Netflix continues the disappointments on its film projects. After the failures of Bright and The Cloverfield Paradox, it is Mute 's turn to disappoint science fiction fans. Worn by Alexander Skarsgård (Tarzan), Mute is the new film by Ducan Jones (Moon, Warcraft). In a futuristic universe, Leo is a mute bartender in a Berlin in full boil. He goes in search of his girlfriend, Naadirah, who disappears in the slums of the city.
Ducun Jones surfs the new wave sf
Thanks to the recent Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner 2049, the trend of grimy, retro and neo science fiction is back. These two films have brought up to date this science fiction that has allowed some great masterpieces of the genre such as Akira, Blade Runner and The Fifth Element. Many films and series like Ares or Altered Carbon surf on this wave and promise works in the tradition of the classics of the genre without necessarily keeping promise. It's not Blade Runner who wants. If Ares seduced for its broke and spontaneous side, Altered Carbon disappoints because of an excessive ambition that does not hold on to the duration.
Mute is therefore in this line. In a filthy neo-Berlin, the aesthetic does not even try to hide its influences and stages a city with the same aesthetic as Blade Runner : dark alleys, ostentatious clothes, and characters overwhelmed by events. If the aesthetic remains attractive, Mute is not based on any concept, except the handicap of the main protagonist. The concern does not come from Alexander Skarsgård, solid in his role, effective and charismatic, without a word, only by powerful games of glances. The concern comes from a lazy scenario that gets bogged down in tiring monotony.
Mute, stakes that fall flat for a boring scenario
With a lot of characters, most of whom are useless, and a cruel lack of stakes, the script falls flat. Mute never takes off, staying on an intriguing pitch but never exploited. The secondary characters are boring and bland. The dialogues are cruelly boring. And it is not the performance against employment of Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) that allows to raise the whole. The aesthetics is only a crumbly varnish, which gives way to a thriller sewn with white thread and total boredom. Too bad, because the end hinted at some beautiful prospects, with an effective pessimistic conclusion.
Finally, Mute is more like a bad B series than a real science fiction movie. Ducan Jones has failed to create a new benchmark for science fiction, and the latest Netflix film productions disappoint, especially when it comes to science fiction.
Despite a pleasant aesthetic that surfs on the wave Blade Runner 2049, Ghost in The Shell and Altered Carbon, the new film of Ducan Jones is a terrible boredom as the scenario stitched with white thread does not advance.
