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Paradox Alice Review
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PARADOX ALICE
Gender

In the near future, a team is sent on a dangerous mission to Europa to retrieve and bring water back to a dying Earth. Their operation unexpectedly goes awry, jeopardizing not only the lives of those on board but also on earth, resulting in the possible extinction of the human race. One of the mai ...more

From: guest (john) , 133 months, post #1

WARNING! Contains SPOILERS!

Overall, the acting and production quality are good for an independent film. As a TG movie, it is worth watching. The transformation sequence is excellent and the characters do a good job with the transformation and its aftermath. But as a movie for a general audience? I don't think I could recommended it to anyone else. I found that the movie is a little too stereotypical in its portrayal of men and women. It also deals with sexual violence in a fashion I found deeply disturbing.

Specifically, it seems that protagonist Alex/Alice becomes way too submissive when attacked by antagonist O'Bryne, which seems to be the complete opposite of how the original Alex would have acted (practically character death). All because she is now a woman? And needs a man (the third character, Jim) to protect her? But Jim is useless anyway and ends up dead, so Alice ends up getting raped by her O'Bryne. She manages to kill him, good. But then the aftermath is disgusting. She ends up being impregnated from the rape and seems to convince herself that Jim was really the father of her babies. Okay, this is reasonable, since she was in love with Jim and it is a way of dealing with her trauma. But then she also starts embracing her rapist (O'Bryne)'s religion? In doing this it minimizes the rape and practically vindicates the rapist. Which might be okay if there was some underlying point or message to the whole movie. But the only point I could find is that Alice is simply a baby making machine (like all women) and rape is alright because it is the only way to repopulate the human race. Sorry, too disturbing for me.

Furthermore, I think the movie is really let down by its story, which is just too full of plot holes. Now perhaps I'm being a bit harsh, it is only an independent movie. But I think the story is always the key part of any movie, mainstream or independent. I also think that many of these holes could have been fixed if a little more attention had been given to making sure the story made sense.

Some major plot holes are listed below. If anyone can be bothered to read more of my reasoning behind these I've expanded on them at the bottom of this post.
1) The whole premise of the story is completely implausible. No one is going to go to Europa to get water for Earth when it will be more energy efficient to purify some water on Earth.
2) Nuclear weapons destroying the Earth in a death star like fashion?
3) Using solar panels to get to a new star system?
4) Growing long hair and nails when you turn into a woman? It's a TG clich�, but I always find it ridiculous.
5) Neither Jim or Alice are particular concerned when O'Bryne starts acting weird and violent early in the movie.
6) Alice meekly submits to O'Bryne once she has the collar on, even though so could have asked Red or Jim for some help.
7) Alex/Alice and Jim are supposed to be former soldiers but are completely incompetent when trying to deal with O'Bryne.
8) The human race being repopulated from a mother and her twin babies? Too much yucky incest plus a rather severe population bottleneck.
9) Aliens on Mars? What are they there for? Are these related to the aliens that somehow appear out of nowhere at the end of the movie?

Given my comments above, I wouldn't say that Paradox Alice ranks among the best TG films. I would still say that The Last Piece Standing is Mako's best work. And I think that other recent TG films, like Identity Theft, The Hit Girl, Apocalypse CA and The Skin I Live In, are more enjoyable to watch, better written and more suited for a general audience than Paradox Alice.

Just my 2c.

In more detail, the issues I have with the plot, and ways I could think of fixing it off the top of my head:

1) Going to Europa to get water for Earth? Sure, the water of Earth being contaminated might be a bit of a problem, but purifying water isn't exactly difficult - the only caveat is the it requires energy. And there is no way that getting water from half-way across the solar system is going to be any more energy efficient that purifying some of the vast amounts of contaminated water available on Earth. What's more, how much water could a ship possibly bring? Enough for thousands of people? Hundreds of thousands? That's already starting to stretch it. Certainly not many millions or billions. And bringing water from Europa is going the save the Earth? How does that work? People would just fight over it even more. Possible Fix: The ship is an exploration ship and the Earth is destroyed by other means.

2) Nuclear weapons destroying the Earth in a death star like fashion? Huh? A lot of people might die if there is a nuclear war, and it might start a nuclear winter. But it isn't going to turn the earth into asteroids. Possible Fix: Have the Earth turned into a nuclear wasteland with all life extinguished but not into asteroids. Or, the ship is an exploration ship and the Earth is destroyed by other means. Comet impact. Aliens. Gamma ray burst.

3) The ship doesn't have enough fuel for light in deep space, to get to another solar system. But wait, its okay. Because we have SOLAR PANELS? Big enough to power a ship? And I'm sure they'll work great between star systems, a long long way from a sun. Possible Fix: The ship can refuel itself, e.g. hydrogen scoop. Anything would be better than solar panels.

4) Yes, its a TG clich�, but seriously, growing long hair when you turn into a woman? Long NAILS? Because ALL women have long hair and nails. And no men do. And women's hair and nails grow faster then men. Or that women have long hair and nails because of genetic reasons, not because they grow them like that. Right. Sure. /sarc Possible Fix: Turn into a woman without growing her hair or nails, i.e. let her have short hair and nails. Is it really that hard? Perhaps she could even start growing her hair out as she begins to accept being a woman?

5) O'Bryne starts acting weird and violent towards Alice early in the movie but neither Jim or Alice think that they should keep an eye on him? Possible Fix: Have O'Bryne act more normally in the beginning of the movie - he could secretly by planning something without needing to be so obvious early on.

6) O'Bryne puts a 'shock collar' on Alice to control her. Then leaves and tells her to come to him later that night. Great, he's gone. So what does Alice do? Go to see Red? Surely Red would want to protect the captain? Get Red to lock O'Bryne up so he can't hurt her anymore? (Red certainly didn't seem to have any qualms about dealing with Jim when he got troublesome earlier in the movie.) Or at least Alice could ask Red to lock herself away to keep her safe from O'Bryne? Or, perhaps she should go and see Jim for help? Any sane person would do something. But, no, Alice meekly accepts her fate. She will have to give herself to O'Bryne. Dresses herself up. Puts make up on (when did she how to do learn that?). Even though she is falling in love with Jim. What happened to that feisty person that used to be Alex? Oh, Alex was turned into a woman. So now has to be submissive. Accept her fate as a sex object for men. And loses a few brain cells as well, apparently. Possible Fix: Alice tries to fight O'Bryne from the beginning but is outsmarted in the end.

7) So Jim finds Alice and the two nearly sleep together. But no, Jim says, this is ridiculous, we have to deal with O'Bryne first. Finally, things are looking up! At least the movie is starting to make some sense. Right? Oh. That didn't last long. Their plan is so bad it is laughable. Let's hide Alice away somewhere in a vent that's easily accessible. Oh, yeah, two of them forget that the collar is radio controlled so can be used at a distance to find Alice. And Jim goes searching for O'Bryne in the ship but is so bloody incompetent he just wanders around the ship aimlessly, failing to find O'Bryne so O'Bryne can find Alice first. Brilliant. Again, couldn't they ask Red for help? At least get Red to lock Alice away while Jim goes to look for O'Bryne? I thought Alice was the captain. At least get Alice to ask Red where O'Bryne is? Couldn't Jim at least have a go at O'Bryne wants he find him? All he needs to do is knock the remote out of O'Bryne's hand. Alex/Alice and Jim are both former soldiers. Fought in wars. Killed many enemies. Survived. Yeah when confronted with a religious nutter, what they do? Act like a bunch of incompetent school kids. Possible Fix: At least make sure Jim gets beaten by O'Bryne in a more plausible fashion. Maybe O'Bryne uses Red to beat Jim? After all, Red already is suspicious about Jim.

8) The human race is going to be repopulated by a mother and her babies (presumeably twins, one male and one female)? Great, incest. And talk about population bottleneck. There will be so little genetic variation in the new human population that they will be unable to evolve to suit to a new environment. Possible Fix: Can't think of any, this seems to be the whole premise of the movie.

9) Aliens on Mars? That killed all of Jim's former crewmates? What was that part of the story for? Something to do with the aliens that suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the end of the movie? And what kind of ending is that? Possible Fix: The Mars aliens don't seem to serve any purpose in the story. Remove them. As far the ending, the aliens seem stuck on simply to make to ensure that everyone knows that Alice will become the new 'Eve', but couldn't the ending just be more open ended?

From: guest (me) , 133 months, post #2

Any review on the transformation itself?

From: guest (guest) , 133 months, post #3

It's a little too late to make the fixes you're proposing.

From: guest (thesaint) , 133 months, post #4

After being disappointed in The Hit Girl and reading this 'review' I'm gonna be really sad if Werewoman doesn't get financed. That short has more of what I like to see in a TG movie.

BTW, how was the transformation in PA? Did they show arm and leg hair shrink or fall out? I haven't seen that done since Dr. Jekel & Ms. Hyde.

From: guest (me) , 133 months, post #5

yeah how is the transformation does he grow hips and butt, and arch back do we see a full shot of the body transforming and how is the breast growth please review!

From: dis_guise , 133 months, post #6

Why Europa? I thought than there was water ice in Saturn's rings. Wouldn't that be easier to get, assuming that extraplanetary water is the way to go? Also in some asteroids and comets.

Yes, as a Jovian moon it would be closer than Saturn, and escape velocity is relatively low. Still...

I've avoided The Hunger Games entirely because the title implies a highly unlikely situation...

From: guest (guest) , 133 months, post #7

Interesting and incorrect review. As if the reviewer didn't watch parts of the movie. Some of the plot holes are wrong that the first reviewer talks about. Also interesting to see the reviewer being pro Hit Girl and Identity Theft. Pro James? I loved Paradox Alice. Best TG TF movie I've ever seen. Identity Theft and Hit Girl are poorly made YouTube trash from someone who believes he's a good storyteller but not really.

From: guest (guest2) , 133 months, post #8

How can a review be "incorrect"? He's offering his opinion. And when the hell did TG fandom devolve into PRO JAMES or PRO MAKO ? If a movie is good then its good. If you're basing your opinion on the artist and not the art then your priorities are backwards.

I'm with "Me". What about the transformation?

From: guest (guest) , 133 months, post #9

It's incorrect because as an example a "nuclear explosion" is not what destroyed the Earth. so this person is making up shit. that's why. And to bring up other people's movies is not review or critic of one movie. It's a call out to those movies. I don't see other movies mentioned in other reviews. This reviewer above is a plant to discredit Mako.

From: cj , 133 months, post #10

Please 'correct' the review... by offering your own review of the material. Vaguely stating that a review is "incorrect" without offering details on how/why does not help us to properly form our own opinions on the matter.

As for comparing one movie to another... it's done in reviews quite often. For instance Caddyshack vs Happy Gilmore or PCU vs Animal House

Please refrain from making this a Mako vs James thread. Both of them are an asset to this community, and they each posses a unique take on TG material. Be grateful that we have choices... and please be respectful towards the opinions of others.

From: cj , 133 months, post #11

"stating that a review is "incorrect" without offering details..."

... and I don't mean just one example.

From: guest (Misleading Review) , 133 months, post #12

cj - guest is correct - I'll give some examples that proves this review is actually quite bad and biased -

7) Alex/Alice and Jim are supposed to be former soldiers but are completely incompetent when trying to deal with O'Bryne.

False - Alex does his best to calm down O'Byrne in many scenes. O'Byrne is a young and inexperienced astronaut. Alex clearly goes out of his way to help him calm down. The scene where he give him his hat and tells him it's okay. The scene where they talk in Alex's room.

9) Aliens on Mars? That killed all of Jim's former crewmates? What was that part of the story for? Something to do with the aliens that suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the end of the movie? And what kind of ending is that?

That didn't come out of no where - it was a used to help bon both Grey and Female Alex. If the reviewer wasn't hung up on his own bias and lack of storytelling ability he would have seen this is how the two bond. It does also set up that there can be aliens in the movie. This was smart groundwork laid down by Mako - unlike the bias review that was given.

7) So Jim finds Alice and the two nearly sleep together. But no, Jim says, this is ridiculous, we have to deal with O'Bryne first. Finally, things are looking up! At least the movie is starting to make some sense. Right? Oh. That didn't last long. Their plan is so bad it is laughable. Let's hide Alice away somewhere in a vent that's easily accessible. Oh, yeah, two of them forget that the collar is radio controlled so can be used at a distance to find Alice. And Jim goes searching for O'Bryne in the ship but is so bloody incompetent he just wanders around the ship aimlessly, failing to find O'Bryne so O'Bryne can find Alice first. Brilliant. Again, couldn't they ask Red for help?

If the reviewer remembered (which he obviously did not) RED seems to not be helping Grey at all. So why would Grey suddenly get help from RED? That makes less sense than what the reviewer is stating.

4) Yes, its a TG clich�, but seriously, growing long hair when you turn into a woman? Long NAILS?

Why is this comment even here? This is a bashing of all "transformation" related shows, stories and ideas. This to be is the most obvious problem with the reviewer in general. Really? Where do you think you are? The majority of TF material has all of the things you are bashing. And hence this does come across as a personal negative review just to be negative to Mako. I agree with Guest here.

5) Neither Jim or Alice are particular concerned when O'Bryne starts acting weird and violent early in the movie.

FALSE again. Why does Grey try and strangle O"Byrne? Why does Alex try and calm the young man down? The reviewer is reaching for things that do not exist. This is hands down a really bad and biased review. Feeding false ideas to people on this forum

8) The human race is going to be repopulated by a mother and her babies (presumeably twins, one male and one female)? Great, incest.

How does the reviewer come to this conclusion? Because they are making stuff up. How do we know the human race is supposed to be repopulated by a mother and her babies? That story is never told here. Again - be careful of this review - it's incredibly MIS-LEADING.

What I find actually very amusing is to how this reviewer goes to GREAT LENGTHS to be nit picky about LOGIC. When the movie is about ALIENS and a GENDER TRANSFORMATION. Not sure the reviewer understands what FICTION means. And to then bring up other movies that also have major plot holes - huge logic issues - and none-sensical storytelling and gender changes is mind baffling.

PARADOX ALICE is by no means a perfect film. I have my issues with some of the events that happen in the movie. But wow... does this ever seem like an attack more than a legit review. And so I want everyone here including CJ know that some of these points made are just misleading and false. I love what Mako and his people made. It's hands down the most ambitious and fun TF TG indie movie made to date. I'm glad I bought it and support them for all their hard work.

Good job Mako. You made a fan out of me!!

From: guest (psy_style) , 133 months, post #13

big fan of all the work mako and james do. have very much enjoyed all of their works including [paradox alice

agree with [misleading review that john from above does not paint a clear picture of the movie and seems caught up in details he can't either remember or can't connect himself because many of the issues he brings up seemed addressed to me

what i do agree with is that [the last piece standing is still mako's best. this would be my 2nd favorite of his. the sets alone are remarkable. the actors are really good. the transformation is fantastic. and i liked the story. in fact if you liked [project: eden you can see the dna here in this movie of that.

From: Mako , 133 months, post #14

I appreciate the time, thought and effort put into any review - I will say john (first time registered poster over on TGComics) review itself is scattered with as many "holes" as he has claimed are in the the movie. Like some peeps have mentioned - there are answers and connections to many of the issues brought up in this specific review above.

If someone doesn't like the movie because of the story, direction, acting, production design, execution, that's one thing. Can't do much about that. Everyone has a right to say what they like and don't like. But this does not feel like a legit review and more like fallacious propaganda towards PARADOX ALICE as the facts above are often wrong. I've received messages from various people from this forum and other sites who brought this to my attention that they feel this review is not legit and - as the language and examples of other movies are suspiciously used as "better examples of movies".

Again - to all those whom have supported us and myself - I thank you and can't wait to share even more new things on the horizon. Including some very good news about the availability of PARADOX ALICE in North America soon.

Cheers :)

- Mako -

From: guest (Ray) , 133 months, post #15

Thanks everyone for stepping in to help correct the review. Everyone will get something different out of the move, just depends on what details they choose to see. There is a lot going on in Paradox Alice, you may need to watch it several times to see all the details we put into it. Not quite sure how you are all watching the movie but I can guarantee there is things you are missing if your seeing an online version or dvd version. I wish I can get a high quality version out there with all the extra features we have created.

Please see it for yourself and don't judge it based on others reviews. We understand that not everyone will be happy and that some people will be uncomfortable, it makes Mako and I happy when we hear that we have made something that has affected people in some way,

Anyone see the references to The Last Piece Standing in the move?

From: guest (Not a Bad Review) , 133 months, post #16

This review is pretty accurate in a lot of the plot holes it brings up. It doesn't matter if the logic in the movie doesn't work in real life, but it does matter that it is internally consistent. Maybe this reviewer was a little over-obsessed with the scientific details, but I had some of the same thoughts at many points.

It is important that the characters in a film (or other media) act in realistic ways based on their situation. Even if the story is outlandish, you can still relate to people acting like real people would. Each decision the character makes should feel like a natural reaction, and the combination of these natural reactions should combine over the film to produce the arc of the plot. Instead, in Paradox Alice, it feels like the characters do what they must do so that the plot can advance from A to B to C as it was outlined by the writer. And mostly, it feels like the plot was laid out to include all of the creator's desired TG elements.

Especially towards the end of the film, when the situation is escalating, some of the decisions and reactions the characters made were frustrating to me as a viewer, and did not seem to follow any internal logic. It's hard for me to remember many specifics, but I feel like the review at the top of this thread pointed out some situations where the character's ignored obvious evidence or simply made bad decisions that real people just wouldn't have made in that scenario.

I want to make the comparison to the T-Rex scene in Jurassic Park. When the T-Rex breaks through the fence and is walking between the SUV's it doesn't notice them at all. This makes sense, why would it notice the unmoving metal cars? Of course, if it had just walked on past, we'd have missed out on one of the most famous scenes in cinema.

Instead, the little girl turns on the big flashlight and waves it through the window, attracting the Rex's attention. As an audience member, you're screaming at this girl in your head, about how dumb that flashlight is and how it's obviously putting her in danger. At the same time, it makes sense in the logic of the film. She's a scared young girl calling out for help. She makes a decision that, while frustrating and dumb to us in the audience, feels like a natural reaction for her character. This action by the character leads to the famous scene and flows naturally. If the filmmaker had been clumsier, and the T-Rex had walked right up and started attacking the car it would have felt a little more rushed and arbitrary. Again, why would a dinosaur bother with a hunk of metal?

The director/writers were deft enough to create an excuse for the plot to go where they wanted that also felt like a realistic, natural decision for the character to make. Everything has to start with consistent characterization and motivation, or else you've got an unengaging, Michael Bay-esque trudge through the plot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Bay fans get their robots and explosions as the movie drags along, we get our transformation, slow mental change, and finally domination and acceptance. Great if that's what you're into, not a fully-realized film that anyone can enjoy regardless of the genre.

I certainly enjoyed the movie for what it was, a fetish piece, but I don't think it will hold any appeal or entertainment value to those outside the community. And man, I agree the long hair/nails conceit is silly and overplayed in TG. This community has a problem with objectification that probably goes right to the root of the fetish. Not accusing anyone in particular, I know I perpetuate the problem as much as anyone who fantasizes about what amounts to ultimate ownership of a woman's body.

I still appreciate the hard work and time put into it, and Mako must have learned a lot from the experience, I expect a giant leap in quality with his next production.

From: guest (rush) , 133 months, post #17

Good acting and dialogue always trump special effects. Of all the TG projects on the horizon Werewoman seems to be the most promising.

From: guest (Chamorhyn) , 124 months, post #18

The acting was engaging. I really liked the movie. Great low budget film. I didn't understand why Alex became a punk after turning into a woman... strong women can still have babies. Basically, having Alex's personality alter so drastically was the foundation for the other two characters to lose their grip. Being trained as a military person doesn't vanish when you switch sexes and I know plenty of women who are HOT and can kick butt. Other than that, I think all the holes were tied rather well. I really didn't have any questions at the end of the movie. I agree with the male to female transformation though... if an accelerated transformation occurs as it did in this film, it stands to reason that hair and nails would grow as well. Just my sci/fi logic working here... hahahaha. At any rate, if the writer had let the woman retain her knowledge as a military trained individual, it would have changed the way the other characters acted and responded... even as they all slipped into their alien induced dementia ;) I really did like this film. Keep em coming!

From: guest (raaj) , 122 months, post #19

Just saw an ad for Paradox Alice dvd with an April 1st release date.

From: guest (Just Me) , 122 months, post #20

Am for now passing on purchasing more DVD's from Mako. This will be the first I have not bought, have bought all the others and was dissapointed. Appreciate the effort but do not enjoy the story lines.

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