Survival Skills (2020)

Survival Skills: Directed by Quinn Armstrong. With Stacy Keach, Vayu O’Donnell, Spencer Garrett, Ericka Kreutz. Survival Skills is a lost training video from the 1980s. In it, Jim, the perfect policeman, gets in over his head when he tries to resolve a domestic violence case outside the law.

“A wasted opportunity, that falls way short of the mark!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI loved the premise…hated everything else.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI canu0026#39;t quite put my finger on it, but something just wasnu0026#39;t right. I believe this could of been a great film, if theyu0026#39;d kept the same plot, but just executed it differently. Mainly, I donu0026#39;t feel that it needed to be set in the 80u0026#39;s…it could of quite easily be set in the present day. I had to watch a training DVD for a job I started last year, so itu0026#39;s not like they stopped making them in the 80u0026#39;s. Also, they could of incorporated todayu0026#39;s tech into the storyline to improve it a bit…mobile phones etc. And for a film supposedly u0026#39;following a cop on his duties for a yearu0026#39;, it sure is boring (even for Middletown). He could of quite easily just have been a pen pusher from social services.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe good = The premiseu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe bad = The execution, the 80u0026#39;s aesthetic, the cast, the narrator, not a single likeable character, scenes dragged on for far too long, man claiming to be 30 looking nearer 50, girl claiming to be 16 looking nearer her mid-20u0026#39;s, the u0026#39;Stepford wifeu0026#39;, the lead characteru0026#39;s annoying u0026#39;C-3P0u0026#39; voice, the lack of direction, the list goes on.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis could of been so much better if theyu0026#39;d made some simple adjustments to what they already had, for example: in the u0026#39;comedicu0026#39; scenes (most of which fall flat), the lead says u0026quot;ABu0026quot;…but if he had said u0026quot;ABCu0026quot; instead, it would of been funnier. Itu0026#39;s like they start to go somewhere with an idea, but only go halfway and stop…leaving the viewer unsatisfied and unfulfilled. They same applies to the u0026#39;actionu0026#39; scenes…characters do u0026#39;XYu0026#39;, but if they had done u0026#39;XYZu0026#39; instead, the scene would of been better. Some might say that would make the film too predictable, but Iu0026#39;d much rather watch a predictable film that I enjoy, than an unpredictable one that I donu0026#39;t.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMaybe Iu0026#39;m missing the whole point of the movie, but the purpose of leaving a review, is to let others know what u0026#39;MY EXPERIENCEu0026#39; of the film was. That is what Iu0026#39;ve done.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSummary: Interesting idea, poorly executed. Just about watchable, wouldnu0026#39;t recommend.”