MovieChat Forums > Spectral (2016) Discussion > My thoughts on this fun movie. Great pro...

My thoughts on this fun movie. Great production values, decent fx / plot

posted 8 years ago by mmmK-Ultra
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I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The practical effects are all top notch, great gear, vehicles, plenty of extras... That side of things is right up there, just a little south of Aliens. The computer effects are... as good as computer effects get for this sort of thing, I suppose. Personally I would have liked to see an approach that was a little heavier on miniatures and models but CGI rules the day so what can you do... Very nice CGI, but I think in a few years it will look a bit dated. I liked the plot well enough, it takes a couple broader leaps towards the end but whatever, keeps the whole thing moving.

If it were my movie to make I think I'd go with a couple changes, story wise:

(SPOILERS BELOW)

Have the weapons in the end be the product of some testing he's doing for the prototype weapon at the beginning. They look kinda similar anyways so it makes sense. Maybe they're already packed up for dropping into an active warzone prior to the movie's events, and when they become needed he's able to facilitate an almost entirely automated transport with drones and remote telepresence robotics.

Have some (more) weapons (and traps) be made of crude explosives and iron filings and crunched up ceramic bits. This was hinted at in some scenes but I feel the battles at the end could have used two or three times as much 'home made bang' to take out the enemies. Also the super-space-age troops shown at the end, maybe reduce those in quantity so it's clear that they could only make so many suits/guns. A scene about how the troops are selected to be these elite spectral hunters could have been fun.

( Maybe there are legal reasons a scene like above can't happen? Can't show someone making improvised weapons out of old plumbing fixtures because people might imitate it in real life? )

Completely remove the 'unplug the ghosts' scene. Unplug or disable something else critical to the process. A satellite perhaps, or maybe they get into a fight with the 3D printer, and it's creating new badguys faster than they can deal with them, something like that. A printer like that would need a 'filament extruder / creator' to supply the printing process, so that could ultimately be the weakpoint of a 3d printer enemy.

Daisy chaining multiple guns into one super gun was a great touch, more scenes like that would have been nice. I think that was my favorite part.

Is there room in the story for the head nerd to have a kinda ditzy assistant that follows him around and seems extremely inappropriate for a warzone until it becomes clear that she's actually a highly advanced robot?

[–] lunarvision 8 years ago

Man, those are some pretty bold changes you are suggesting! But I like how you think...

-- Agreed; they should of brought back the temperature-dissonant laser prototype from the beginning. Fixes the plot holes and is much more logical.

-- Regarding your observation about people making the weapons at home. I can tell you from personal experience that the filmmakers intentionally left out steps. I tried building my own spectral emitter weapon after carefully rewatching the montage and taking copious notes. Guess what - my lousy version it's not nearly as good/stable as the ones in the movie. They skipped several important steps like proper insulation, which caused me problems.

-- I also agree with your last point about having a sexy/nerdy female sidekick/assistant (like a receptionist), who turns out to be a sexy robot. I honestly thought that was coming. Good feedback!

[–] elcabio 8 years ago

"they should of brought back the temperature-dissonant laser prototype from the beginning. Fixes the plot holes and is much more logical."
Abso-freaking-lutely not! That type of predictable BS gets people howling. How ridiculously convenient it would be if the random device he was working on in the beginning, just happened to be the device he needed in the end! No, the beginning was set up perfectly to show that he is a great inventor, who can improvise from junk, and has principles, despite his work for DARPA.
What plot holes needed to be fixed?
I agree, that it was a good movie (popcorn movie). No more "stupid" than any other highly rated scifi movie such as Aliens or Predator (which I both love). What it lacked was some memorable characters and perhaps a modicum of humor.