Sometimes, seemingly simple movies, panned by most of the critics, just grab me. This was one of them. It takes place in the future, but I was gripped from the get-go with World War II trench-like warfare going on at the start. It feels very much like a good war movie at this point with a compassionate officer going up against some kind of Nazis, but things are not really that especially with the steampunk machines and unconventional firearms. It goes even crazier when some long-dormant evil is awakened. After that strong opening, we delve summarily into that society and some kind of prophecy that involves a desperate quest to save the world by a small group of heroes. It sounds pretty cliché, right, but weirdly it works here and the characters are compelling despite not being characterized much. It's the type of suicide mission story where the "heroes" get killed of one by one, and not always in the most heroic manner. However, you kinda grow attached to the multi-ethnic group, want to learn more about them (some intriguing snippets but not much) and their sometimes noble self-sacrificial acts make them likable. I truly enjoyed the heroism on display, but can't say I was particularly emotionally moved by any of the deaths. I also liked very much how the plot sometimes played with our expectations (witness the mother and child trying to evacuate) despite some logical flaws that bugged me a little.

The mutants in question are not super-heroes (like X-Men) or standard "zombies", and the title is misleading because it's not really "their" chronicles. Thee mutants are antagonists and besides attacking and being killed, they don't do much. The movie is apparently low-budget (at 25 millions, I'd say medium-budget) but it really doesn't show. You have stunning special effects, decors and vehicles that don't really look computer-generated (and sometimes actually weren't). It's not to say everything is realistic, it's a bit stylized and otherwordly like 300 for example. There were some really spectacular scenes and vistas. The action scenes were exciting and overall I thought the directing was very good. The movie was paced well, and I was never bored. One thing I didn't really care much for was the religious claptrap, but I've seen worse.

Please note however that I didn't watch the shorter (by around 10 minutes) director's cut that cuts some of the religious stuff but also a few nice character moments. I did check the differences and suggest watching the theatrical non director's cut version if you can. Before I forget, you do have some bad-ass heroes kicking major butt in satisfying ways (less and less guns and more sword fighting as it goes),and some enjoyable b-movie one-liners by Thomas Jane's character. So it's certainly not the type of movie you haven't seen before, but it's masterfully executed, beautiful in a post-apocalyptic way, but most of all it feels right. A rental is definitely recommended and myself, I'm even thinking of buying it.

Rating: 8 out of 10 (Very good).

It's hard not to notice the parallels between "The Mutant Chronicles" and "Aliens": a team of soldiers, plus a few outsiders with deeper knowledge of the subject, are sent on a suicide mission (not to outer space but) deep beneath the surface of the earth to destroy (not bloodthirsty alien monsters and their source but) bloodthirsty zombie mutants and their source. The film is not quite as good as "Aliens", but it's still a serviceable B-movie. Visually it succeeds in creating its own, richly detailed and impressively designed, world: that includes the mutants themselves, who have one of their arms extended to a huge claw that can cut human flesh to pieces. The action itself, however, is a bit too chaotically edited: sometimes things happen and you don't have enough time to see how they happened, or a battle takes place and you're not absolutely sure who is hitting whom. This seems to be a recent trend in action movies (the latest Bond film "Quantum Of Solace" really suffers from it),and I hope they reverse it soon. The cast is good, though the characters are definitely not as memorable as those of "Aliens". Ron Perlman's best moments come near the end, while Devon Aoki and Anna Walton are unconventionally attractive and fully combative female leads. (**1/2)

I had very mixed feelings about MUTANT CHRONICLES, the delayed follow-up to British director Simon Hunter's slasher debut, LIGHTHOUSE. Part of me hated it and part of me loved it, all at the same time. How could that be? Well, the problem with the film is that it's absolutely loaded with shoddy CGI, which I typically hate. The whole film is made on a green screen, like 300, except the effects just aren't very good in MUTANT CHRONICLES. It looks cheap, and fake, and the rubbish-looking CGI blood doesn't help either.

The story begins all over the place, with a cheap-looking war scene and some sonorous voice-over explaining that the future world is a war-torn place. It's all rather uninteresting, until you realise that this is a straightforward men-on-a-mission monster flick, dressed up as something else. Once the mission begins properly I found myself enjoying it, right up until the predictable but nonetheless entertaining climax.

The cast is pretty interesting, too. Thomas Jane is a no-brainer, having previously proved himself a dependable action star in THE PUNISHER, but it's a delight to see Ron Perlman without make-up and as a good guy for a change; he's the best thing in it. In support are two femme fatales: Devon Aoki, virtually reprising her role from SIN CITY, and the lovely Anna Walton (who also teamed up with Perlman in HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY). Sean Pertwee bags the usual Sean Pertwee role. MUTANT CHRONICLES certainly isn't great, but the second half is a darn sight better than the first and I did find myself enjoying it despite my initial reservations.