However ARQ is not a film I can recommend in good conscience. If nothing else on Netflix is looking good, I don’t think watching this is going to kill you. So if you can survive the first half, then the second should be much more bearable. The events get a little more engaging because the story structure gets a little less formulaic. The plot really thickens in the second half of the film, and that’s where ARQ gets interesting. Their performances get much better as time goes on, but it’s hard to suddenly get the audience invested in the protagonists half way through the film. They often look pretty disinterested in what is happening and overall just bored. Robbie Amell and Rachael Taylor really phoned these performances in, at least for the first half of the film. At one point they mention Torus is a corporation and the Bloc is made up of rebels, but that is so basic and generic I refuse that as a viable answer. Who is the Bloc? Who is Torus? What do they stand for? What is the war even about? Many questions are raised yet nothing is ever answered. The protagonists kept talking about a war between the Bloc and Torus. Things are so vague that I had no idea what characters were talking about. However there is a big downside to this as well. I kind of liked this about ARQ, to the extent that it isn’t drowning us in obvious, beat you over the head symbolism. You can hear little tidbits about a huge energy crisis, war in the Middle East, and some panoramic shots of destroyed cities.

In ARQ, the state of the world is kept somewhat vague. This boring, standard science fiction symbolism really needs to stop. How we all need to just get along and be kind to one another. Movies like Elysium try to beat us over the head with symbolism of how our culture is too thirsty for power and energy. Most science fiction films like to give us long speeches and extensive dialogue about the current state of the world. Often times I asked myself why characters made such irrational decisions. There are so many plot holes it is not even funny. It has some unique and interesting aspects about it, yet it feels jumbled and thrown together. An overly complicated story that, you guessed it, frequently makes no sense.ĪRQ honestly feels like it was written by a first year screenwriting student at an Ivy League college. As Renton slowly learns more about the motives behind those who capture him, he tries to come up with an outcome where he doesn’t die. Things get more complicated when every time Renton his killed by his captors, he wakes up and relives the experience. Unfortunately Renton’s house is broken into, and his captors seem in it to steal his money.

This man, Renton (Robbie Amell), owns an energy source that can fix the war torn worlds problem of energy shortages. It tells an overly complex science fiction story of a man who keeps reliving the same day over again. ARQ is a Netflix original movie that stars Robbie Amell and Rachael Taylor.

Arq movie review