In Battlefield 2025, two young couples, an alcoholic, and a pair of runaway convicts are seemingly stuck in the middle of the desert, when a meteor hits. Shortly after they realize that the meteor is actually a UFO, hostile aliens begin tormenting them, changing their lives forever. These strangers must find a way to come together and survive through the horrific events that the extraterrestrials unleash upon them and their small Arizona town.
The opening credits of Battlefield 2025 offer a surprisingly strong start to the film. The intense theatrical music and the vibrant visuals prepare audiences for a movie that will exceed expectations. Unfortunately, the excitement ends here. It becomes clear early on that Joseph Mbah’s sci-fi outing misses the mark in terms of acting. Brandon Hannifin plays Kevin, and his acting ability quickly comes into question with his unbelievable body language, facial expressions, and the influx of his voice while hitting on a woman at a bar. I would love to say that as the main characters are introduced, one or two of the actors do an effective job of relaying information or emotion. This, however, is not the case. The further into the film audiences go, the more they understand that acting is not the strong suit of anyone in the film.
“…hostile aliens begin tormenting them, changing their lives forever.”
Mbah and Robert Conway get a bit too overzealous when attempting to introduce all the players. There is too much happening in the opening act of Battlefield 2025, and Mbah drags his audience from place to place entirely too quickly. This means that the twenty-some-odd characters do not have time to be given more than one trait each. Viewers begin to feel motion sick after the slew of introductions, and, therefore, they disengage. As the plot thickens and the ideas behind the film become clearer, audiences are able to step back into the mystery and remain focused on the action.
The dialogued is plagued with cliches and corny one-liners, so audiences find themselves lost in the insanity of the conversations. What is incredibly interesting about Battlefield 2025 is that through all of the subpar acting, cheesy dialogue, and barely adequate effects, it reminds me of films like Eli Roth‘s Cabin Fever and Jordan Rubin’s Zombeavers, and is a good thing. Those two films possess an intangible something that makes them remarkably enjoyable. They have become cult classics, and I believe that Mbah has produced a film that possesses those same qualities. I can see groups of teens sitting down to watch Battlefield 2025 together and being oddly entertained by everything the movie offers.
As the film comes to a close and Mbah makes it clear that our survivors’ journey is far from over, I can’t help but wonder if there will be a sequel and, curiously enough, I am interested in seeing what Mbah does next. Battlefield 2025 is a so bad, it’s good affair. It often falls short of any expectations that audiences might have, but there is something redeeming about how corny it is. There is enough substance to keep viewers mostly engaged, and Mbah’s Battlefield 2025 fits in nicely with the ridiculousness of the films previously mentioned. Don’t be surprised if sometime soon, there are blogs dedicated to Battlefield 2025.
"…a so bad, it's good affair."
The writing was horrible and the actors made it worse. No one will ever pay money to see this.