ARQ

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ARQ is a Netflix original film about a man that finds himself repeatedly waking to a series of unfortunate events at the will of a perpetual motion machine he himself designed in this absolutely brilliant dystopian sci-fi flick I very much enjoyed.

As per my 'no spoilers' MO, this is going to be a quicker than usual review. Because time travel.

I recently noticed this in my recommended Netflix sub-category for sci-fi, and its near-five star rating as well as its cast caught my eye. I am a fan of Robbie Amell and his work on the Flash, as well as Rachael Taylor and her previous work on the Marvel/Netflix Jessica Jones. Admittedly, I hadn't watched it sooner due in part to reticence in terms of how good a fixed time loop story could sustain a narrative within an 88-minute film, and the potential awfulness that may result.

It was maybe six or seven minutes, if that, I knew this was going to be far better than I had anticipated. Fourth-dimension bending fiction is a tough sparring partner, and it doesn't always work, but likened to the 'tight script meets conceptual execution' of other time travel flicks like Donnie Darko and Primer, ARQ really surprised me. It made the most of the situation at hand, and without saying much more- it took elements of classic sci-fi in its minimal, six member cast, in a contained setting with some crazy time travel shit sewing it all together in a really, really good flick.

I really enjoyed ARQ, and wished I had watched it sooner. Here's hoping you get to enjoy it as well.

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