ANDRON
Only One Survives
Film Synopsis
In the year 2154, a group of young men and women awake in a dark claustrophobic maze. They don’t remember who they are or how they got stuck in the Black Labyrinth of ANDRON. The group must learn to decipher codes, understand the signals and beat the tests in this mysterious and bizarre place. Out of necessity they struggle to form a bond to survive, while the outside world watches and wagers on their fate.
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Michelle Ryan, Danny Glover
Written/Directed by: Francesco Cinquemani
Release: In Theaters, VOD and Digital EST June 3, 2016
Language: English
Genre: Sci Fi, Action
Rating: R
Run Time: 90 minutes
In this post apocalypse world, the year is 2154, decades after a global catastrophe wiped out nearly all of the earth’s inhabitants. Those who rose up to restart civilization form an alliance called the Nine Corporations, who in turn enslave the remaining populace and maintain a strict population control, only allowing two million humans to live and thus work for the corporations.
Once a year, ten volunteers are chosen from the slave populace to participate in a type of gladiator event where the contenders fight for not only their freedom, but for three family members or friends’ freedom as well. The slaves are also allowed to place a bet on which contender is going to win. If their hero wins, they are granted their freedom as well. If not, the slave dies along with whomever they bet on.
Alec Baldwin stars as the ruthless game master who arranges everything that happens to the players in the game, which is actually a massive computer simulation called ANDRON. The end goal is that ten contenders go in, and only one survives. This time, a virus is uploaded to ANDRON by a former employee of the Nine Corporations, and the results set Baldwin’s game into a tail spin. Danny Glover plays aging Chancellor MP who not only heads up the Nine Corporations but helps fund the “game,” so when things go awry, game master and game financier collide bringing to light the true nature of each, and puts new meaning to the mantra of the sport, “Only One Survives.”
The movie starts with a rather slow build to how the characters come to be contenders (their memories are wiped prior to the contest, making them easier to control) but once the movie picks up its pace, it does get quite interesting.
A few of the actors’ performances should have had a do over; they are a bit painful to watch. Baldwin does a fantastic job of being the “bad guy,” while Glover’s delivery as the chancellor comes across as awkward and offers little to the overall story line. The action gets pretty intense, and the story line is pretty smooth but has a few hiccups that do detract from the overall flow. The effects are fantastic along with the soundtrack, so overall, should we have an actual rating system, I would give this Sci-Fi a 3 out of 5 stars.
JUNE 3RD OPENINGS:
Boston (Manchester) – AMC Liberty Tree Mall 20
Chicago – AMC Streets of Woodfield 20
Denver – AMC Arapahoe Crossing 16
Detroit – AMC Southfield 20
Kansas City – AMC Town Center 20
Phoenix (Prescott) – AMC Deer Valley 17
San Francisco/Oak/San Jose – AMC Deer Valley Stadium 16
Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) – AMC Woodlands Square 20
New York – Cinema Village
Los Angeles – Arena Cinema
