Friday, May 14, 2021

Oxygen - Well Executed Survival Movie in Confined Space with Some Shocking Twists

Yesterday while I was browsing for new movies, I found this one that premiered on Netflix the day before. Despite looking very similar to another hit movie that I admired years ago, I thought why not give this a try. So let's get on with it.

Brief Story Line

A young woman who later revealed to be Liz (Mélanie Laurent - 6 Underground, Inglourious Basterds etc) woke up in a medical cryogenic unit without memory of how she was put in there. In order to save herself, Liz had to remember things about herself before running out of oxygen.

And how would the story conclude? Find them all in this intense movie.

End of Brief Story Line

Yes, this movie has such a simple premise like I mentioned above. However, it was perfectly executed and successfully captivated me throughout the movie. I was pretty amazed by the directing as the suspense was well maintained from beginning till end. I think the director Alexandre Aja (Crawl, The Hills Have Eyes, High Tension and few others) has proven once again that he is very good in directing movies that would bring a lot of thrill.

To be honest, at first I was a bit doubtful watching it since I thought it was just a carbon copy of the movie Buried starring Ryan Reynolds and felt lacking in creativity. However, the different location and future setting made this one has a unique feel. I was truly happy that I gave it a chance as those distinctions plus some unforeseen shocking twists were really impressive. The twists were definitely the main factor that made me feeling satisfied after watching and it definitely mesmerized me.

Again this kind of suspense thriller where literally only 1 person shown from start to finish would not be a success had it not been for the wonderful performance of its lead cast. Mélanie Laurent did a fantastic job bringing out the terror people would have felt when waking up in a small space with no memories. There were also other cast in supporting roles such as Mathieu Amalric (Quantum of Solace) as the voice of MILO, Malik Zidi and few others who gave better perspective of the film.

Aside from the suspense and thrill, this movie has pretty decent special effects. The background music was also a big factor to make me enjoy the movie better. And  if you are one of those audience who are not accustomed with non-English language, do not worry as I believe the story would be universally understood. The English dubbed version is also available should you choose it, though I prefer to watch in its original language. Due to its intensity, having a running time of 101 minutes including closing credits did not feel too long for me. Btw, there was no mid or post end credit scenes.  

Overall, this is an amazing sci-fi thriller movie with several really surprising twists. The suspense was quite constant, with some drama as well. I loved watching this movie as it managed to keep me guessing. The ending could have gone either way, but I am quite content with the one they chose (though a different ending would probably be even more memorable for me). So if you are a fan of futuristic movie with simple premise about survival in small space and some shocking revelations, then you would be entertained by this. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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