Just like I have read zero Harry Potter or seen zero Doctor Who, the fact I've only seen maybe 4 episodes of Black Mirror betrays the pre cut narrative of me. I'll get to them some day.
I did see the Black Mirror du jour, Bandersnatch, which has the neat gimmick of being "choose your own adventure style."
And it's neat. The signature twist is what makes it just a bit sharper than what I expected. I won't spoil it but it is unexpected because you have the choice to not just break the 4th wall but absolutely go Kool Aid man annihilation on it. The other options are more in line with rhe usual Black Mirror dystopia.
Like all their productions, this Black Mirror is well made and looks great. This was certainly a difficult show to make what with multiple endings and needing to connect all the varying threads. And like any good "choose your own adventure" you can go back to see what could have been. Albeit, this does take me out of the narrative when the option is literally "Go back." Or you get forced into a channel that streams you to the next, and only, option. But that is making the story. While I thought it would be neat to have a story where "Hey, you decide to listen to your folks and take your meds and go to therapy and become, over time, a well adjusted adult" that would make for a very short story. There does seem, like in video games, "good" and "bad" endings.
This all said, it is a gimmick. Neat one but this is a movie with multiple endings. One for theaters, one for "home video," etc. That's not too weird. What is bold is you can access it all right there and not on some blu ray or message board. At that point it seems to lose a bit of punch. Maybe its just me but I feel whatever ending you get first you are going to think is the one true one. You never forget your first!
Maybe we will look at this and say it is groundbreaking in a few years. But I can play a video game for an interactive entertainment experience
Worth a viewing and a great piece to watch with friends.
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