Landmine Goes Click (2015)

the audience applauded

Strong and Moving!

Simply Perfect

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Aptly titled, this Georgian thriller focuses on a US tourist who steps on landmine in the former Soviet State and finds himself at the mercy of a moody local who makes grisly demands of the tourist and his friend in exchange for help. With a few interesting plot twists and a very novel premise, 'Landmine Goes Click' gets off to a solid start, milking the tension of the protagonist being unable to move for all that it is worth. Events nevertheless become a bit repetitive by the halfway point as the local's demands grow predictably more grotesque and the middle section here undeniably drags. Things pick up very well in the final third though. The final third is such a massive change of pace that some viewers have been critical of it, but it actually fits in very well thematically with the rest of the movie. The last few minutes are particularly haunting and provide a brooding conclusion that comes quite unexpected in this sort of motion picture. Little more can be said without ruining a fresh experience of the film, but suffice it to say that the project ultimately goes beyond the confines of the slim premise. Sterling Knight is excellent in the lead role, nicely balancing out the emotional roller-coaster that his character endures. It is also interesting to come across a Georgian financed and produced film that so readily plays upon American anxieties regarding travel to foreign lands.

I'm just gonna cut to the chase -- the ending was savage and uncalled for. In this context, Ilya has hurt Chris in unimaginable ways and Chris returning to exact his vengeance makes sense but he didn't have to repeat the same thing that has happened to him earlier. Ilya is Chris's true enemy, not his daughter, Like or her mother Tanya so why the heck would he torture his poor innocent daughter when she has no clue about what her deranged psycho father has done. What happens if a man with a gun decides to be judge, jury, and executioner and, without other people serving as checks and balances, he makes a mistake and kills an innocent? This is what happened with Chris. It strongly believe that Chris has done a terrible mistake by harassing his daughter, who had nothing to do with the murder of his girlfriend and making her suffer for her father's sins was uncalled for. Chris is no better than Ilya if he thinks that revenge is about making an innocent suffer for their sins. I mean come on, his girlfriend might have beenhumiliated, raped, and murdered but that doesn't give him reason to make him suffer by doing the same to his innocent daughter? What the actual ...!! If Chris was so dead set on getting his revenge on Ilya, maybe getting him to confess in front of his wife and daughter would have sufficed. The reason I had to rant about it was because I was really disturbed by the way revenge arc was handled in this film and it was so wrong what Chris did and its unforgivable. It isn't revenge when you make innocents suffer and having power over your enemies always feels good but it is not to be taken lightly, for it is never without consequence.

There is something very wrong with the rating for this (currently over 6/10). The only reason I'm giving this 2/10 is that it is slightly better than some truly unwatchable films I have given 1/10. If I could give this 1.1/10 I would.The story is wafer thin, contrived and poorly written. None of the characters feel real or engaging. The dialogue, performances and plot are annoying.There are some pretty bad films that I enjoy or find something in that I like, but I can find nothing of merit here. I cannot believe the reviews singing its praises are genuine and unbiased.

Approaching Horror from an unusual angle, Landmine Goes Click has some very intense scenes which are hard to watch, so not for everyone. However anything which seems gratuitous really isn't, because it's part of the bigger picture with which we will eventually be confronted. We are being masterfully manipulated. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things is the order of the day. Sadists change places with regular guys, exploiters with protectors. Only the women are innocent. There are essentially two scenes, both are set in pleasant and peaceful places, which serves to emphasise the savagery of the action. There is one trench-sized plot hole, and a couple unanswered questions, but these can pretty much be forgiven; the end justifies the means.I enjoyed this film's exploration and message, though the violence and abuse in itself is difficult. But watch carefully. It's worth it for the last three or so minutes, so stick with it.