Reviewed by Andres De La Hoz

Finally the Film Festival is reaching its end, with Esprit De Corps. This was one of the few extremely well-reviewed movies, almost topping the festival closer Stranger 4. I, personally, don't see what the fuss is all about. While not a bad movie by any extent, Esprit De Corps has some flaws that prevent it from reaching the status of a must-watch film.

Unlike the other crap I've had to wade through so far, this movie actually has a plot. This particular episode is a prologue, in which the main character, an agent for a unit that's somewhat shady in their proceedings. Through some flashback, he relates several incidents involving him.

Sergon is a very capable director. His animating and directing skills here are excellent, with many scenes being amongst the best of their types that I've seen. The 2nd story, in particular, was well directed, with a tense atmosphere, great music selection, and classy shots.

The problem lies not in the directing, but in the script. While I understand this is a prologue, and not the actual beginning to the series, it doesn't feel like a movie. It feels like what is happening: some guy telling a bunch of stories that we don't quite understand what will mean. Now, I'm sure this'll get clearer once we see the other movies, but for now, it's a flaw.

The second issue I have with the script is the dialogue. Oh, boy. It sucked. Many lines were silly and clichéd, and that last line was particularly atrocious. Why, God, why? Does every movie in this film festival HAVE to end with a total shitfuck of a punchline? There were some other lines which just seemed completely off, like most of the briefing scene, as well as one instance of childish swearing involving our Jack Bauer clone of a character.

While Esprit De Corps has promise, there's certainly aspects to be improved. For now, it's a flawed, yet entertaining movie.

3.5/5