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I just saw Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning
Hi all! Long time no see. My university's student union just had a showing of Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, and I thought I'd write a little review on it.
For those not familiar with the concept, the Star Wreck series began as a series of home-made sci-fi parodies, made by Samuli Torssonen. The series has evolved from clumsy hand-drawn computer animation to a full-blown production with human actors blended with computer generated imagery. Star Wreck - In the Pirkinning is a sci-fi comedy that a few Finnish enthusiasts have been working on for the last ~7 years: http://www.starwreck.com/
Considering the shoestring budget, I would have to say the result is impressive. CGI is excellent, often on par with expensive commercial productions. The musical score and sound effects are very good as well.
The plot and humour is very much like the earlier "Star Wreck" productions. The script is not too complicated, and it's not a "Hot Shots!"-style slapstick comedy - not even "Galaxy Quest" - but it IS amusing in it's own little way, and I did laugh out loud a few times. Some jokes will undoubtedly be lost in translation (the dialogue is all Finnish, and there are ships named, for example, "Mannerheim"), but they've clearly tried to keep it understandable (or at least enjoyable) for people outside Finland as well.
Where the production falls a little short (well, uneven might be a better word) is in the acting and camera work departments. Sure, some of the awkward acting is no doubt intentional, but some performances are undeniably a little on the "flat" side. That is to be expected, since almost all of the actors are hobbyists.
Still, I would say that there are a few positive surprises, and that the movie improved towards the end. Bonuses come for not letting the CGI take over; they knew that their graphics were good, so they could easily have planted in some non-stop 10 minute CGI fights, but they didn't, at least not without planting in some real human acting. For a production of such limited resources, it is very enjoyable. And, considering that the movie is FREE (can currently be pre-ordered on DVD but will be available for download shortly), how wrong can you go? I give it a 7,8 (rounds up to an 8) out of 10.
-Temp
For those not familiar with the concept, the Star Wreck series began as a series of home-made sci-fi parodies, made by Samuli Torssonen. The series has evolved from clumsy hand-drawn computer animation to a full-blown production with human actors blended with computer generated imagery. Star Wreck - In the Pirkinning is a sci-fi comedy that a few Finnish enthusiasts have been working on for the last ~7 years: http://www.starwreck.com/
Considering the shoestring budget, I would have to say the result is impressive. CGI is excellent, often on par with expensive commercial productions. The musical score and sound effects are very good as well.
The plot and humour is very much like the earlier "Star Wreck" productions. The script is not too complicated, and it's not a "Hot Shots!"-style slapstick comedy - not even "Galaxy Quest" - but it IS amusing in it's own little way, and I did laugh out loud a few times. Some jokes will undoubtedly be lost in translation (the dialogue is all Finnish, and there are ships named, for example, "Mannerheim"), but they've clearly tried to keep it understandable (or at least enjoyable) for people outside Finland as well.
Where the production falls a little short (well, uneven might be a better word) is in the acting and camera work departments. Sure, some of the awkward acting is no doubt intentional, but some performances are undeniably a little on the "flat" side. That is to be expected, since almost all of the actors are hobbyists.
Still, I would say that there are a few positive surprises, and that the movie improved towards the end. Bonuses come for not letting the CGI take over; they knew that their graphics were good, so they could easily have planted in some non-stop 10 minute CGI fights, but they didn't, at least not without planting in some real human acting. For a production of such limited resources, it is very enjoyable. And, considering that the movie is FREE (can currently be pre-ordered on DVD but will be available for download shortly), how wrong can you go? I give it a 7,8 (rounds up to an 8) out of 10.
-Temp