Movie Review: Burning Through Space 2
It was rather surprising to see a short film based on a video game created with such discretion and thought. The second movie of the series, “Burning through Space”, delivered an intriguing package of well-balanced action scenes and simple, yet powerful axioms. While a lot of the online short films made by the enthusiastic filmmakers contain bombastic scenes, this one truly steered away from the inconsistent and chaotic nature of the films of this kind.
The movie tells the story of a group of manic mercenaries attempting to rescue a fellow comrade who, after battling a robotic Bolted Behemoth, end up in space. The mercenaries build an aircraft and fly into space in search of their lost friend, but their efforts are impeded by a group of aliens who mind-control their crony to attack his fellow mercenaries.
Considering the nature of the game the movie was based on, it was not surprising that the plot seemed rather cliché. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to take a break from analyzing all the complicated plot lines, and appreciate something rather straightforward. The attractive part of the movie is the unbelievably goofy and flaky characters, who make vulgar and insensitive comments towards each other. As simple as this story may seem, the word count for the entire film was extraordinarily low, with the majority of dialogue placed at the beginning and the ending.
The other major attractive element of the movie is the profound philosophical axiom it demonstrates. The mercenaries may be a tad bit crazy and ill-mannered, but it also reflects their near-impeccable teamwork. They have a tendency to address each other as “idiots” and “buffoons” every now and then, which proves to the audience once again that brotherhood could not exist without conflict. It reminded us that it doesn’t matter how close you are to another individual, it is inevitable that you will run into some bumps on the road of your relationship. Although these bumps may be unpleasant, the process of overcoming them can be greatly rewarding, and they will in turn strengthen the friendship. These mercenaries may not seem to like each other at times, but the efforts they put in order to rescue their lost companion was definitely touching and satisfying. The axiom of the movie was simple, but it always seems to be neglected by many of us.
Overall, the movie was quite a masterpiece, and it has been a long time since I viewed such a touching and impactful short film. If there is one stain that keeps this sparkling diamond in the realm of short films from earning a perfect rating, it’s that it is rather difficult to figure out some of the minor traits and details of the different mercenaries. The film is based on the game “Team Fortress 2.” If one doesn’t have prior knowledge of the game, it may be even harder to fully appreciate the characters. Some people might not know that the demolition expert was an alcoholic, that the scout was a huge fan of baseball or the fact that the soldier loves to address anyone he looks down upon as “maggots.” In my opinion, this is the only blotch this film has; otherwise, it has all the makings of an enjoyable action film.