There is something that is always intriguing about movies that overtly ambitious, aside from the ambition the movie needs to land otherwise it becomes a muddled mess that cannot be contained. However, when the general basis of the movie has been done before, especially to varying degrees, the blueprints are clearly there and the creation lays in the screenwriters to create something of their own with it and do something different or new to engage audiences. Thankfully though the team of writers consisting of Tomislav Cecka, Robert Hloz, and Zdenek Jecelin manage to take this story that is part Blade Runner and part Surrogates and brings to life Restore Point with style and flair to capture the imagination of audiences and get them emerged in their near distant future film.
The film focuses on a life saving technology called a restore point, which creates a backup of a person where if they were to die in an unnatural way they could essentially be brought back to life. The catch with it is though, not only is the program voluntary, it also has to have been used 48 hours prior to the persons untimely demise or it is essentially expired. While the preservation of life is an interesting concept, and thusly removes accidents and creates a second chance, not everyone is on board with regards to being ‘backed up’. There is a underground network of people opposed to the idea called the River of Life, and when the head researcher behind Restore Point and his wife end up dead, Em (Andrea Mohylová) who is a gritty cop takes the case and tries to get to the bottom of the murders, the River of Life, and whose been corrupting and deleting the restore points.
While the movie is a hodgepodge of Blade Runner, Surrogates, Edge of Tomorrow, Demolition Man, the list can go on, it manages to stand on its own two feet with merit and packs a punch about the moral and ethical issues as well. While there certainly is a claim to make about the ideology of restore points and where the movie inevitably hits regarding economical status and the kind of restore point you have, it never bogs itself down in the political social commentary enough to lose the heart of the action thriller. Restore Point carefully balances the action with the commentary and features a great performance from Andrea Mohylová that will capture the audience and hold them throughout the film.
Restore Point is a rare care of an action film that has a message that doesn’t get lost in the world of itself but still manages to be entertaining enough for a mainstream audience. While the leading lady in Andrea Mohylová captures the audience it is the world itself that truly entices the crowd. The cinematography is absolutely stunning throughout Restore Point, so being so fully immersed in this visual spectacle mixed with the action thriller and social political undertones certainly makes for one hell of an engaging science fiction movie that proves its not all surface level.
Restore Point screens 9:30PM, Thursday, October 19 at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival! Tickets are available here: https://www.cineplex.com/movie/restore-point-czech-west-tadff-2023
