Alpha Code movie storyline. Martin (Bren Foster) is taking a trip with his daughter, Teri (Sabina Rojková), after the disappearance of his wife/her mother. That night at the cabin, Martin is woken up to discover some unseen force is calling Teri into the woods. He tries chasing her down, but she vanishes, and Martin goes unconscious. He comes to in a hospital, where Agent Bowie (Randy Couture) blames him for his daughter vanishing. But, it isn’t before long that Martin comes to a startling revelation: it was aliens who took Teri and his wife.
In a desperate attempt to understand why the extraterrestrials chose him and his family, Martin teams up with Jo (Denise Richards) and Bowie’s former partner Lance (Marek Vasut). Jo remembers that someone was taken and recalls what the strangers from space looked like. However, she can’t figure out who was taken from her. Now, Jo and Martin must outrun the deranged and determined Bowie and figure out what the aliens want.
Alpha Code is a 2020 thriller, mystery and science fiction film, directed by Keoni Waxman, who in turn wrote it with Milan Friedrich and starring Bren Foster, Denise Richards and Randy Couture, among others. The film was made by Alpha Hollywood Studios, Hollywood Stars, Film Production Prague, Actionhouse Pictures and Hollywood Media Bridge, was released on July 1, 2020.
Film Review for Alpha Code
Written and directed by Keoni Waxman, Johana, a woman with no past, is hiding from a UN Agent Bowie, a head of secret space program. On her run she meets Martin and with help of Bowie’s ex-colleague Lance they both help Martin to find his half alien daughter. Starring: Bren Foster, Denise Richards, Randy Couture, Marek Vasut, Sabina Rojková, Jordan Haj, Vojtech Dyk and Massimo Dobrovic.
Diving into this film there’s a certain element of you know what you’re getting, it can’t be approached as if you’re anticipating a big-budget studio epic sci-fi, otherwise you’ll quickly be disappointed. One of the other elements going in which is best left alone, especially when talking about extra-terrestrials, is adding the ‘true story’ element. Here in particular it only undermines the story, it should be a fun adventure, not an attempt to recreate an outlandish claim.
However, it does fall into one of the typical problems of sci-fi rather fast, a simple story that tries to add too many convoluted details and just gets lost in the fray. Its revelations are similarly easy to predict, though the foundation of Alpha Code is realistically a staple of cinema at this point, searching for a disappeared family member.
Although there is a slight problem with that, in the sense that Bren Foster and Sabina Rojková do not feel at all like father and daughter. If this were any other film, they’d more than likely be paired in an older-man, younger woman relationship and it’s hard to avoid that. Especially when Foster is constantly trying too hard, it’s as if he’s trying to emulate a Bourne style character which is aiming too high.
His focus feels like it’s in the wrong place, more on the physical side of things than trying to build the emotions of his character, leaving him unconvincing. The same can be said of most of the cast, they tick the boxes but none of them manage to build more than a basic layer to their characters. Although surprisingly, Denise Richards may actually do the best job of creating a sympathetic quality.
Visually, it’s mostly what you’d expect, thankfully it doesn’t rely too heavily on effects although it does have a penchant for throwing in a few extra glitches here and there. It’s a shame they didn’t try to lean further into the action, pull in a faster pace or a more vibrant colour, it’s all fairly average.
It tries to make it feel as though there’s a lot happening but when you look at it as a whole, not much actually does. The fight choreography also feels like it wasn’t working in tandem with the direction and editing, with some shots not being able to hide the requisite near misses.
Alpha Code undermines itself before it even begins by wanting audiences to believe that a story about alien abduction and government coverups is true, it’s simply not something your average viewer will go for. Setting that tone means it can’t go far from there, and unfortunately it’s a predictable affair which doesn’t spend enough time building the mystery or the personalities of its characters to give you something to invest in. The direction and cinematography both feel mundane, it misses out on trying to add more energy or speed.
Put simply, it’s exactly what you expect it will be.Written and directed by Keoni Waxman, Johana, a woman with no past, is hiding from a UN Agent Bowie, a head of secret space program. On her run she meets Martin and with help of Bowie’s ex-colleague Lance they both help Martin to find his half alien daughter. Starring: Bren Foster, Denise Richards, Randy Couture, Marek Vasut, Sabina Rojková, Jordan Haj, Vojtech Dyk and Massimo Dobrovic.
Diving into this film there’s a certain element of you know what you’re getting, it can’t be approached as if you’re anticipating a big-budget studio epic sci-fi, otherwise you’ll quickly be disappointed. One of the other elements going in which is best left alone, especially when talking about extra-terrestrials, is adding the ‘true story’ element. Here in particular it only undermines the story, it should be a fun adventure, not an attempt to recreate an outlandish claim.
However, it does fall into one of the typical problems of sci-fi rather fast, a simple story that tries to add too many convoluted details and just gets lost in the fray. Its revelations are similarly easy to predict, though the foundation of Alpha Code is realistically a staple of cinema at this point, searching for a disappeared family member.
Although there is a slight problem with that, in the sense that Bren Foster and Sabina Rojková do not feel at all like father and daughter. If this were any other film, they’d more than likely be paired in an older-man, younger woman relationship and it’s hard to avoid that. Especially when Foster is constantly trying too hard, it’s as if he’s trying to emulate a Bourne style character which is aiming too high.
His focus feels like it’s in the wrong place, more on the physical side of things than trying to build the emotions of his character, leaving him unconvincing. The same can be said of most of the cast, they tick the boxes but none of them manage to build more than a basic layer to their characters. Although surprisingly, Denise Richards may actually do the best job of creating a sympathetic quality.
Visually, it’s mostly what you’d expect, thankfully it doesn’t rely too heavily on effects although it does have a penchant for throwing in a few extra glitches here and there. It’s a shame they didn’t try to lean further into the action, pull in a faster pace or a more vibrant colour, it’s all fairly average.
It tries to make it feel as though there’s a lot happening but when you look at it as a whole, not much actually does. The fight choreography also feels like it wasn’t working in tandem with the direction and editing, with some shots not being able to hide the requisite near misses.
Alpha Code undermines itself before it even begins by wanting audiences to believe that a story about alien abduction and government coverups is true, it’s simply not something your average viewer will go for. Setting that tone means it can’t go far from there, and unfortunately it’s a predictable affair which doesn’t spend enough time building the mystery or the personalities of its characters to give you something to invest in. The direction and cinematography both feel mundane, it misses out on trying to add more energy or speed. Put simply, it’s exactly what you expect it will be.
Alpha Code (2020)
Directed by: Keoni Waxman
Starring: Bren Foster, Denise Richards, Randy Couture, Marek Vasut, Sabina Rojková, Jordan Haj, Vojtech Dyk, Massimo Dobrovic, Andrea Pomeje, Miroslav Simunek, Simona Lewandowská, Milan Friedrich
Screenplay by: Milan Friedrich, Keoni Waxman
Cinematography by: Martin Stepánek
Film Editing by: Trevor Mirosh
Costume Design by: Paulina Mrvova
Visual Effects by: Viktor Adamec
Music by: Karel Antonín
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Vision Films
Release Date: July 1, 2020
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