Encrypt

Plot set in 2068. The planet has been ravaged and the small groups of survivors struggle to stay alive. John an ex-marine does what he can to keep his people safe. Not all the people are suffering however and one man in particular is obscenely wealthy and hires John to go into an estate holding the world's treasures in order to liberate some of the stuff for himself. John's payment is food and medicine for his people. There's just one catch. The estate is heavily protected.We see John head up a team of mercs and they go try liberate the goodies. There's lots of traps, a holograph of a person who might be a good or bad guy, shoot outs and an incredible amount of chat. For me this chat was just too much in a film that was quite entertaing otherwise. I got the impression that this was a TV type of sci-fi action movie that would get shown on movies for men or syfy type of thing to fill their schedules. It's passable type of viewing which has a decent enough story and which is reasonably well acted but there's nothing memorable about it. The later parts of the story are fairly predictable but it's worth a view if you like SYFY type end of the world apocalypse entertainment.Extras nil. UK release.

Encrypt was not a Hollywood blockbuster. But it's still worth a watch.The film takes place in a post war setting where the enviorment has been ravaged by bio chimical weapons. The atmosphere has been destroyed due to chemical atmoshpehric warfare. (Not apocolyptic this time) Garth is a former US army captain who lives in a city with a band of survivors. Their exsistence is bleak since food has become scarce. The people of the world have basically come to small bands fighting over what little food is left.Eventually Garth is approached by a former rival from when the world was still normal. He is brought to a millionaire who collected fine art before the war. He also has a stash of food and medicine that Garth's group could really use including Garth's father. Garth is persuaded to break into the VIncent estate to steal some of the art in exchange for supplies for his group. The only hitch is that a high tech security system is in place and has wiped groups out in the past. Garth was mainly chosen for his ability to think outside the box.Eventually he and a band of four other highly armed mercenaries make their way to the Mansion. When they get there they meet resistance right away from a robotic guard that can use invisiblity. They make it past the first obstacle and get into the Mansion. Once inside a hologram, Diana, appears to them and speaks to them plainly as if she were a real person. She claims to be in charge of the security system, but is unable to deactivate it do to protocols placed within the system. It's discovered later that she was created from a real person close to Mr. VIncente. She would prefer the thievs to leave instead of continuing on where they are likely to be killed. In fact that is her intial purpose in appearing to them, to try to disuade them from robbing the Mansion. She also seems to be unaware of the fact that the earth has been ravaged by a war.The group pays her little notice except Garth. In fact Garth speaks to her several times as they make their way through the Mansion traps. He tries to gain info from her, but he and Diana also seem to connect on an emotional level and appear to become attracted to each other.The suviving members of the group eventually come to a security measure known as the Rook. Some back stabbing and plot tiwists occur until we reach the end of the film. I won't spoil it for you.Well Encrypt does have a few cliches in it. It also strikes some strong similarites to the first Resident Evil film. When the commando team was investigating the house and got killed off along the way. There are several traps including wall knives, mobile hologram sentrys, and toxic gas to name a few. I also saw a few signs of the second Alien movie and the Predator films. What keeps Encrypt above water though would likely be the acting, which is fairly good for a made for TV Sci Fi movie. Also the idea of Vivina Wu (Diana)playing the empathetic hologram. She acutally makes the film more interesting as she interacts with the group, whether it be a warning, a piece of information, or the connection she seems to make with Garth played by Grant Shaw. The two have chemisty which helps to put them on a personal level for the viewer. What the film lacks in special effects is made up in by the emotional encounters with Diana.In the end I gave Encrypt four stars. The story holds together well, the acting was good for the most part, and the addition of the conflicted sympathetic hologram made the story more interesting. If you like sci fi that is driven more by story and the human element you may like Encrypt. If you prefer over the top special effects like the Matrix films this might dissapoint you. My guess is there is something for most viewers to enjoy. It's likely worth your time if you have an interest in it.

I found Encrypt a decent effort considering the obvious low budget nature of the project. The concept of a virtual security system with potentially lethal consequences is interesting especially when it is linked up with a virtual guardian if you will in the form of the lovely Vivian Wu. Most of the sets are well designed and decently decorated, the costumes are ok. The characters are somewhat predicable and cliche but having said that I think the director was able to get a decent performance out of them. In fact the overall direction of the actors and scene coverage was pretty good. The action sequences are also pretty good as well as the cinematography considering the obvious limitations in budget. The show was shot a few years before the digital cinematography revolution and it looks like it may have been shot in 16mm. I would be curious to see how the film makers would have done had they had the chance to shoot digital. The ending is a bit cheesy but the final shot is beautiful. Overall, not a waste of money or time.

Fast-paced, flat-out action....I loved it. The CGi was worth the movie, especially Diana and the weapons that protected the item they were all after. Boiled down to greed...of course...but well worth watching it.

when i first saw he movie i thought it was great.over the yearsi have seen much better.nice story but nothing new

Nothing spectacular, but watchable.