451° Fahrenheita

Ray Bradbury is undeniably a sci-fi icon, but this adaptation turns a great concept into a heavy-handed, book-burning spectacle. If it weren’t for Michael Shannon, I probably would’ve turned it off much sooner. (14.05.2021)

The film wasn’t as bad as I feared, given my initial expectations of a movie filled with nonsense, A poorly written script, and a dreadful final execution. However, it didn’t turn out that way. Admittedly, if I had read Ray Bradbury's original novel, I might have had more critiques about what the film aimed to achieve, but since I haven’t read the book, comparisons aren’t quite relevant. Firstly, the film has a distinct TV production feel. The special effects seem rather basic, and I would have expected a more elaborately developed world. The aerial shots of a regular city with only a few CGI signs on skyscrapers don’t impress much. Despite this, I found the story engaging, with an intriguing concept about firefighters (it never would have occurred to me to turn the primary function of a fire department into starting fires instead of putting them out). The subplot involving the rebels seemed a bit underdeveloped; it could have been tweaked to give this storyline more weight and convincing character. Michael Shannon shines in his role, and his expressions are a pleasure to watch; he’s a great actor. The ending was quite acceptable. The execution gets 2 stars, but the idea deserves a strong 4. I give it 65%. (27.06.2018)