only if he's supplied with a regular supply of homemade drug that he's addicted to. Essentially the film is as simple as that. Get to the engine where Wilford lives. The combat portions of the film are excellent. The film is purposely dark and gloomy. It isn't a feel good movie. People you become fond of are killed. Kids are in the mix and are exploited, but damn if this isn't a refreshing change from the stuff we are often exposed to in mainstream movies. The film ends on a bleak, if hopeful note. But this isn't mainstream. Which is probably why the woman walking out of the theater behind me said to her husband. "That's the worst movie I've ever seen"! She obviously hasn't see the latest "Transformers."