 Thanks for checking out this movie review video. So this is for the 2020 release Sputnik and it's a foreign film So I know there are people out there who aren't big into foreign films But trust me give this a shot. It is a good film. It is a fun film You don't have to read subtitles because I actually got it out through Netflix DVD and the default was dubbed in English I did change it though because I wanted to make sure that I was actually getting the subtitles because I wanted the actual performances of those Actors so it's a 2020 film. So for that reason, this is a no spoiler review I'll give a little synopsis and I'll give kind of some thematic stuff about it But no real like spoilers about how the film ends up happening, you know the events of the film One thing to note. I'm using a new camera and a new setup with the camera. So hopefully things look really good I do have videos after this coming out that weren't done with this camera So they're not gonna look as good, but eventually all of mine should be done with this camera. So yeah, just saying Anyway, Sputnik was directed by Igor Abramenko This was his first feature film. He did a bunch of short films prior to that It was written by Oleg Malovitchko and Andrei Zoloterov and Sputnik Sputnik the actual term Sputnik just so people know upfront. It obviously has a Russian historical Importance to it because of the Sputnik satellite that had gone up into space But in addition Sputnik actually means either companion or fellow traveler So just know that because it is important for the overall actual film It's a cool tie-in for the reason I do really like the title before I knew anything about the film I was kind of like Sputnik as a title like everybody knows about Sputnik the satellite well Maybe not everyone but people of my age and older probably know of the Sputnik satellite So I thought it was kind of not the coolest title, but when you get the tie-in it it means something and it is pretty cool So I do enjoy it The creature in this film because there is a creature in this film There the movements for the creature was actually based off a Komodo dragon Which if you know that and you're watching the film you can definitely see that It was supposed to initially be a mix of practical and CGI for the actual creature, but Nobody ended up actually being able to deliver The quality level that they needed or wanted for the film for the practical portion of it So they went with CGI only and I will say the CGI actually stands up quite well in this film It looks really good And part of the reason being the film is very dark throughout and there's you know There ends up being like a real reason for that so trust It's not just like we kept it dark because we wanted the CGI to look better But because it fits the story that it's darker in the film the CGI stands up better You can't see you know issues with lines or movement as much But you do get you know like head-on like good looks at the creature and it looks good It's well executed. Well put together the design I think is derivative of a few things that I'm sure people will see in it from past horror films But I'm not gonna comment on that because people should just watch it. So quick synopsis now the synopsis I'm gonna give you It's not really spoilers setting it up because the the teaser kind of sets this up And it happens immediately in the film like that's what you need to know But it's basically a cosmonaut a Russian cosmonaut who comes back to earth and he has a creature inside of his body And he's taken to a facility where they're trying to figure out, you know, what is this creature friend foe? What how does it live? What does it live off of you know? Do some research on it and figure out, you know, is this a problem or it's not not a problem and then the whole movie is basically about that Process and there are, you know, some twists that pop up in it. So that's what it's mainly about It's not about, you know, the the creature initially getting into the body and coming to earth That happens within like the first minute basically of the film. So just know that The use of silence in space really does help with the feeling of isolation. That's kind of how the film opens and I really like that because this is very calm serene nice moment and then The rest of the movie is basically not, you know There are moments of kind of lulls and what's going on and it is kind of a slower film in a way And I think the runtime it's kind of close to two hour runtime and at times it feels like that at times It doesn't really feel like that But I think overall they moved at a pretty solid pace with with the with the film in general Which speaks to a pretty, you know, well-written script in my opinion But there are times where they use silence quite well in this film And I really like that and that helps at least with the space portion in the beginning for that feeling of isolation the other thing is there are some times where they use silence to great effect for building and or maintaining tension to kind of Let the audience be left with whatever feelings they're gonna feel obviously, you know if you've seen enough of my reviews, you know, I'm a big proponent of Backing off of music quite a bit There are a few moments in the film where they kind of go very hard at you and over the top with the music So it is kind of, you know, it hits both ends of the spectrum in that sense But overall, I think they do a pretty good job and the music sounds wonderful It's it's got this great sound of being, you know, kind of Big orchestra type music that that feels very, you know, professionally done Obviously because it's a very professional looking film, but it also has like this nice kind of Otherworldly tone to the music. It sounds great and it matches up with the film very very well throughout It starts calm and drops the main issue very very early But in a less direct way than you might actually assume from a film like this I kind of like that approach actually too and I think one of the main reasons for that is, you know Kind of the the process throughout the film of figuring out what is this thing? How does it live? You know, what are its objectives stuff like that? You know, we've seen movies like this before basically with that basic idea, you know Think something like an independence day has that aspect to it. So but this kind of, you know It does its own thing the directing style is such that shots are only still when they have to be The camera moves a lot in this film And I actually really like that because I feel like when there's a lot of interesting camera movements or the The camera is not just staying idle on, you know, whatever actors or the creature or whatever Is on screen I it's just so much more engaging for the viewer because you feel like you're more kind of like a part of the scene You can see more of the set you can see more of You know the space that the actors and the filmmaker are playing within and I like that aspect of it So the directing in this is really good directing cinematography is great It looks really really good and I watch it on just dvd like I didn't watch it on blu-ray and just dvd It looks quite good. So that's that's pretty awesome The look and feel is pretty high budget with nice technical execution and real good acting That's another thing the acting was really really well executed in my opinion. I quite enjoy the acting Already talked about the music being great The first time you see the creature it looks good and and and it showed up earlier in the film that I actually expected it to That's one of the things I liked about the film is They they take their time a little bit getting to showing you the creature But because they did you feel like they're kind of going to stretch it out longer So when they finally show you you're like, oh, I was kind of expecting they would draw this out a lot more So it's kind of nice to get that more up front because people like me who are watching films with a creature in it I want to see the creature early. So I know what it is and I know what it looks like. Also. I want to see Uh be able to like really see it and see the detail of it because there are plenty of Films, especially lower budget ones where they don't want to show you a whole lot because either The design isn't that great or it just wasn't executed all that well or a lot of times It's because the CGI doesn't look so hot. But with this one, like I said, it does look good. I do enjoy it It's pretty dark throughout Yeah, and there are a few moments where I think they needed a little bit more lighting because I couldn't see as well As I really should have been or wanted to see within that Particular scene but for the most part they handle it relatively well, especially for the film being dark throughout the duration so, yeah There are consistent instances of the character Tatiana running up against men who won't take her seriously or Respect her. I think that's one of the big kind of underlying themes at play here Which is kind of because this is set in the 1980s So just know that we've come a long way even in russia We've come a decent a decent way With how women are treated but you can see the time period through Her as a main character Tatiana and the way she's treated by all the men around her Even though she's extremely smart and she is working with them for a very very important purpose So she just keeps running up against these issues There's an interesting challenge in figuring out what's going on because the person with all the information Is not himself and is also very intelligent. That's one of the aspects I really did enjoy about this film Which is the person who has the creature inside of him his traveler Is a person who is very intelligent and you're not dealing with someone who's just like, oh, uh What happened to me? Oh, what's going on? That makes the storyline in my opinion more interesting Even though I actually do think that maybe I Well, I'll talk about it in a little bit, but I would have liked a little bit more out of the story just saying There is an aspect shown of state-run deception within this film Which I actually thought was very interesting It's considering the fact that this film is at least partially state funded and by state funded. I mean russian funded film and I know that a lot of Russian controlled things, especially filmed have a tendency to You know have to go through Some sort I don't want to say censoring necessarily But some sort of approval basically and there are some aspects of this film that don't really make Russia or in this instance the USSR for the time period it takes place Don't make it look that great, but I will say this I may be wrong about what I just said there So if I am and you know go ahead and put it in the comments. I am not above Being corrected on things. I am totally fine with that Um, there is a pretty consistent low level tension throughout the film Which I really did enjoy because you don't really know what's going to end up happening It feels like a familiar story and yes, I did say I kind of wanted a little more out of the story And I'll talk about that a little bit more, but Even though that is the case you really kind of do feel like it could go anywhere And there's this kind of feeling of like tense Expectation that gets maintained throughout the film And I do think the music and the moments of silence that they use in the film really help with that Things really ramp up once something important is revealed About the situation. I'm not going to go any further on that because the film should just be watched There's a really cool gory shot towards the end of the film that I did not see coming like You really get a good look of something that happened and it's very gory and it's kind of shocking And I wasn't prepared for it and I was just like oh I was like that in a good way not like oh my gosh. That's too much. No in a good way. I was kind of like oh, okay The story isn't amazing in the end, but it was pulled off well So basically what I mean is they they did their own thing with kind of like the basic idea of the story and some nuances with it But overall I felt like in the end. I just wanted something bigger something more to come of the ending Uh for me it ends a little bit flat I just kind of wanted a little bit more from the story Just saying What they do at the very end is not At all needed. There was something to kind of tack on to the end of the film, which I think they actually should have just ended the film Maybe like five minutes or so earlier and just kind of cut that end portion off But they kind of tack this thing on it's not needed Uh, and I think that the whole aspect of what happens in the very very end Should have just been cut out from the film in general because That makes the end of the film actually drag the whole film for the most part doesn't really feel like it drags But that last like five minutes that thing that i'm talking about being tacked on Drags like hell like it drags terribly. So I think that should have just been cut out plus it's cheap It's something they put in there that's kind of like a heart strings-ish type thing And you'll know what i'm talking about when you're watching it It's a cheap thing that filmmakers do and I think we need to get away from doing that in film in general I don't like it The music hits a full range from being very restrained to over the top. I did already talk about that Um, my final few thoughts on this Tatiana embodies the free thinking person needed for solving new problems and challenges Which is hard for the men around her to accept because of gender relations and an inability To be creative thinkers because the communist way has stifled creative thinking now Obviously that's in play because this takes place in the 80s Um, we may be in a very much a very different place in russia at the moment with creative thinking and kind of more free thinking so just saying but Um, I kind of saw that as one of the themes within the film Uh, there seems to be a metaphor for state control that ends up being equated with having a creature within Uh, people do what they're ordered and feel as if they have no responsibility to question that So I did kind of like that parallel between the Sputnik and state control Basically, so if you view it view it through that lens, it's kind of political and interesting Which is part of the reason I thought it was interesting that the film was at least partially state sponsored So just saying but this is an interesting film. I definitely think it's worth checking out Is it the most amazing film I've seen or is it the best film of 2020? No, but do I recommend it? Yes So out of five stars with half stars in play I'm gonna go ahead and give this one a very solid three and a half star rating. Check this one out. It's a good time Now I am interested in your comments How did you feel about the film if you've seen it? Go ahead and comment down here and go ahead Spoilers in the comments are allowed go ahead and do that now In addition to that do me a quick favor hit that subscribe button Because that way you're paying me back. That is the way to pay me back I don't get paid for this or anything But if you take that one second to hit that subscribe button Not only do I greatly appreciate it, but it really helps to kind of grow this nerdy horror community Then I'm trying to grow here and it you know It encourages me to keep doing this stuff putting these videos out there Also hit the The notification bell button because that way you'll know whenever I'm putting up a movie review like this Or an unboxing video or a haul video or one of my opinion videos, which I started doing But thank you very much for taking your time to watch this and until next time keep it brutal