Blu-ray Review
White Wall
Directed by: James Boss Cast: James Boss, Gary Kohn, Michael Teh, Aurelie Kynn, Hugh Mason, Nevin Milan, Walid Amini Running Time: 1 hr 31 min Rating: R Due Out: May 30, 2010
PLOT: In the near future, a virus called the VXII wipes out a large chunk of the world's population. Living in a land surrounded by white walls are the uneasy survivors of this event. A janitor named Shawn Kors (Boss) seeks to escape this land and find the truth about the virus that has imprisoned himself and others for many years.
WHO'S IT FOR?: The wide range of genres can open this film to many different audiences. But no fan of any film style is safe from the crushing disappointment of White Wall. If you like your action spare, your story drawn out to the point of near incomprehension, and your acting different shades of awful, then you might enjoy this inspired but flat science fiction film.
MOVIE:
At the center of White Wall is a screenplay that resembles the quality of online fan fiction more than it does big league screenwriting. Characters are given straight-faced names like “Vitor” (pronounced VEE-tor) and “Sentenza,” and there are long bouts where certain chapters appear unnecessary (especially when the story goes to the desert). White Wall soon presents itself as sci-fi junkie’s sloppy attempt to amalgamate all sub-genres of science fiction that aren’t mixed together often – post-apocalyptic, western, and of course, action. Such “action,” while imitated in a couple of random sequences in the first hour, doesn’t kick in until the third act, which gives the story a punch of adrenaline the whole picture needs. "Cliches" should be given a screenwriting credit, something that puts the semi-interesting concept of White Wall into general territory. It shouldn’t be surprising then, that the dialogue is terrible. (Example: “What do we do now?” “Live, Shaun. Live.” Fin.)
As for showing what the creative forces behind White Wall have learned from loving all aforementioned sci-fi subgenres, it becomes evident that the basics have been picked up, and even those aren’t given much of an original spin. On a simple level, it’s got the threat of world-wiping viruses, duels that happen between tough guys in cowboy hats, and a few fight sequences with knives and fists that sound like door slams whenever they make contact. But the presentation of this wish list is marred by hit-and-miss cinematography, usually going hand-in-hand with weak editing. The lighting scheme is often too dark for actors and their actions to be distinguishable, and the rushing nature of the chaotic combat scenes are often reduced to simple spectacle by editing that can’t keep up with the furious kicking, knifing or punching.
Despite his efforts to make this movie as legitimate as possible, lead actor/director James Boss breathes dullness into an already iffy script. Such a weak presence himself on screen, it would only make sense that he may have guided a lot of other actors in this movie (with an slight exception of the slightly spunky Dryden, played by Gary Kohn) into the wrong direction of camera charisma. White Wall is not a movie that tries to blanket its story with long or mindless action scenes; the goal of keeping the audience involved is left up to the acting in large parts. With people like Boss leading the way, a lot of the pieces of White Wall hardly make an impact.
EXTRAS
"Making Of" Trailer
MOVIE SCORE: 3/10