PLOT: A legendary family of rhythm game warriors must battle their way deep into the future to save what remains of a booze fueled humanity from a horrific calamity that threatens to turn them all stone cold sober 4 EVZ.
REVIEW: I feel like I need to state right from the jump that I had never heard of The FP series before this entry. I also didn’t realize that it had such a fervent fandom that there have been two other sequels. So there’s clearly something that people really attach to with these films. But I also wanted to make sure to put it out there in that I’m not aware of the callbacks or fan service going on. Which means I may sounds like an ignorant dummy at points. If anything though, that means I can say whether this works as a standalone work or if you need to have seen the others to get some enjoyment out of it.
I quickly had to recalibrate as to what I was watching because this is Z grade in the best of ways. Damn near every shot takes place in front of a green screen, with some cheap After Effects to populate the space. But it’s clear they’re going for a certain aesthetic. It’s all cheese, all the time. There are never any weird elements fading in and out; the effects are well-executed, just a little strange and cheap. Maybe it’s because I watch a lot of YouTube, but this feels like a web series in execution. This isn’t a bad thing but it requires a light-hearted perspective to gleam some enjoyment.
The story is all over the place, with a race of alien ducks having taken over the planet. If that weren’t baffling enough, the world of FP 4EVZ seems to be obsessed with a Dance Dance Revolution-style game. I’ve never really been into these games, but it seems like the writer is a fiend for it. Whether this is for ironic reasons or legitimate appreciation, it properly sets up the world as being utterly ludicrous. Because despite it looking like a mix of Mad Max and Lawnmower Man, the world makes sense as its been presented.
As an editor myself, it was hard to watch FP 4EVZ and not appreciate the intense work going on here. Because this entire film is built in the edit and, with such a small team, I can only imagine the obstacles they had to overcome. I’m sure there are plenty of reviews that are going to dog the FX and I just can’t bring myself to do that. They establish a style early on and follow that through the film. Unlike a Marvel film that will go from Photorealistic to a PS1 game in a heartbeat, these are silly-looking from the jump.
I enjoy a lot of stupid stuff so I’m never going to bemoan someone for enjoying something silly. I can’t say that anything here was for me, it was clear as to which elements the fans have such a fun time with. There were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, which is really all I wanted here. The fact that a dance game plays such a central role in helping to protect the world is hysterical to some and eyerolling to others. It just depends on which camp you fall into as to whether or not you’ll enjoy this film. But with a runtime of a little over an hour, there’s really no reason to not at least try it out and see if it’s for you. Who knows, it may surprise you.
FP 4EVZ is STREAMING FEBRUARY 23RD, 2023.