The trailer is not bad, although it's slightly misleading, as it makes it look like this is an action thriller. It's not.
Zone 414, movie (2021) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
video © DMA Films
The Zone 414 (2021) is a futuristic crime story film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: Zone 414, movie (2021)
Original title: Zone 414
Series: -
Setting: future Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: futuristic crime story, Style: sci-fi, futuristic, crime story
Release: 2021.09.03
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2021.10), first time
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Bad (1 out of 3 points)
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This is my review of Zone 414, a futuristic crime story movie from 2021. It's about a mercenary trying to get back a rich girl from a dangerous place. The Zone 414 film is boring, I only recommend it to avid fans of neo-noir or cyberpunk stories.
Zone 414, movie (2021)
image © DMA Films
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Review (spoiler-free) - Zone 414, movie (2021)
I randomly ran into this movie, and decided to watch it. I didn't read anything about it, nor did I watch the trailer, to avoid spoilers.
The Zone 414 movie is about a mercenary trying to get back a rich girl from a dangerous place.
The story itself is not bad, but it's told in a very boring way. Otherwise, the storytelling is consistent, and I didn't find major logical problems in it. I'm not sure there are any character arcs.
The movie is so boring, I stopped it every 10-20 minutes to look after some chore I could do instead watching it.
The cinematography is watchable, but seeing the same dirty houses over and over again, at night, gets boring pretty fast.
The characters are okay, they get some depth. They are portrayed well by the actors.
The music (by Benjamin Stefanski, aka Raffertie) was not noticable, so I assume it must have been okay.
Zone 414 is boring, I think only fans of the cyberpunk genre might find it enjoyable.
My experience
I wasn't satisfied with Zone 414 (2021). I've seen better movies based on the same premise.
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points). Zone 414 is a barely watchable film.
Enjoyment: Bad (1 out of 3 points). Zone 414 is boring, I didn't like it at all, although I was able to sit through it.
Rewatchability: I'm not sure. I don't think anyone would like to watch this again.
Chance of watching it again: Nope.
Chance of watching a sequel: Maybe. But I hope they'll find better creators.
Zone 414, movie (2021)
image © DMA Films
Will you enjoy this?
If you like crime movies, there's a slight chance that you might like Zone 414.
If you like action movies, you'll be totally bored by the Zone 414 movie.
If you like neo-noir movies (Blade Runner, Split Second), you might appreciate the looks of the Zone 414 film.
If you like criminal investigation stories (Twin Peaks), you might like Zone 414, although the focus is not really on the investigation.
If you can get through the first 40 minutes of the movie still interested, from then on it gets slightly better.
Watching for plot points
Even if you are interested in criminal investigation stories, I think it's not worth watching the Zone 414 movie for the plot points, just read the plot summary.
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Zone 414, movie (2021)
image © DMA Films
Review with spoilers - Zone 414, movie (2021)
Wow, the Zone 414 movie was bad. Not so bad that I'd skip parts or turn it off, but it was utterly boring. The story revolves around going from one place to another, without anything happening. The runtime is filled with shots of the travels, and filler scenes.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer is okay, although it makes the movie look more exciting and action-driven than it actually is.
Promise of the first scene
There's a man who executes a woman. It seems to me that the man is some kind of assassin or bounty hunter. I assume he'll get a job to hunt down some dangerous or hard to find individual.
Execution: Indeed, he had to do that.
Plot summary / Synopsis
In a futuristic city, there's a mercenary (Guy Pierce as David Carmichael), who enters the building of the Veidt Corporation to execute a woman, who is revealed to be an android. He is evaluated by the brother of the leader of the corporation (Jonathan Aris as Joseph Veidt). The mercenary is found to be the most ruthless, others were stopped by the fact that the android was so human-like. The mercenary tells him that he was told that she is an android, so he acted as if she was an object. Then he is sent to the leader of the corporation (Travis Fimmel as Marlon Veidt). Her daughter (Melissa) is missing. The mercenary has to get her back from Zone 414. He is sent to find Jane, an android.
Then we get a glimpse of Jane (Matilda Lutz) as she walks in Zone 414. Someone is threatening her through a phone call.
Then we see a black man trying to find the right female sex android for himself, but the local boss (Olwen Fouéré as Royale) assumes that the right one for him is a male model.
The mercenary enters the Zone.
We see Jane playing with a male client. She is later informed that the client was so satisfied, that he won't come again, to keep the memory of their perfect meeting.
The mercenary meets Jane, who admits that she has met the daughter, who set herself up as if she was an android, but she hasn't seen her since weeks. The mercenary offers to help her with the man who threatens her, if she helps him. The mercenary sees a man through the window, he leaves the girl to chase after the man. The man evades him, but leaves a camera for him, with footage of the girl in her home.
Jane gets the mercenary to the local boss, who admits that she has seen the daughter. The local boss tells him of a place where he might find her. When the mercenary leaves, she calls someone, who knows where the daughter is, and tells him that the mercenary is after him.
The mercenary and Jane meets a guy (George). He tells him that he met her, but doesn't know where she is. Jane threatens to kill him, and he confesses that the local boss gave the daughter to him, and told him that she is an android. Then she got away, and she is probably at the boatyard.
They indeed find the dead body of the daughter in the boatyard. The mercenary gets the body back to the father, and offers to help him find the killer. However, the father doesn't want an investigation, as it would jeopardise his enterprise in Zone 414, where there's no crime.
The mercenary talks to the brother, who admits that he might have been involved with the death of the daughter, but there's no evidence, and anyway, their wealthy family would make the life of the mercenary a living hell, if he'd accuse him. He also admits to be the one who is threatening Jane.
The brother then goes to Jane to hurt her, but she attacks him. The mercenary is still in the Zone, and visits Jane, where she find her and the bleeding brother. He lets her kill him.
Then we see that there's a police interrogation, where he says that he didn't find anything suspicious in the Zone, and when he got back, the missing daughter was there. We see that the father has built an android in the likeness of his daughter. Then we see Jane leaving the Zone and meeting the mercenary - she is probably part of the deal with the mercenary, and he can get her as a gift.
The setting
The movie is set in the future of Earth.
Androids: The Veidt Corporation creates androids who look like humans. The continuous use of androids can cause errors in their system. The androids have some red liquid in them that flows out if they are cut, but the cuts close up seamlessly. They can feel fear and desperation. There's a gadget that can stun the androids, making them unable to move, but they retain their senses.
Jane: She is a special android that cannot be switched off.
Zone 414: Officially the only place where androids can live. You need special access to enter the Zone. There hasn't been any crime committed since it was established.
Zone 414, movie (2021)
image © DMA Films
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one.
The structure of the story
The scenes of the Zone 414 film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. There are some time switches at the very end.
There's no single viewpoint character.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - beginning, action, resolution.
Parallels with other stories
The sets look like they were copied from Blade Runner.
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Things I liked
- The sets and costumes are actually not bad for a neo-noir movie, but here they just don't fit the story.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
I haven't seen any other works of the writer (Bryan Edward Hill) or the director (Andrew Baird). After this, I'll be cautious with their other movies.
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Zone 414, movie (2021)
image © DMA Films
Analysis of the story - Zone 414, movie (2021)
The basics of the story are not bad, but the finished product of the Zone 414 film is incredibly boring.
Problematic elements
The title: Zone 414 is a pretty bland title.
Zone 414: The place is supposed to be a luxury city of dreams for the rich, but it looks like a dump. It should look like Westworld instead of Blade Runner.
Why 414? Are there any other special zones?
Long an boring scenes: The movie is full of filler scenes.
- The beginning conversation with the mercenary is too long
- The sex android trade is unneccessary
- Jane with the client is unneccessary
- The audition of Jane and the counselor is long and probably unneccessary
- When David chases after the guy, it's mostly pointless.
Robot who wants to be a human: Jane smokes even when she is alone. I get it that she wants to be a living thing, but why would she do that?
B&W footage: We often see footage from bad quality security cameras between scenes. I get it that this supposed to make us feel that people are being watched, but this doesn't help to build up tension in an already boring movie.
Security cameras everywhere: If there are all those cameras at every angle in the city, how come that the owner of the city was unable to find his daughter?
External memory: The android Jane doesn't have a wireless access to her own external memory, she needs to communicate with it vocally.
Rude computers: When David tells the computer "don't talk to me again", the computer still continues to talk.
Memory check: They don't download the memories of the android during checkup, but they talk with them. This is inefficient, and the androids could hide anything.
Repeats: There are many repeats in this movie:
- We hear someone threatening Jane. Then Jane tells her councelor that she is being threatened. Then she plays the message for David.
- We hear the same message in Zone 414 over and over.
- David asks people about Melissa. They all admit to meeting her, but they don't know anything about her current location.
Fearful androids: It's not very efficient to have androids that are actually afraid. Acting as if being afraid would be okay.
It's always night: It seems that every scene is set in the nighttime. Do they all sleep during the day?
The locations: In the beginning David goes to the mansion of the father. Then he travels into the Zone. Then he brings the body back to the father, yet, he still seems to be in the Zone.
The investigation: David just goes from one man to another until he finds the body, then he takes a lucky guess to accuse the brother. This makes a poor crime story.
Marlon Veidt: As the leader of the corporation we are told that he is a visionary who changed the world. What we see however, is a stupid-looking lunatic, who acts irrationally.
Unanswered questions
Who was the guy that David chased in the building? I assume it was an android as it had superhuman speed and combat skills. It couldn't have been the brother, because even Jane could easily beat him.
Why does David spend his time in the Zone even after finding the body?
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Possibilities of improvement
- Cut the sex slave trade scene: It's boring and doesn't further the story.
- Cut the scene when David enters the Zone. We'll see that he's arrived there.
- Cut the scene with Jane and the client. The audience would probably imagine a better scene.
- Probably cut the scene between Jane and the councelor.
- Cut the part where Jane plays the message. The audience already heard it in the beginning of the movie.
- Cut most of the chase scene. Let David return with the camera, instead of showing us everything.
The movie might get more believable, if instead of a luxury zone for the millionaire, the story would take place in a standard cyberpunk city.
How it could have been better?
Let Zone 414 be just like any other place in the world, and the story could work out a lot better.
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Zone 414, movie (2021)
image © DMA Films
Uses for the film - Zone 414, movie (2021)
Plot
- The daughter of a rich man runs away. A mercenary is hired to find her and bring her back.
Scenes
- The city scenes are good to show neo-noir / cyberpunk cities.
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Civilians: Human-sized (S3) modern / futuristic (advanced) human female / male civilian.
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Similar stories - Zone 414, movie (2021)
Short stories
Isaac Asimov: The Bicentennial Man (1976): There's an android who wants to be human.
Novels
Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg: The Positronic Man (1992): There's an android who wants to be human.Based on the The Bicentennial Man short story.
Movies
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001): There's an android who wants to be human. Based on
Bicentennial Man (1999): There's an android who wants to be human. Based on the The Positronic Man novel.
Blade Runner (1982): The look of the sets in Zone 414 are clearly inspired by Blade Runner.
Westworld (1973): A special place where androids help the rich fulfill their desires.
TV series & episodes
Total Recall 2070 (1999): Similar setting, both in looks and the presence of androids.
Westworld (2016-2020-): A special place where androids help the rich fulfill their desires. Based on the Westworld movies.
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Frequently asked questions - Zone 414, movie (2021)
Is the Zone 414 film based on a book or comics?
No, Zone 414 is not based on either books or comics. But it's clear it took inspiration from Blade Runner.
Is there a post credit scene in Zone 414? Does Zone 414 have end credit scenes?
No, there's no post credit scene in Zone 414.
Where can I see Zone 414? Where can I watch Zone 414 online? Is Zone 414 available on Netflix? Is Zone 414 on Amazon?
As of 2021.10.19, Zone 414 is available on Amazon Prime Video.
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Resources - Zone 414, movie (2021)
Official
Andrew Baird: Zone 414: Official article.
BAIRD FILM + DESIGN Facebook page, IG, TW
Information
IMDB: Zone 414 (2021): Database article.
WikiPedia: Zone 414: Database article.
Letterboxd: Zone 414 2021: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: Zone 414 - City of Robots 2021: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - Zone 414 film (2021)
: Review video about the Zone 414 film with no spoilers.¤
Reviews with spoilers - Zone 414 film (2021)
: Review article of the Zone 414 movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - Zone 414 movie (2021)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of Zone 414.¤
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Buying the product - Zone 414, movie (2021)
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Have you seen the Zone 414 film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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