Imagine being a part of an experiment that leads you into a continuous time loop until you find out what you can do to end it. That is the basis for this pretty good independent film that you cannot miss even one second of or you will be confused.
Alex is a young man who meets girlfriend Jane in London after she is assaulted by some local thugs. After a while, she is planning a move back to Bangkok and somehow convinces Alex to go with her. Alex eventually takes part in a government experiment involving a new drug called Pravada, in which the user would find him or herself in a continuous time loop, even if the user is killed in the process. Forced to escape, Alex finds himself chased by three men in military garb.
As Alex is repeatedly killed, he finds himself reuniting with Jane with the intent of finding out what the experiment is all about. As Alex continues the repetition, he changes up the events while he attempts to uncover the truth about Pravada. To ensure that Alex fails, not only do the military guards intend to constantly kill Alex until he is done for good, but the doctors in charge of the experiment also plan to make sure Alex, or anyone else for that matter, never finds out the truth about the drug.
Originally titled Reflex, this is quite a trip (pun intended) for stuntman/filmmaker Dean Alexandrou. The British-born, Thailand-based martial artist proves himself quite worthy as a leading actor in the role of Alex, who finds himself in a Groundhog Day-like adventure of avoiding three military-garbed men who are part of an experiment involving a new drug. Alexandrou gets to use his skills quite well in parkour and martial arts and does quite well in the film’s action sequences.
In addition to producing, starring, and doing the visual effects of the film, Alexandrou wrote the screenplay and it’s quite an interesting take on the time loop continuum. The story also shows scenes involving the development of the drug to the relationship of Alex and Jane prior to Bangkok along with the repeating time loop. This is one of those stories that you can’t miss a minute of or it will cause some confusion to the viewer.
The lead villain of the film is played by the Dutch superkicker Ron Smoorenburg, who like Alexandrou, has based himself in Thailand over the past few years. After Smoorenburg learned his craft in Jackie Chan’s Who Am I?, Smoorenburg continued to improve and here, he plays one of his best action roles let alone villain roles. As for Selina Lo, she is great as Jane, Alex’s love interest who even gets in on quite a fight scene herself and proves herself quite well in both the action and acting department. With Kecha Khamphakdee and the Jaika Stunts team coordinating the action scenes, it is clear that they do an excellent job with Alexandrou and Smoorenburg being part of the fight choreography team.
Time Rush is quite a fun trippy action film thanks to the performances of Dean Alexandrou, Ron Smoorenburg, and Selina Lo. Some nice fight scenes and an interesting story of an experiment make this for quite an adventure.
WFG RATING: B
A Stunt Power Films production in association with Levine Pictures and Popart Film Factory. Director: Daniel Zirilli. Producers: Dean Alexandrou, Daniel Zirilli, and Aaron Levine. Writer: Dean Alexandrou. Cinematography: Ross W. Clarkson. Editing: Dean Alexandrou.
Cast: Dean Alexandrou, Ron Smoorenburg, Selina Lo,Byron Gibson, Alexander Winters, Kecha Khamphakdee, Michael Aston, Richard Dee-Roberts, Natalie Lorence, Damian Mavis.
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