Film Review – Max Cloud

As a director, Martin Owen hasn’t made a strong impression. He’s the helmer of dismal fare such as “L.A. Slasher” and “Killers Anonymous,” struggling with violent entertainment that’s mangled satiric intent, covering his professional limitations with a lot of lighting, the band-aid for troubling filmmakers. Owen returns with “Max Cloud,” trusting in the power of nostalgia to get him through a low-budget adventure, taking viewers back to the glory days of 16-bit video game consoles and their special challenges for gamers. The script (by Owen and Sally Collett) conjures a fantasy about life inside the world of a game, and it’s a fantastic premise, but the production doesn’t have a lot of money or ideas for “Max Cloud,” which would make a fantastic short, but mostly runs out of steam as a feature-length idea, propped up by amusing performances and select moments of side-scrolling escapism. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com