41/18
Stella, haunted by the disappearance of her father 30 years ago, returns to her hometown to care for her ailing mother. One night, her father contacts her through an old radio. Stella must travel through time to bring him back by activating the Taklee Genesis. This film has a lot of fun moments if you don’t take it too seriously. It’s a sci-fi mystery based on a time travel story that combines elements of drama, comedy, horror, and fantasy. At times, it feels as if the director has a catalog of movie scenes from which a random element is selected and included in the film. The result is a crazy collection of aliens, dinosaurs, spaceships, zombies, kaiju, and many other things you wouldn’t expect. As a result, it feels like a more generic version of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. As with many time travel films, it’s hard to avoid plot holes. There are plenty of these in this film, often downplayed in dialogue with phrases like “It’s okay,” “Don’t worry,” or “Everything will be okay.” While the cast seems to be trying their best, the acting remains another weakness of this film. The British father at the beginning spoke as if he were recording a listening comprehension chapter in English in elementary school. The mother didn’t shed a single tear when Velan disappeared. The funniest character of all was Mordin, the silent survivor who saves the day when everyone else is giving up. Overall, we give Taklee Genesis a solid seven out of ten. We saw the original version with English subtitles in the cinema.