42/37
Haunted by her father’s disappearance 30 years ago, Stella returns to her hometown to care for her sick mother. One night, her father contacts her through an old radio. Stella must travel back in time to bring him back by activating the Taklee Genesis. This film offers many enjoyable moments if not taken too seriously. It is a science fiction mystery based on a time travel story that combines elements of drama, comedy, horror and fantasy. At times, it felt like the director had a catalog of movie scenes from which a random element would be chosen and included in the film. As a result, the audience gets to see a crazy assemblage of aliens, dinosaurs, spaceships, zombies, kaiju and many other things that one would not expect. As a result, it feels like a more generic version of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. As with many time travel movies, plot holes are hard to avoid. This movie has a lot of them, often downplayed in the dialogue with phrases like Everything’s fine, Don’t worry, or Everything’s going to be fine. While the actors seem to be trying their best, the acting is another weakness of this movie. The British parent at the beginning speaks as if he’s recording a chapter of elementary school English listening comprehension. The mother doesn’t even shed a tear when Velan disappears. The funniest character of all was Mordin, the silent survivor who would save the day when everyone else is in despair. Overall, our rating for Taklee Genesis is a solid seven out of ten. We watched the original version with English subtitles in a movie theater.