Fahrenheit 451

HBO and their magnificent yet mysterious trailer raised high hopes, and I thought I wouldn't watch this series. After finding out it would only be a movie, I decided to give it a chance, even though the duo of Michael Shannon and Michael B. Jordan didn't particularly appeal to me, which was the opposite until recently. I was literally shocked by the devastating reactions from the Cannes Film Festival, and it was clear that things wouldn’t go well, leaving me curious where the mistake occurred. I certainly don't see it as bleak; rather than the film's execution, I had a problem with the story, which I found outright stupid. Even though it's straightforward propaganda where the main character discovers the real truth, it just seems silly to me for firefighters to start burning books without a proper explanation (besides some brainwashing by some ministry). I understand perfectly that the source material is appropriately brilliant and makes perfect sense, but that's simply not enough for me. I would probably prefer to watch the fifty-year-old film of the same name, as I completely doubt how different the story could be. Instead, I'll just have this slightly above-average film in mind, which looks great, sounds great, and features well-known actors. Before the premiere, the film would strongly resemble the huge flop Equilibrium with Mr. Bale in the leading role, and now I even see it's in similar films. So the point is clear: if you've read the book, definitely avoid the movie, although I believe that 40% is significantly underrated. (22/05/2018)

Ray Bradbury is undeniably a sci-fi icon, but this adaptation turns a great concept into a heavy-handed, book-burning spectacle. If it weren’t for Michael Shannon, I probably would’ve turned it off much sooner. (14/05/2021)

The film wasn’t as bad as I feared, given my initial expectations of a movie filled with nonsense, A poorly written script, and a dreadful final execution. However, it didn’t turn out that way. Admittedly, if I had read Ray Bradbury's original novel, I might have had more critiques about what the film aimed to achieve, but since I haven’t read the book, comparisons aren’t quite relevant. Firstly, the film has a distinct TV production feel. The special effects seem rather basic, and I would have expected a more elaborately developed world. The aerial shots of a regular city with only a few CGI signs on skyscrapers don’t impress much. Despite this, I found the story engaging, with an intriguing concept about firefighters (it never would have occurred to me to turn the primary function of a fire department into starting fires instead of putting them out). The subplot involving the rebels seemed a bit underdeveloped; it could have been tweaked to give this storyline more weight and convincing character. Michael Shannon shines in his role, and his expressions are a pleasure to watch; he’s a great actor. The ending was quite acceptable. The execution gets 2 stars, but the idea deserves a strong 4. I give it 65%. (27/06/2018)