April X Review: A neo-noir sci-fi I wanted to love
I will admit, I knew nothing about April X going in. I wanted to do a triple feature and had a hard time choosing my first feature from a list of six or so smaller films. had to secure my seat so I didn't miss the flick, so I chose this one because my beloved girlfriend is named April. So, did this film I knew nothing about surprise me? And did it do so for the better or worse? That's what I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will be discussing in today's article. Thanks so much for joining me, and I hope you have a great day!
Let's start with the positives. The film had a neat neo-noir look, with some strong cinematography and lighting effects. The film also has a commendable eccentricity, and I appreciate that it was shot on location in Romania—a beautiful country that never gets the flowers it deserves. The film also has a bold foundation, blending sci-fi elements like cloning, data downloading, memory recoding, and more dystopian hallmarks. The performances, while nothing too groundbreaking, carry the film well enough.
However, for a film with style and a slew of good ideas on paper, it amounts to very little—a hallmark example of half-baked, half-effort style over substance that feels like they recorded the first draft of a film. It unfortunately carries none of the scintillating splendor and otherworldly awesomeness of my dearly beloved. The script never gives me enough to buy into why the protagonist cares so much about his sister because his mock stoicism is his only notable trait. The sci-fi elements come up, but are never holistically (or even minimally) explored. The narrative is just adequate, but nothing more. By the end, I didn't hate the film—it looked nice, it wasn't abrasive. But the film felt like it took good elements and then resorted to overly mediocre streaming-service explorations of the concept, instead of the bold swings that could've made it great.
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Unreel
The Reel Ranker Score: 38%
Letter Score: D
Star Ranking: 2 out of 5
April X has great ideas and a strong neo-noir aesthetic. However, the story and characters are wholly unmemorable. I wanted to love this one, but instead, it feels like a straight-to-Netflix foreign film that was created to check a box, even though I'm sure a lot of passion went into this. I never want to dislike a smaller production, but I have to be honest: April X is not a film I can recommend.
Interested in checking out some recent reviews for some other sci-fi and thriller films? See them below!
Brighton Nelson
Brighton Nelson
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