Though the film never breaks out of its shell to offer us something extraordinary, Will Moore's Jack's Apocalypse proves to be a decent enough feature that finds itself heavily handicap by its micro budget and lack of professional polish.
Dave Maldonado stars as Jack Coleman, a former politician who, after losing his family, sees his life spiral out of control thanks to addiction. When his brother, a major in the Army, shows up and asks Jack to keep his wife and daughter alive during the upcoming apocalypse, Jack is forced to face his addiction as he uncovers a new meaning in life.
While the story itself appears interesting enough, Moore's execution is a bit strained, much in thanks to its lethargicpace and lack of true progress. Throughout the film's eighty minute runtime, very little was accomplished, both in terms of story and entertainment. Conflicts appear to come and go with relative ease, and the characters are never fully developed. As a result, I was never invested in their fate; which when determined, I found myself unmoved.
Moore, while attempting to bring a sense of originality to the rather generic plot, is never able to reach the height of what the story could have been. Foreshadowing to a fault, he telegraphs every key moment with obvious context clues, refusing to leave his own comfort zone as he kept his cards out in the open, playing it safe from start to finish.
The acting is decent enough but is nothing worth writing home about. Maldonado does fine as our main protagonist and is well supported by Jamie Tisdale, TiShuan Scott and Nicholas Stevenson. But in a film that is, at its core, a major character study, none of the actors are willing to step up and take the bull by the horns and entertain. Instead they settle for the background, doing just enough to satisfy but never seeming anxious to please.
That is actually the best way to fully sum up the film. It satisfies in nearly every aspect, but it never surpasses that point to truly entertain. The talent was there; the individual parts simply didn't mesh to pull off an overall winner. I feel Moore has a good sense as to his style and has a bright future, but Jack's Apocalypse wasn't a full reveal of what all he can truly do. It's fine"¦just nothing extraordinary that is worth a high recommendation.
