Marina Antunes [Celluloid 09.14.12] apocalyptic scifi



It's a bit surprising that the latest news of a Russian book adaptation has nothing to do with Timur Bekmambetov. That could either be seen as a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you feel about the director but for me this is a little bit of a disappointment as I like Bekmambetov's sensibilities.

News from THR is that Dmitri Glukhovsky's best selling "Metro 2033" has been picked up for adaptation. The novel, which first appeared in 2002 and has now been translated in to 35 languages, a video game (a sequel to which is due next year) and has spawned a twenty book series. The story unfolds in 2033 after a nuclear holocaust destroys Moscow and survivors escape underground. It follows a young man named Artyom who is blackmailed into a journey that "will see him deal with mutants, soldiers of a Fourth Reich and political factions of various metro stations in order to reach above ground."


Sounds promising, if a bit repetitive considering the recent release of both The Raid (review) and Dredd (review), both of which have a sort of "level up" video game feel with each floor amping the action, but I'm definitely looking forward to the possibilities. No news yet on who will be directing but we do know that F. Scott Frazier, who has another sci-fi project called Day One in the works, will be adapting the novel.

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Citizen_Kong (7 months ago) Reply

As someone who has read the book, I can rest easy those fears: It's more of a Kafkaesque quest through more and more bizarre environments. It's basically a tour through the Moscow underground and the societies who live there in an uneasy peace with each other, constantly trying to fight back against mutants from the surface and strange creatures living in the dark corners of the underground. I hope the keep the bleak ending of the book.

. (7 months ago) Reply

The preview of the game that shows russians running through the streets towards the subway as the missles launched looked really good. Hopefully the film has that vibe.