#Arq reviews movie#

However, it doesn’t matter, as the premise is just a springboard for the more interesting question of what you do with time travel once you have it. If there is anything to criticise about ARQ, it’s the rather far-fetched notion of someone accidentally creating time travel. Like the spinning token in Inception, the significance is eternally subjective. Their clash in ideologies leads to an ending that is either horrifying or uplifting, depending on your point of view. Robbie Amell ( The Flash, The Tomorrow People) aptly conveys the mean streak in a man that’s given up on the world, while Rachael Taylor ( Jessica Jones, Crisis) gives a fantastic performance as the broken, angry Hannah, who desperately wants to save it. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that it’s not just the time loop keeping the characters trapped it’s also their own decisions and obsessions.

The nature of the trap is also a different, more poignant one. Instead of epic open-air battles easy to disconnect from, ARQ takes place in a suffocatingly small space. It’s a technique that’s arguably more effective than those of better funded movies like the similarly premised Edge of Tomorrow. Yet even this limitation is used to advantage, imposing a claustrophobic feeling that reflects the trap of the time loop. The small budget is used to absolute efficiency, with characters confined to the same concrete walls for most of the movie. As each loop unfolds, more information is uncovered that builds upon the last and further ups the stakes. In many ways it resembles Mad Max: Fury Road‘s style of storytelling: scraping away everything except the absolute basics while dragging the audience on an adrenaline-pumped ride. But Elliot is superbly good at delivering information in passing, never spelling anything out.

In less capable hands, the lack of set up would be baffling and frustrating. When things go wrong and Ren starts re-living the same few hours over and over, he realises they’ve somehow entered a time loop. There’s barely time for a breath before masked men burst in the bedroom of rogue scientist Ren (Robbie Amell), threaten his girlfriend Hannah (Rachael Taylor) and demand money. Written and directed by Tony Elliot – of Orphan Black fame – with a modest budget of less than $2 million, it delivers novel ideas and unpredictable plot twists.ĪRQ jumps straight into the action.

#Arq reviews movie#

Time travel is a well-worn concept, so it’s a rare treat to find a fresh approach like Netflix‘s sci-fi movie ARQ.

[Note: This is a repost of our 2016 review.