I spend a lot of time writing up an elaborate review about Nemesis but realized it wasn't worth it. This film is hard to watch. It's not very well shot. Poorly edited. And the writing is its weakest element. Here are some points that sum up Nemesis.
Some of the best acting is from Rupert Holliday-Evans, who spends maybe three minutes on screen, is completely stationary, and whose character could be cut completely without any loss to the narrative.
In the first scene where we meet John's brother, the color correction changes between shots, back to back. None of it is very good.
In the scene prior, John frequently leans in and out of focus. Damien is just not in focus for significant periods of time. Shots try to include an insignificant character, creating awkward compositions. Except for when they realized this, and they don't include him, creating a strange volley of similar shots.
The only believable characters are the ones who spend the least time on screen. Our major players are pretty inconsistent and mostly just looking to spout cliche dialogue, or to drop an F-word several times in one sentence.
I like to think this is not on purpose, but the relationship between John's daughter and her girlfriend feels somewhat fetishized. In a similar vein, there is no reason for the girlfriend to meet Sadie when she has her tits out. Even if it had been her daughter like she expected, that would still be really gross. I don't understand the thinking behind that.
Yes. The actress portraying Sadie has had a lot of work done. This is not an attack on her appearance. Quite frankly, she has lost some range in facial expression. That's pretty detrimental to acting.
I did not know who the protagonist was a half hour in.
Don't watch this. This is not a so-bad-its-good experience. It's pretty boring at times and just frustrating at others. I think it could be improved with a recut. Maybe 4 or 5 stars. Still pretty weak, but maybe more viewable. I just can't fully grasp how this film stumbles the way it does. Honestly, it's pretty sad to see. I'm hopeful this production group learns from Nemesis for their future work, especially considering that they had an entire lineup already planned before Nemesis was released.
