BLACK MIRROR: BANDERSNATCH (O-RVZ MOVIE REVIEW)

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is an interactive film produced and released by Netflix. It is a standalone film that is related to the anthology TV series "Black Mirror" and is directed by David Slade (director of 30 Days of Night & Twiligh Saga: Eclipse). The film stars Fionn Whitehead as "Stefan Butler", a video game creator/editor who's adapting a new fantasy interactive game called "Bandersnatch".

I've not seen any of the Black Mirror episodes but this Black Mirror newest film Bandersnatch has been the trending topic on my social media newsfeed much like the other Netflix film "Bird Box". Unlike "Bird Box" which I was already aware of it prior to its release date and was already waiting for it based on its trailer premise, this newest film "Bandersnatch", I didn't know anything about it. I went to see this film completely unaware of its plot and ended up amazed by its film's structure alone. Netflix has been completely trending for these previous months due to their original films which just gotten released and though I may not like "Bird Box" so much, this one was a really unique experience for me. This film is an interactive film in which you get to choose several options from the film that will greatly impact the overall flow of the storyline of the film's lead character and of this film's plot. This kind of set-up is not new to me since this has been the template of some of the video games that I have already played but seeing this in a full feature film was really groundbreaking for me. It's really that unique of an experience to have and I really applaud all the staffs behind this film for creating such novelty piece of work. It's really hard to review this kind of film as it will generate multiple endings solely based on your choices. My first viewing of it leading me to its first ending was really not the kind of ending I was expecting to have and I just can't rate it so low because I made that ending based on my options from the film. There are endings that were really self-aware, fucked-up, disturbing and sad ones which make this film a very interesting and fulfilling to watch. I also liked that this film emphasis so much about free-will, which is the kind of concept that they are also aiming to give us or the audience to shape-up the film. I also liked the performances of the casts. They were really strong and the standout performance for me was from Will Pouter playing as "Colin Ritman", a colleague of Stefan. The genre branches out completely once you go to different options. Some will result in a very dark, thrilling, fucked-up storyline. One was a dramatic sequence with a very sad ending. And the other one was just completely crazy.

OVERALL

BLACK MIRROR: BANDERSNATCH is a very unique film that will literally engage its audiences. You have your own free-will to choose multiple endings based on your preferences. It was a completely different experience to have and was such a brilliant idea coming from Netflix. I know for sure this will be a thing but I will still prefer the traditional way of having a single storyline from a film. This is all good but I really hoped that this would not be the norm for future cinema. Technology has come a long way now but sometimes, the old fashion way is still the go to.