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Monday, October 25, 2010

Splice






Rating:
By Da’Mon Guy


      Splice is a slow paced, thought provoking, sci-fi thriller. It stars Adrien Brody (Predators, King Kong) and two lesser known supporting actors, Sarah Polley (Dawn of the Dead, John Adams) and Delphinie Chanéac (The Pink Panther)

      Splice is about two scientists that are trying to discover the cures for a multitude of genetic diseases. The two scientists, Clive and Elsa (Brody and Polley) are a couple, who’s passions extend beyond the lab. They have been combining or “splicing” DNA from different living organisms. They have been combining DNA in order to find the perfect combination to create a living donor capable of producing viable DNA to offset human diseases like cancer and other life ending diseases. The “two young rebellious scientists are told by their employers to halt groundbreaking work that has seen them produce new creatures with medical benefits by splicing together multiple organisms' DNA. They decide to secretly continue their work, but this time splicing in human DNA.” (Imdb.com) The result of their successful splicing is a life form named Dren, a hybrid of human DNA and a number of other DNA samples.

      The movie is essentially comprised of a series of bad choices by Clive and Elsa. The two of them literally make bad choice after bad choice throughout the course of the film. Also, We never really understand the true motives of Clive and Elsa. Especially Elsa, who is conflicted from the outset. She proclaims that she doesn’t want children but once Dren is born she takes a very parental approach. This conflict is at the core of the film. Elsa's conflicted personality is the real undoing of the film. We never connect with her. We don't feel any sympathy for her at all which is the biggest problem of the film. We never like her as a parent or a victim. By the end of the film she abandons her parental approach and reverts to a cold, calculating, scientific persona. She is the Dr. Frankienstein of the film. Elsa is three different personalities within the course of the movie. The mother, the scientist and the villian and none of them are portrayed particularly well. The outcome of her conflicted choices at the end the movie is welcomed.

      We are forced to endure the slow process of Clive and Elsa debating about the complication of creating and then “raising” Dren. Clive continually succumbs to his Elsa's every decision. The movie has little to no originality as we have seen this before. The movie is very reminiscent of Species, Frankienstien and the remake of the Fly (1986) that featured Jeff Goldblum. Only this time, we bare witness to the development of the life form from birth. The highlight of the movie is the very weird sex scenes that both Clive and Elsa have with Dren. Clive through a twisted choice and Elsa through force. This movie is the latest example of a good idea gone wrong. The premise of the movie as well as the characters intentions within the movie illustrate this.

      Splice doesn’t offer anything new, innovative, or spectacular. In fact, its boring to the point of being disappointing. The movie continually builds up suspense but it never uses it or satisfies you. The plot moves at a very slow pace and its almost illogical. In addition, the concept of the movie is no where near original. This movie is basically a reason for the creators to make a low budget sequel or start a series of direct to video sequels.

**

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