A Rough Draft

source: A Rough Draft

I know nothing of the books, but shouldn't need to if the script was tight. It was not. The main character's bizarre obsession with one woman and seemingly effortless adjustment to his new surreal job and surroundings had me rewinding several times, certain I'd missed something that explained what was happening. I had not. Also, none of the frequent Russian text displayed on the screen is translated, which is super annoying. Don't let a few interesting visuals in the previews fool you. The rest are embarrassingly bad.

The main character starts off doing well but things start to go a bit wrong as the plot develops. From the start, a Sci-Fi film is revealed. There's an annoying blonde in the film who is integral to the story, acting like a nemesis to the main character. She's fairly wooden in acting ability but also needed to counter the 'hero'. The first half of the film is damn good. Has some decent action, visual effects and a good sense of direction. If the film had stayed on this course, it could've quite easily scored 8 or more as it really entertains. However, the second part of the film is just odd, muddled, and let's the film down. The point of the plot, characters, etc, are just thrown away. Yes there are more action scenes but they seem to be sprinkled into the film at random. Overall, this isn't a stinker as many other reviews seem to point out, but it does suffer from a weak second half.

I was expecting a good movie, but this confusing crap left me deeply disappointed. The plot is awful, cast and acting even worse. Just a bunch of mediocre special effects.

Never reviewed a foreign movie, but have to on this occasion. This is a great fantasy Sci-fi adventure about love. Anyone looking for a easy going movie with a deep Steampunk narrative love story will enjoy

"A Rough Draft" manages to be a pretty entertaining, highly conceptual sci-fi story. Much like "Night Watch", the film's big theme is alternate realities, filled with near supernatural characters who have learned to manipulate and control destiny. It is instantly a fascinating concept and begs of intrigue. I found the film interesting from the beginning. Although "A Rough Draft" suffers similar flaws as "Night Watch", lack of depth in regards to character development and a true human touch, the movie gives us a fun ride with cool characters. The writing does hint at cookie-cutter hyperbole, the cast interact with enough comfort to create engaging story development and drama. The special effects wag between creative high concept CGI elements and mockbuster aspiration. The film is visually stunning with various Moscows showcasing some exciting possible realities. There is some really memorable scenes that almost brings to mind "Inception" level effects, my favorite involves a Matryoshka doll. Overall "A Rough Draft" is a very entertaining, highly engaging sci-fi action movie with cool effects and stellar cinematics. It isn't quite as high impact as "Night Watch", but it is a proper effort. Still the film does lack true depth inregards to connecting on a personal level. The characters don't completely feel fully drafted. That being said, the movie is worth watching and should be entertaining to sci-fi fans.

This film is ambitious but falls far short it has to be said. Based on a Russian book, which as far as I'm aware is not around in the English world, its another one multiverse movie. Ready Player One and others have been heavily influenced by tech and popular science books that have been popularising this area. What we have here is really a Russian super games programmer who one day finds that he has been erased from the real world and trapped in a virtual world etc etc. Its not really worth explaining more. It ain't the Matrix and closer to Notting Hill! 20 years ago if this was being made it would have starred Hugh Grant in some English language remake. It's beautifully made, often too self indulgent, and that's all that's good about it. It's quite a boring film. The only character of any interest is just indeciperhable. I can remember the actress from Babylon Berlin, and her character & look is 100% the same. Very unoriginal. This film tries but misses the mark across the board. Apparently there could be more to come, but I think it is best to cut the losses here. A waste of time.

I watched it in 2 attepts. The first time I stopped after 50minutes. Then I gave it another try, and it developed very well. Plot twists, good characters, nice CGI.

Kirill (Nikita Volkov ) is a game designer who recently broke up with his girlfriend Anna (Olga Borovskaya) who is not killed by a train. All of a sudden, for no apparent reason his life vanishes caused by the strange woman (Severija Janusauskaite ) in his apartment. Kirill is forced to live in a circular tower with multiple doors. He opens doors to new worlds which are alternate realities for Moscow. He is tasked to locate Arken, the one world that rules them all. Meanwhile, he chases alternate Anna who doesn't know she broke up with him. This was interesting Russian science fiction in spite of the horrible dubbing. If you loved the Matrix, you might like this one. Visually good. Guide: No swearing or sex. Brief rear nudity.

I like the story- Kirill (Nikita Volkov) returns home after a work celebration to find someone else living in his apartment. Soon he finds that no one remembers him- Not even the government! He discovers he has been chosen to be a customs agent, a person who can open doors to other worlds. This movie feels like a rough draft. There was so much touched upon and and crammed into this movie. It would have done well to expand some parts of the storyline. The romance between Kirill and Anna had no depth or resolution. Although there were a few touching moments they weren't long enough to let you care. Since this was an English dubbed film I must say the voice actors were mediocre. There was a part in the beginning where an actor is speaking and you only hear Kirill reply. Emotion is not always relayed and it takes away from the actors' intention. There were a couple of neat little action scenes, some special effects and glimpses of other worlds. Scenes with Kirill and Kotya seemed natural. This has at least inspired me to find the books and have a read.