Overwritten Review
Overwritten is a 2021 short film directed by Jack Ruefli.
Bringing a solid cyberpunk style futuristic vision is no simple task, but in keeping things smaller in scope, Overwritten does a solid job fitting all the pieces to the puzzle, mostly.
One of the less talked about aspects of film production has to be makeup/hair for those on camera, but this is where things make for a good jumping off point. The design work in these aspects is done really well in this film. Having a strong visual sense like that of Cyberpunk 2077, the effect translates well into live action form here.
The acting throughout the short is solid too. At no point does anyone seem all that out of place and there is a level of commitment that is easy to recognize.
Beyond that, the camera work and editing are both strong too. With well paced shots and good framing used throughout the short. It is only in a few spots during the fights does it feel a little slow.
Keeping in mind the fighting choreography, it all, for the most part, works well, but there are a few points where it is a little obvious there was also a bit of restraint as to not destroy the set entirely. Though when things line up, it lines up really well.
The cinematography is solid with a nice use of reds in particular. Again, though, there were a few moments where some strong key lighting would have helped popped the characters from the background just a bit.
The last piece to mention would be the computer aspects of the short, which never quite landed super effectively at least here. They delivered the messaging well enough but were a little too simplistic to feel all that futuristic in scope. Just a minor nit-pick.
Overall, though Overwritten, provides some strong moments of grounded futuristic science fiction. It doesn’t completely hit the mark each and every bit of the runtime, but there are definitely more hits than misses. Fans of the genre won’t be disappointed.
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Cheers!
Daniel Hess
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