Iron Lung
First off, I just want to congratulate Mark for the success of Iron Lung. This movie was incredibly ambitious, and i know it took a lot of work for Mark, Amy, and the rest of the team to put this together. I’m so proud of him for this absolute behemoth of a project, and for a first feature film this is one for the books. That being said, onto the unbiased (because I am a fan) review.
The Good:
They took that 3 million dollar budget and the small crew and made that shit work. They really made use of their one room set, which can be very hard to do and straight up BAD if done incorrectly. The sub looked like a realistic one that would’ve been put together after some kind of calamitous end of the world scenario. The makeup and practical effects work are fantastic, and the pictures that are taken are pretty cool. They really got that control panel to look pretty cool also. The cinematography is really nice, but if you have a TV that tends to lean on the darker side display wise, you may want to turn your brightness up just a tad. The movie is a bit dark, BUT it makes sense that it would be dark because its in a dimly lit submarine. They really added to the story and made it a lot more interesting than the game it self.
The Eh:
I’m not saying that Mark is a bad actor by no means, but there were some scenes where I feel like if someone were actually in that situation, they would be way more pissed off and yelling way louder. Simon makes some really dumb decisions, but those decisions made sense for what happens later. I also think that Mark portrayed a descent into madness well. I don’t think the main complaint that the movie is too long is valid. The length is fine, but there are certain parts of movie where the pacing is off. There are mundane tasks that Simon does to do his job that are shown for way too long, and i think if they would’ve shaved those scenes down just a tad it would solve that complaint of the movie being too long.
The Bad:
I think the worst thing about this movie is the sound mixing. There are some parts that are so loud and gritty sounding that you can barely register whats being said, especially with the intercom scenes. It may be different on a home viewing, but at least with my theater’s speakers it was a little gritty. Some of the transition shots were a little tight and shaky, but it’s not that big of an issue, at least not to me.
Summary
Overall it was an entertaining movie that kept us all (except my brothers wife, it wasn’t really her speed) on our toes. The cinematography was good, the acting was good, the set pieces and practical effects were phenomenal, and the story was better. Only thing that drug it down was the pacing and sound mixing. It’s a very good watch, and an incredible feat for Mark.
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