What happens when you take the sci-fi, mystery, and thriller genres, toss them into a blender, and then add a sprinkling of superhero seasoning over the top? Depending entirely who you ask about last year’s genre-bending Control, the result is either uncovered treasure or a flaming pile of trash.
Writer and director James Mark’s high concept hybrid holds a decent Rotten Tomatoes score of 71 percent, which would lead you to believe that it’s definitely worth tracking down and checking out. However, it’s also got an audience approval rating of 21 percent, a 4.3/10 ranking on IMDb, and a 45 percent benchmark on Google Play, so it’s not exactly cut-and-dried.
The fact that Control‘s IMDb page makes a point of noting that it isn’t associated in any way with the similarly-themed video game franchise of the same name is curious to say the least, so maybe that’s what left so many people disappointed. Then again, iTunes subscribers don’t seem to be among them, after FlixPatrol named the opinion-splitting – and entirely original, clearly – story as one of the platform’s most popular flicks this week.
Sara Mitich stars as a young mother who awakens to discover she’s trapped in a cell with no idea how she got there or who her captors are, but she quickly comes to realize she’s left with no other choice but to harness her telekinetic powers in an effort to escape from her newfound prison, discover the conspiracy behind her incarceration, and be reunited with her daughter. It sounds intriguing enough, but it’s clear that not everyone will recommend Control as a must-see.