The Goods, The Bads, and the Uglies *SPOILERS INSIDE*
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THE GOODS
1: The storytelling was actually quite good for about halfway through the movie. The flashbacks were key in getting the audience to figure out what the heck is going on, and really delves into introductions. I also liked the talking scenes, especially Jericho and Melanie's scene outside where they are talking about who they are. I really like character development and these two gave you great insight to why they are the way they are.
2: The prelude leading up to the entry of the "Ghosts" were pretty neat. The sharp objects, the metal chime in the Rec Factory, and the unsettling setup of scissors and other sharp accessories in the Melanie and Jericho scene when they found the severed arm. It really had me wondering what was going on and guessing.
3: The music was very well done, both for the battle scenes, and the ending credits.
4: The action scenes were also good.
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THE BADS
1: Clea DuVall's character (Bashira) was the most fascinating character to me of all of them. Two reasons behind this. First Reason was that she had NO character development at all, like Melanie and Jericho. You sort of got the hint that she was expertly trained in weapons, and that her skill as an officer is what assigned her to this particular mission. You sort of got a hint that she was being used by Helena (their commander). Other than that, there is absolutely nothing about her past. Second Reason is that her script was god-awful, which really didn't help her cause, and made it so some people disliked her because they felt she was acting poorly. She was the best woman in the movie for being this "mysterious rookie girl" that was never explained. The reason I put this in the BAD section is because of her having absolutely no background information or reason as to why she is there other than the movie's basic plot to obtain Desolation Williams. Other than that, she was completely left out.
2: The Ghosts themselves were horridly explained. They had no history at all other than a small glimpse that they were previous inhabitants on the planet. There is no history of how they were collected and sealed in that chamber, and no history at all as to what kind of people they were. The Ghosts were just thrown into the movie with very little thought process.
3: Desolation Williams has absolutely no character background, much like Bashira and Descanso and Helena. For the star character not to have any kind of background as to why he does why he does, how he came to be who he came to be, and so forth, is very striking to me. It was very poor story writing.
4: Not enough emphasis on the brotherhood between Desolation and Uno.
5: The fact that Melanie wasn't charged with the murder of her team when she ordered the train to go back to the Power Plant in the first place. She was the one who used her position as "assumed commander" when Helena died to force her team into death. They all could have made it to Chryse (minus Helena and Descanso, Uno, Dos, Tres, and the Prisoners).
6: Bashira's death pissed me off to no end. She was the most beautiful woman in the movie, because she had something Melanie didn't: NATURAL BEAUTY, and with very, very minimal screen time, no character plot, no character history, and to just "off" her like that, really agitated me. If anything, Melanie should have been the one to die there, since she was the one who sent them all to their deaths.
7: Desolation's posse (the drug-addict and the native guy) were just AWFUL. They were there for I guess comedy relief, and their scripts failed horrendously to give me that impression (though I did love Clea DuVall's smile when they joked about the "laugher", the black-market breather.) That was pretty funny. Bashira: "It gets you high?" Jericho: "hmph... turns your brain into swiss cheese." [Bashira smirks]
8: The prisoners all had atrocious dialogue, especially in the announcing of their names by Helena. I was like, "oh come on... that is just really bad."
9: Whitlock's storyline could have been much better, and so could her dialogue.
10: The possession stage (when the ghosts took over the bodies) were only seen for 3 seconds in Uno's flashback. There were no other possessions seen since. The characters all died. Uno, even though it looked like he was being possessed, was never seen afterwards with the rest of the invading army, so he must have been killed.
11: The "candy shot" scene with Melanie being in her undergarments.
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THE UGLIES
1: The language of the Leading Ghost. It was horrendous.
2: The final fight between Desolation and the Leading Ghost. It was really bad.
3: I mentioned Bashira's death in the bad, but I am putting HOW she was killed here as an ugly. Poor girl. :(
4: Melanie's suicidal order that killed them all except her and Desolation. She was the lone woman responsible for Jericho, Bashira, and the train operators' deaths.
5: The very end where Desolation basically looks at the camera and gives the smirk before the ending credits. That just ruined the whole thing because when they look in your direction like that and give that KNOWING SMIRK, as I'd like to call it, it really is bad for the movie.
6: The dialogues before Tres dies. "He didn't make it.." "Oh god.." dead. Seriously?! Are... you... serious?!
7: The whole Trucker's Ridge flashback was very poorly done. They released the ghosts, but it explained absolutely nothing other than that.
8: The whole Power Plant exploding scene. She said it was good for maybe 1 mile, yet when it showed the planet, and the explosion, it was about 500 miles in diameter.
9: The Power Plant scene in general was completely unwarranted.
10: How did the Ghosts get there before the train did??
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I know it seems I am nitpicking, but really, there were some good points to this movie, and a load of bad ones. Would you like to discuss with me? Let's talk about them! Look forward to it!