Movie Review: Division 19 – Flawed Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller

Movie Review: <em>Division 19</em> – Flawed Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller 1

Genre: Sci-Fi

Director: S.A. Halewood

Cast: Jamie Driven, Alison Doody, Linus Roache, and Will Rothhaar

Studio: Uncork’d Entertainment

Runtime: 94 minutes

Release Date: In theaters April 5, 2019

Rated: Not rated

Review Rating ★★★★★

The science fiction dystopian Division 19, written and directed by S.A. Halewood, takes place 20 years into the future and the picture it paints is far from pretty. With everyone being under surveillance, anonymity is a token of the past as everyone must register their identity or risk being imprisoned. Rebels that call themselves “Division 19” disrupt the government by any means possible including hacking broadcasts to staging bank robberies. The film begins with Hardin Jones (Jamie Draven), a member of Division 19, being arrested. Fast forward, after years of incareration, Jones manages to escape and now the hunt is on.

Movie Review: <em>Division 19</em> – Flawed Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller 2

Division 19 takes quite a few (obvious) inspirations from other sci-fi films, such as Robocop or Blade Runner to name a few. I had initial concerns that I would be viewing another low-budget ‘mock-buster’ movie; however, I was pleasantly surprised. Although not without its flaws, Division 19 is enjoyable.

The writing is smart and darkly satirical with its themes. Division 19 mirrors, and critiques, America’s love affair with for-profit prisons and mass imprisonment. In the film, inmates become stars due to Panopticon TV, a service that allows subscribers to view and watch prisoners in their day-to-day activities. During Jones’ escape, the ever-present drones hovering above broadcast his face to millions of viewers while the head of the service, Neilsen (Alison Doody), figures out how to turn this into profit instead of aiding in his capture. It feels eerily realistic and reminds me of prisons that exist today solely to force inmates to work for big businesses instead of being rehabilitated. Halewood manages to handle this topic with a level of nuance that’s unexpected and shows her talent as a writer.

Movie Review: <em>Division 19</em> – Flawed Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller 3

Halewood’s writing does fall flat in the characterization. Throughout the film, it’s established multiple times how Jones has become a media darling; however, Division 19 does little in the way of illustrating why this is the case. What we do see of him in prison, usually him showering, sleeping, or exercising with the occasional brawl, doesn’t sell us on how he becomes so beloved with the Panopticon TV viewers. Draven’s performance does aide with the lack of character depth. He pulls off the badass action scenes with grace and shows conviction in the few emotional scenes he has. He also has enough dry wit in-between to be likable. Despite his stalwart efforts, in the end, his character is little more than a plot device used to propel Division 19’s story forward. There are scenes that try to flesh out the Hardin Jones character, especially with his brother Nash (Will Rothhaar), but these are too short and spaced out to have a lasting impact.

The same missteps unfortunately apply to all the characters. Division 19 features two villains. As previously mentioned, Neilsen, and a government baddie named Charlie Lynden (Linus Roache). Both spend the majority of their screentime sitting in computer rooms watching Jones while barking orders to their employees. Roache, who was excellent in last year’s film Mandy, is criminally underused here as he barely has screen time. Both Roache and Doody are serviceable enough for Division 19, but the script doesn’t give them enough to stand out. Halewood seems better at the big ideas and developing the world than she is with characters and their interactions.

Movie Review: <em>Division 19</em> – Flawed Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller 4

Visually, Division 19 can be a bit of a mixed bag too. The color palette fits the dystopian tone perfectly utilizing lots of yellows hues giving the film that hot desert dry look. Halewood opts to film most of Division 19 using handheld camera work with lots of quick cuts which give the movie a frenetic pace and style. The issue with this is that it tends to lead to some sequences being hard to follow due to how shaky the camera is and how quick the cuts are. It feels as if Halewood is afraid the audience will get bored if a shot lasts longer than two seconds. The style can work in the film’s favor. An action scene where Jones fights off a group of cops is brutal and visceral to watch; however, for every one of these scenes, there’s a parkour sequence. This is how the aforementioned rebels move around the city, and instead of being impressive, it’s confusing due to how fast-paced the editing is with multiple cuts at different angles happening within the span of seconds. The film’s use of practical effects, set designs, and real locations are a breath of fresh air. It gives Division 19 a level of grit and realism instead of feeling that most of the film had been shot in front of a green screen.

In the end, Division 19 surprised me with how engaging its themes and satire are. It’s not groundbreaking but Halewood’s world-building elevates what could be another generic sci-fi film into one that’s much better than it has any right to be. It’s worth a watch and I’m curious on what Halwood does next.

For more on this film visit:

IMDB:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2492344/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Division19movie

Official Website: Division 19

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Dustin Kogler

Professional amateur movie watcher. Dustin is a laid-back nerd who loves discussing pop culture. He loves listening to 80s music, playing video games and watching netflix all day. He's pretty sarcastic and if you tell him your favorite movie he can tell you why you're wrong.