This review contains no spoilers, don't worry.I have to say I was positively surprised by this movie. The dialogues fit the bullsh*ttery among members of a fleshed-in military team. Quite entertainingly so actually, if you have the sense of humor for it. I know it isn't everybodys taste. But then again, what do civilians know about that sort of life, let alone friendship or fellowship/camaraderie.Which explains why other reviewers are so harsh to this movie. They're all used to Michael Bay style nonstop-explosions and fast-paced action without any deeper thought processes. This movie does feature some bang but not exaggeratedly so. People are just spoiled nowadays.I for my part enjoyed this flick a lot. I understand the plot has some sort of Ukrainian or Russian special unit in the center of it and they do play their roles pretty good. I didn't feel it was over-the-top or cliché. It is how it is. Soldiers are just human and in order to cope with the things they see or have to do they joke around more than other people. I don't see how that can be seen as cliché, it truly is like that in real military/special forces.The characters had enough development which makes this flick a rare gem. You could almost compare this movie with Ridley Scotts 'Alien' (1979). Not really plot-wise but the overall structure and character development. The main characters are well developed and the side characters have enough development and background to be able to sympathize with and understand them. The acting is very good and the story is entertaining and has no yawn moments.The only reason why this movie doesn't deserve nine or ten stars is because it misses a better developed, deeper manifested threat. That statement is not entirely true, but I can't say any more without spoiling the movie. Nonetheless this is one of the better SpecOps movies I've seen (and I've seen many) and I'd recommend it to people who enjoy crunchy one-liners and cheeky humor.If you like the sarcasm and humor of the main character in Lockout (2012) you might enjoy this movie just as much. But it's nothing for the spoiled ones who want nothing but special effects all day, everyday, no matter if it makes sense or not. This movie keeps it real. And I am really glad it does because lately Hollywood has become so ridiculous that it's not even enjoyable.

I watched the 2 hrs and 10 minute DVD version, which should be something like the Directors Cut of the movie. Since it was released also as two parts in Russia (but without success and many critics), the German distributor thought it would be best to release only one movie. The camera work looks good. I can't say too much about the audio though, because the German DVD had the Russian language in Stereo!! Some might say, I should be happy that they included the original audio ... and subtitles (which are MIA when it comes to the deleted scenes on the disc here!!).The movie has lesser action that I had thought it would have. It has interesting (if flawed and clichéd) characters, that could have had more screen time or nicer setups. The action scenes (sparely used as I said) are nicely shot and as you can read here too, are inspired by Gan Kata (see Equilibrium for that). Especially one scene with pistols/guns (I'm not an expert, so I can't say what weapon manufacturer they are from) ...One of the main problems is, that the movie tries to over-complicate a few things (relationships) and sadly does not succeed with it. Still if you have the patience, you might like this.

Very much like some of the other viewers I had higher expectations from this movie. The plot is not exactly what you would call original, whereas (sadly) it is a pretty common thing in contemporary cinema, I have to say that this film is absolutely packed with clichés.A secret lab in the middle of nowhere, a deadly virus on the loose, a special group of tough guys (plus one tough chick and a not so tough doctor) send in to investigate....I am not going to list all of the clichés in the movie, it would be a waste of time. I would like to point out a very big similarity in the film to a book called The Invincible by Stanisław Lem. The virus which got out of control in the lab has very similar symptoms to the one mentioned in the book (although I am not 100% if it was a virus at the moment). People loosing their humanity, becoming animals, being able to follow only their basic instincts - same thing happened in the book. Is it a copy? I am not sure, it is questionable, however, the tooth marks found on a bar of soap (exact same thing described in the book) depicted in the movie make me 99% sure that this motive has been copied. Talking about copies, one of the gunfight scenes has been copied from equilibrium. You've got your clichés and your copies, and you've also got you're sort of die hard, how many times can I kick you in the face with a solider boot before you start bleeding scenes. Not to forget cutting out a new door in a concrete wall of an underground lab with a mini gun and shooting at a bulletproof glass door and not getting killed by the ricochets. The movie is very foreseeable, the directing is a little pretentious, acting mediocre - at most. Despite of the facts mentioned above, it is fun to watch on a how not to make a movie basis. Just one more thing, be sure to have the two parts before watching, because the first one is a very long intro.

The two major disappointments when I finished watching this movie in the theater, was the plot background and the fact that it is split in two parts. Well, I understand the marketing principles and why not intrigue viewers enough to encourage them to go to the second part, but to me, it is a bit unfair. Like you go in the restaurant only to find an appetizer and to be told that other dishes will be available few days later.The plot background is far worse than just non-original. A secret underground lab, a disaster in the form of deadly virus turning everyone there into zombies (if not killing), a group of highly professional SWAT-like heroes sent to investigate, an unwelcome member of the group, behaving strangely and suspicious, a female member who does not have any femininity at all, etc -- all possible clichés of that genre are undoubtedly here. Too strong resemblance to both of "Resident Evil"s, strong resemblance to "Doom", "Phantom Force", "Dragon Fighter", "Alien 2" isn't just annoying, but you can actually predict what would happen in next few minutes.The special effects is nothing special. In 21st century, it's unlikely to impress viewers with the zombie jumping on walls like Spiderman; the only hope that this hole will be filled with the second part of the movie.The bright side is a character personalities and a lots of humor, somewhat specific to the ex-USSR reality; like the military facility operator surfing the Internet in MSIE right on the control board of high-tech military radar or something; like digging the rare metals out of outdated electronic equipment in the middle of the mission, etc. Not only almost all characters try to mock and sometimes annoy each other with every single sentence, they actually succeed, and a classic love triangle helps a lot.I'll give this movie 3 out of 10 for characters and humor, hoping that the rest of "what I think should be in the good movie" will be included in the second part.