Envoy (2014) User Reviews

I wish so many of these short films would turn into big feature flicks and this film is just adding to that bunch.

[angiris · 8/10 · 4 July 2015]

Short, entertaining, and with so much potential for more.

Another small masterpiece is what this is in my opinion. It reminds me of the old anime film "The Iron Giant." A wonderful Sci-Fi from my childhood.

I keep seeing these small gems popping up here and there and just wish that the directors of these would have been in charge of the directing of the new Terminator: Genesys.

This 9 minute film is what I wanted from that. Serious acting, dramatic atmosphere, cool effects without them dominating the screenplay, and a bond between robot and human without it being so... meh. But what can you expect when you get the Thor 2 director working on what used to be a dark, dramatic, intense Sci Fi action horror. Ahh well. Thats my opinion.

But I'm ranting here because I keep seeing these short films that are in my opinion so much better than the 2 hour flicks we keep getting and find disappointing.

This is a cool little gem with tons of potential for so much more. I hope one day you, Mr. Weinstein will get a chance to turn stuff like this into something much bigger. Lord knows I and a ton of others who are sick of Super 8, marvel parody garbage ruining what could be serious and old school films.

What happened to a film like Signs? What happened to Terminator? Aliens/robots and humans mixed up in an intense story without the cliché parody aspect that appeals to 5 year olds.

Well. based on what I've seen these short films still contain the soul of the old school way of Sci Fi.

Wonderful little gem. 8 out of 10. Truly fantastic in my opinion. 9 minutes of cool old fashioned Sci Fi gave me more than a modern, comedy ridden 2 hour flick.

I hope that changes one day. It's so sad everything has got to be comedy ridden nowadays. Cool, dramatic sci fi like this is something I greatly appreciate.

Pilot series which was made very well in my opinion

[unpaid_movie_critic · 8/10 · 1 May 2015]

It is not even a movie, it is a pilot series which was made very well in my opinion. Of course some "super-duper" experts, critics and movie buffs would say something "full of cliché" or "nothing special or original", but for sure they will agree that graphics and special effects on a high level.

Therefore Alien looks like "Bionicle", moves and sounds like "Predator", breathing like "Darth Vader" and have sympathy for little boy like "Iron Giant". During 9 minutes action, we can see how little boy trying to proof to his brother that there is Alien who hide on corn field, kind of playing in basketball and taking of hostages by military.

As a result, I would like to watch this kind TV Show. Exactly TV Show, not a movie!

Good story, nice execution

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 26 August 2015]

"Envoy" is a 9-minute short film from last year and it comes from the science fiction genre. A young boy meets a robot-like alien creature and witnesses how it defends himself from a sniper trying to kill it. Not much later, government helicopters are everywhere and the boy is taken to the secret headquarters for interrogation. It's a story on tolerance, friendship, but also alien races. I enjoyed the watch. It delivered a lot of good you could hope for in a 9-minute film. The only reason why I would not give this a higher rating and why I am not sure if I would watch a feature film based on this is because science fiction is generally not my genre. Still, writer and director David Weinstein did a fine job here and it shows that he worked on many famous films already, including the "Matrix" movies. The special effects in here are as good as everything else. Recommended.

Technically impressive but cliché-ridden and uninspired as a whole

[bob the moo · 3 January 2015]

A young boy in military holding; photographs of destruction and mayhem in front of him. The officer demands answers – meanwhile in the film we flashback to an earlier time as the boy takes his older brother into the corn fields to show him a new friend he has made.

A few years ago now I watched Super 8 a few times and enjoyed it for all its reference points but confidence in itself. Apparently the makers of this film also watched that, along with many other Spielberg-produced films and other sci-fis down the years, because this is a film that really has been built off bits from other films. To start with the area where it is very positive – the effects. The makers have done a great low-budget effort here, making their alien fit into the landscape and interact with real things really well indeed. It moves smoothly and looks great; indeed the sound effects and whole design looks really good (including the rich green/yellow/blue Americana color scheme).

So as a technical base to build your film on, it is a great start; but it is a terrible place to stop – and it does stop there. From these strengths what we get is narrative and character lifted straight from other films without any attempt to stop them being clichés. The film throws in something about loss of parents but it is all just words because almost everything feels like it was done just to get the effect something to happen within – which I guess is pretty much how they approached it. The soldier, the kid, the alien, and so on – all poor; heck, even the alien looks and sounds like a robotic Predator.

The plot unfolds as you expect, not really caring about anything working so much as just making something happen; even the ending makes no sense. It is a shame but this is a perfect example of having great FX skills and trying to force them into a short film to showcase them; in this case it is unfortunate because technically it is impressive in many regards, but the writing and characters lack anything of spark, originality or invention. I mean, it even has lens flare in the daytime – that is how keen it is to copy without thinking about whether it works or not.

Admirable work

[DroxineArdana · 6/10 · 2 September 2019]

There are few shorts films that can, in under ten minutes, elicit both a feeling of novelty and inventiveness at the same time. "Envoy" does just that. It's a simple story that details the relationship between a boy and the thing he found in a cornfield. The VFX and production values are off the charts and the film entire is evocative of early Shyamalan or Spielberg. What makes this film compelling is what it doesn't tell or show you; the mystery in the field, the photographs on the table, the story of the boy's parents. Unfortunately it's also what makes the film a little thin. The story isn't entirely original and the nine minute runtime is far too short for any sort of investment. Still, it's a laudable effort to craft such an engaging film with such limited resources.

Not bad

[w-08323 · 6/10 · 26 April 2020]

The alien setting is nothing new, but the play is condensed well.Short special effects can also catch up with the level of big production.But that's about it.It's just not bad.Looking forward to directing more works.

Why isn't this a movie?

[paydenmaddux · 10/10 · 11 December 2019]

This shirt has great visuals, great acting, and it just sounds like it could make a great film. But if it were to be a movie, I want it pg-13 or higher. None of that PG bull crap. That would suck. But this short was great

beautiful

[Kirpianuscus · 15 January 2019]

Two boys. A corn field. And a special friend. An interogatory. Not the most surprising end. Short, a beautiful, at each level, film. Interesting idea but not original. A stranger and its ennemies reminding many other films of genre. And two good young actors. Nothing real unknown . But seductive , from cinematography to performances and atmosphere. And, sure, a nice story about a new version of E.T. .