Starring
Matt Johnson, Owen Williams, Josh Boles, Ray James. Directed by Matt
Johnson. (2016, 94 min).
Along
with the JFK assassination, the notion that the Apollo moon landings
were faked is one of the most infamous conspiracy theories of all
time. Everyone from NASA to the CIA to Stanley Kubrick was involved,
and we've been subjected to countless articles, books, TV shows and
movies offering wild variations on the theory. If taken seriously (which you shouldn't),
Operation Avalanche combines every paranoid suspicion into a single
greatest hits package. But even paranoids might walk away from this one thinking, "So what?"
This is a
found-footage mockumentary about two ambitious, low-level CIA
agents tasked who infiltrate NASA posing as documentary filmmakers
in order to root out a supposed Russian mole. When they discover that
NASA is presently unable to get to the moon on schedule, Agent
Johnson suggests using his film crew to fake the entire landing. This
doesn't initially sit too well with the CIA or fellow Agent Williams,
but they eventually go along with the elaborate ruse. Most of the
film focuses on the crew's efforts to pull it off, even venturing to
England, where director Stanley Kubrick is currently shooting 2001: A
Space Odyssey, to get tips from the master. But it's soon obvious
they are in over their heads and being watched, either by the
Russians, their own government, or both.
 |
| "Peeps? I love Peeps!" |
Operation
Avalanche is one of those films where we admire the filmmakers'
efforts far more than the finished product. The attention to period
detail is impressive, as is the 16mm style in which it's shot. The
cast, playing “themselves” (though I'm not sure how this renders
it more authentic) is convincing and the mostly-improvised dialogue
adds a considerable amount of realism to the proceedings. It's
immediately obvious a huge amount of effort went into making the film
look and sound like it came from the late 60s.
However,
style – and a considerable helping of conceit - is really all it
has going for it. Sure, we're impressed with how actual footage of
Kubrick on-set is seemlessly worked into a scene, but it's basically
just a special effects stunt saying, “Look what we can do.”
Writer/director Matt Johnson also makes certain various classic film
posters are prominent in numerous scenes, either as subtle narrative
commentary or to show off his cinema smarts. These gimmicky,
unnecessary distractions do little to help the actual story, which
simply isn't interesting or suspenseful enough once the novelty of
the director's bag of tricks wears off. The whole fake moon landing
premise is so old-hat that this film feels like a waste of talent and resources.
As
an interesting experiment, Operation Avalanche works...for about 30
minutes. While everyone involved deserves some kudos for trying
something a bit different in the found footage genre, it doesn't
amount to much you don't have some good old fashioned tension and
drama to bail you out later.
EXTRA
KIBBLES:
FEATURETTES:
Behind
the Scenes: Operation Avalanche; Car Chase; Pool Party
“The
Making of Operation Avalanche”
“The
Creators Project: Reanimating Kubrick”
AUDIO
COMMENTARIES:
Writer/director
Matt Johnson
Producer
Matthew Miller, Editor Curt Lobb & FX Supervisor Tristan Zerafa
Directors
of Photrography Andy Appelle & Jared Raab, Colorist Conor Fisher,
16mm Film Artist Pablo Perez
DELETED
SCENES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEH...DUST OFF YOUR OLD COPY OF CAPRICORN ONE INSTEAD.
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