If you'd like to be surprised by the Cosmic Sin film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:52, because it starts to give away some of the plot.
Cosmic Sin, movie (2021) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
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Article updated: 2022.09.08
The Cosmic Sin (2021) is a futuristic action film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
Original title: Cosmic Sin
Series: -
Setting: future fantasy Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: futuristic action, Style: sci-fi, futuristic, action
Release: 2021.02.18
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2021.03), first time
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points)
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This is my review of Cosmic Sin, a futuristic action movie from 2021. It's about a group of soldiers trying to prevent an alien invasion. The Cosmic Sin film is watchable, I recommend it to fans of futuristic action movies.
Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
image © Cosmic Sin PSC
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Review (spoiler-free) - Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
I didn't know anything about the movie before I started to watch it. The title and the cover looked interesting. I didn't watch the trailer.
The Cosmic Sin movie is about a group of soldiers trying to prevent an alien invasion.
The story was average. It's not very clever, not very interesting, but at least it was not boring either. Don't expect to see anything new. The story is consistent.
The cinematography is okay. The visuals are not impressive, but good enough. Most of the scenes really show that we are on contemporary Earth instead of alien planets, but it was not distracting for me.
The characters are not well developed or interesting, but at least they look distinct enough so I knew who is who. The actors were okay.
The music (by Scott Glasgow) is good.
Cosmic Sin is an watchable futuristic action movie, I think fans of the genre might enjoy it.
My experience
I was mostly satisfied with Cosmic Sin (2021), although it wasn't especially exciting.
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points). Cosmic Sin is a watchable film. It doesn't look great, and the story is kind of cliche.
Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points). Cosmic Sin was okay, but nothing special.
Rewatchability: High. I think if you liked the story, you'd like to watch it multiple times.
Chance of watching it again: Unlikely. Now that I know the story, there's probably no need to watch it again, but I liked it enough that I might watch it in the right circumstances.
Chance of watching a sequel: Probably. I assume I'd watch it if I won't have any better to watch.
Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
image © Cosmic Sin PSC
Will you enjoy this?
If you like futuristic action movies (Aliens, Ghosts of Mars), you might like Cosmic Sin, although it's nothing exceptional.
If you require good visuals and believable sets to enjoy a movie, Cosmic Sin is not for you.
If you watch the first 30 minutes of Cosmic Sin, and you find it watchable, you can continue, because it won't get worse.
Watching for plot points
The plot is not very interesting or deep, so I don't think it's worth watching the Cosmic Sin movie just for the plot points.
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Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
image © Cosmic Sin PSC
Review with spoilers - Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
I didn't particulary like the Cosmic Sin movie, but it was okay.
The story has a touch of zombie movie / bodysnatchers vibe, but the movie doesn't really focus on that.
The end was confusing for me, I couldn't follow who went where, and what they are doing there, and what is happening, when they suddenly won the battle.
Cover
The covers of the movie is okay. They usually depict Bruce Willis in heavy armour. They don't say much, but they don't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer has some spoilers, although nothing serious.
If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the Cosmic Sin film. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it will make the movie less interesting for you.
Promise of the first scene
Aliens are going to attack the humans. The miner couple we see getting attacked will probably have some roles, probably they'll be the protagonists who will lead the resistance.
Execution: The story really was about the alien attack, and the miners played some role in the beginning of the events. I don't think the promise was misleading, it just wasn't entirely clear.
Plot summary / Synopsis
The movie starts with world building exposition.
Then we see that aliens attack a mining colony. The survivors contact their command. The commander (Frank Grillo as Ryle) starts recruiting people to handle the situation, as this is their first time meeting an alien species.
They recruit a old general (Bruce Willis as James Ford), who won the previous war. His friend (Corey Large as Dash) tags along.
The survivors of the attack are brought to the HQ, but it turns out that they are infected, and they attack the soldiers. With the help of the old general, the attackers are defeated. They find out that there was a tracking device in one of the survivors, so the aliens now know where the Earth is.
They prepare a team to defeat the aliens. Beside the old general, his friend, and the commander, they bring some others (Perrey Reeves as Dr. Lea Goss, Brandon Thomas Lee as Braxton Ryle, Costas Mandylor as Marcus Bleck, and Adelaide Kane as Corporal Fiona Ardene). They bring a WMD with them that can destroy whole star systems.
They try to teleport to a planet, but they arrive in a battlezone. The team gets separated, some of them die.
They find a shot down alien spaceship, and use their sensor to detect where they were coming from. They prepare to teleport the WMD to their place of origin.
They get surrounded by aliens and infected humans. Among the infected, there's the ex-wife of the old general. They are offered a chance to join them as infected. When they refuse, a fight breaks out. Some of them die.
They shoot their WMD on the teleport gate the aliens have assembled, but the aliens catch it in a force field. They shoot a regular missile on the teleport gate, and that destroys the whole thing. It also kills the commander that is on the gate.
Then the WMD explodes, and it looks like it destroyed the alien fleet (although I don't understand how, if it was sent in another direction, and then the gate was destroyed).
In the end we hear the news that the aliens have surrendered.
The setting
The setting is the future of Earth, the 2500s. There are multiple planets where humans have colonies. Some seem to have breathable air.
They are able to teleport between star systems. They have weapons that can destroy a star system. They use force fields instead of helmets.
Even at that far in the future, it seems like some people are still religious.
Aliens arrived at a planet inhabited by humans, and the humans shot down their ship.
Humans can't teleport a whole fleet at once, but the aliens can.
Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
image © Cosmic Sin PSC
The aliens
They are human-sized humanoids. They have the technology to infect humans to make them their slaves.
Their armour doesn't protect them against human handguns. 2-3 shots kill them.
They have ranged weapons, but prefer melee weapons for some reason.
The infected humans
The infected use their blood to infect other humans.
They have super strength. They can spit acid.
They can be killed by shooting at their eyes. A missile launcher can also kill them.
They can figure out quickly how to use human technology.
The infected have some time before they turn.
We are told that they can't speak, but then we see one of the infected speaking.
They are able to withstand the vacuum of space. They are also able to speak in the vacuum. (This might be some form of telepathy?)
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one.
The structure of the story
The scenes of the Cosmic Sin film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - beginning, action, resolution.
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Things I liked
- I liked the look of the heavy armour.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
From the writer pair (Edward Drake & Corey Large), I've seen their previous movie, Breach, and that was worse in every way. I hope this shows improvement on their part.
From the director (Edward Drake), this is the first film I've seen.
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Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
image © Cosmic Sin PSC
Analysis of the story - Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
I mostly liked the story, I didn't find problems that would have prevented me from enjoying Cosmic Sin.
Problematic elements
Earth HQ: Why did they bring the survivors into the HQ on Earth, instead of a research lab somewhere in another system? This doesn't make sense. It's not safe, and they seem to have faster than light communication, so they can do the research anywhere, and inform the HQ on Earth.
Dash: The character of Dash is unnecessary. He doesn't do anything, and he doesn't have a character arc.
The scene when he was talking to the girl with glasses should be cut.
Trial by speech: When the soldiers are confronted by the local militia, they ask them about what's happening, and the militia requires them to say something to prove they are not infected, as those can't speak. As they've already spoken, this is unnecessary.
The WMD: If the aliens were able to catch the WMD, how come they did nothing against the next missile?
Unanswered questions
What happened to the ex-wife of the old general?
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Possibilities of improvement
- Most of the beginning exposition could be left out, because it was not referenced in the movie, and when it was, I think the viewer would be able to understand it without the intro.
- Add some background info about the characters so we would care about them. This might also help to make us care about the fate of Earth.
- It might have been more interesting if those aliens weren't aliens at all, but the survivors of the previous war, who were wiped out by the old general with a single planet-destroying bomb. Some additional dialogue could add this into the story.
- Cut the "say something to prove you're not infected" part.
- Leave Dash out of the movie.
How it could have been better?
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Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
image © Cosmic Sin PSC
Uses for the film - Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
Plot
- When aliens appear, the first response is to shoot them.
- Aliens infect humans to infiltrate their bases.
Scenes
- Some establishing shots of futuristic places look good.
- The battle in the HQ could be used to depict indoors fighting against terrorists.
- The space battle when they teleport to the planet looks good.
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
- Infiltrators got into an important facility. The game starts with the infiltrators and the VIP in the middle of the facility, with some security guards. The infiltrators are unarmed, but they can get weapons from the security guards, or they have hidden melee weapons. The facility wins if they wipe out the infiltrators. The infiltrators win if they kill at least half of the VIP. It's a draw if the facility evacuates all VIP, but there are still infiltrators in the playing area. There's an armoury you can use to arm the VIP. Half of the VIP is good in combat, the rest is strictly non-combatant.
- Alien infection: If the infiltrators defeat a human in close combat, they turn them into one of the infiltrators.
- Alien zombies: The infected infiltrators can only be killed by headshots or massive damage. They can also be stronger than they were.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Human soldiers: Modern / futuristic human-sized human warriors.
Human soldiers in heavy armour: Futuristic human-sized human warriors in full armour.
Infected humans: Modern / futuristic human-sized human civilians.
Alien soldiers: Futuristic human-sized humanoid warriors in full armour.
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Similar stories - Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
Movies
Aliens (1986): Futuristic action, humans fighting against aliens. Aliens is better.
Ghosts of Mars (2001): Futuristic action, humans fighting against aliens. Ghosts of Mars is better.
Starship Troopers (1997): Futuristic action, humans fighting against aliens. Starship Troopers is better.
Computer games
Doom series: Futuristic action, humans fighting against demons.
Duke Nukem: Futuristic action, humans fighting against aliens.
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Frequently asked questions - Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
Is the Cosmic Sin film based on a book or comics?
No, Cosmic Sin is not based on either books or comics.
Is there a post credit scene in Cosmic Sin?
No, there's no post credit scene in Cosmic Sin.
Where can I watch Cosmic Sin online? Is Cosmic Sin available on Netflix? Is Cosmic Sin on Amazon?
As of 2021.06.25, Cosmic Sin is on Amazon. According to internet articles, it's also on Netflix, although I couldn't find it.
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Resources - Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
Information
IMDB: Cosmic Sin (2021): Database article.
WikiPedia: Cosmic Sin: Database article.
Letterboxd: Cosmic Sin 2021: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: Cosmic Sin: Database article.
Reviews with no spoilers - Cosmic Sin film (2021)
Peter Gray (for This Is Film): Cosmic Sin (2021): Review article about the Cosmic Sin film with no spoilers.
Peter Walkden (for Walkden Entertainment): Cosmic Sin (2021) – Movie Review: Review article about the Cosmic Sin film with no spoilers.§
Reviews with no spoilers - Cosmic Sin film (2021) - German
Benjamin Falk (for Filmchecker): Review: Cosmic Sin (2021) (in German): Review article about the Cosmic Sin film with no spoilers, in German.§
English version by Google Translate
Reviews with no spoilers - Cosmic Sin film (2021) - Italian
Marco Minniti (for Asbury Movies): COSMIC SIN (in Italian): Review article about the Cosmic Sin film with no spoilers, in Italian.
English version by Google Translate
Reviews with spoilers - Cosmic Sin film (2021)
: Review article of the Cosmic Sin movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
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Buying the product - Cosmic Sin, movie (2021)
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Have you seen the Cosmic Sin 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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