Watch The Skies (a.k.a. UFO Sweden) (2022)
Call it fate or serendipity-doo-dah, but we stumbled upon this film on Prime just after we picked up the first news about Steven Spielberg's newest film in production, due next year.
As much as we distrust internet showbiz bulletins these days, WE WANT TO BELIEVE the scoop that Spielberg's film is reportedly a UFO extravaganza in the style of his early crowd pleasing blockbusters....with John Williams set to write the score! Oh be still our heart......please let it happen, for the good of all mankind....
(We're not at all sure we could work up the same enthusiasm for subsequent news of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz re-teaming for another 'Mummy' movie. We can only pray that Fraser's willing to lose a few more pounds or else run the risk of internet wags calling the film, 'The Tummy'...)
But enough idol gossip. Back to Prime, where we discovered 'Watch The Skies', a 2022 Swedish sci-fi thriller that went under the title 'UFO Sweden'. It arrived with its dubbed English dialogue tweaked and sharpened by AI to improve the actors' lip synchronization.
(On that matter, we're far from technical experts, but yes, the dubbing looked as good we guess it can get....and far removed from Kung Fu movies where everyone's mouth kept moving long after their line deliveries stopped.....)
'Skies' comes from a collective of filmmakers repeatedly billed as 'Crazy Pictures'. In the end credit roll, Crazy Pictures is listed for everything from stunt coordinator to multiple technical roles....wouldn't surprise us if they did the catering too.
'CP', as we'll call them, obviously took their inspiration from 'Close Encounters, 'Stranger Things', 'X Files' and even bits and pieces from 'Interstellar' and '2001'.
The film centers around a motley crew of UFO believers (and chasers) who've been regularly derided by the press and government officials as Freaks 'n Geeks. (They're not far off.....you can think of this bunch as the 'X Files' Lone Gunmen, with about three more people added.)
In a flashback, one of its dedicated members split off from the group to hunt down a UFO hiding on a mountaintop. He's never seen again, of course, leaving behind his young daughter Denise, who's convinced aliens abducted him.
Some years later, Denise (Inez Dahl Torhaug) is a fierce, fearless independent teen, determined to bring her dad back. And with cops and government SWAT teams always in pursuit, the UFO Sweden oddballs become her very own Scooby Doo alien hunting gang.
Propulsive hairbreadth chases and twists keep the movie in perpetual motion, leading Denise to her inevitable climactic close encounter with both her father and vast, dazzling galactic powers. (But fair warning here: Spielberg fans should not anticipate cute doughy animatronic creatures parading around. The 'CP' collective, to their credit, have their own ideas about how to present this stuff.)
If you think this all sounds like silly, far fetched overheated melodramatics, than this is not the movie for you. As for BQ......blatantly derivative as it is, we liked it a lot and and had a ball watching it, for all the films it recalls and samples. While the Crazy Pictures folks are unabashed in their influences, we could still sense the great affection and respect they have for their own distinctive characters and the adventures they're putting them through.
And let's tip our tinfoil hat to the film's star and MVP Inez Dahl Torhaug, a diminutive powerhouse with wide expressive eyes and a force-to-be-reckoned-with demeanor. She takes full command of every scene she's in and if there's ever an American remake of this film, we can picture the 'Wednesday' pixies Jenna Ortega and Emma Meyers battling to land Inez's role.
Anyone who's been or is now currently a devoted fan of all the films and TV series that 'Watch The Skies' references and pays homage to, head on over to Prime to check it out.
3 & 1/2 stars (***1/2)
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