The Zone is back

Rating: 6/10 (20 August 2018)

If you've ever played S.T.A.L.K.E.R., or read the Strugatski novella, or watched the Tarkovsky film, you'll find plenty of similarities. Namely: the Zone, the Heart of the Zone, the mutants, death as an ordinary companion, and moments of sheer beauty.
Yet this movie lacks the pessimism, the fatalism of its Slav counterparts. Ok, that's cultural, but it also fails to explore in depth the "nakedness" that personalities get in such extreme places. Plus, the plot has some severe wholes which do not add suspense, but perpexcity. Some weird decission making process also seems to affect everyone there. And last but not least, I felt that Netflix is trying to pull out all the stops its algorithms provide.
Overall, I think is enjoyable, but I can't help to have the feeling that this was a missed opportunity.
Btw: the mutant bear was a great and original addition to the mutants catalog. I'm sure we'll see in the future more references to this idea!