Avoid "Branded" at all costs

Last night I went to see "Branded"---big mistake. The trailer made it look somewhat intriguing, sort of a cross between They Live, The Matrix, and Inception. No way - this movie is FAR inferior in quality. Bad acting, bad direction, bad editing and screenwriting.

This trailer makes the film look like a cool Sci-Fi flick; after all, it's got Max Von Sydow as a sinister media mogul. But just like the plot of the story, the trailer a big advertising deception. It makes you think that the story takes place in America--it doesn't. The whole film is set in Russia. Much of the dialogue is in Russian too. It's a Russian film, with some American actors appearing in small English-speaking roles.

It's not sci-fi at all, really. It's more of a satire of marketing that could have been done in a 10 -minute short YouTube parody. It tries to be funny in some parts (like the opening shots in the trailer), but too often it tries to be too serious, to the point of absurdity. I was laughing so hard in the theater I almost couldn't contain myself.

About 90% of what is in this trailer comes in the last 20-25 minutes of the film....and you have to sit through an hour and a half of boring flashbacks and bizarre farm rituals that are hardly needed at all.

 

I admit I didn't do my homework and research to learn more about it.... I often like to see movies "cold"---but this is NOT one of those films where you do that! Forget "Branded"!!!