I just caught this film by chance on MovieCentral. I had never heard of it, so I had no expectations going into it and the only info I had on it was the obscure log line in MC's description of it. What I found was odd, and I raised an eyebrow at MC's description of it as a "black comedy". Reason being is that, like other posts have stated on here, X was neither very dark or very comedic, and therein lies it's tonal danger. The first thing that grabbed me was the cinematography. It starts out as absurd comedy-drama (I loved the mistaken identity snafu that never gets fixed), but then it flirts with drama and then melds into an odd mystery-thriller that seems like a sub-par X-Files episode. It was still enough to keep me interested, and not campy enough to drive me off.
I liked Biggs in the lead role, and I was wondering if I could distance him from American Pie; I did, and the other actors put in some good work as well. There are some great lines in it too, my favorite being "We're the US Army you piece of sh!t, that's what we do. We guard stuff". I wish the filmmakers had continued with the idea of purposeless army instead of straying down conspiracy alley.
If Guy X had stuck with the kind of MASH-in-Greenland kind of story, I think it would have worked better. For, when Biggs' character stumbles on the unsecured ammo depot filled with Vietnam amputees with weird prosthetics, the movie stumbles at that exact moment. Although the Biggs/Ironside conversations are handled slyly, it goes from being a wry, art-house take on arctic army life to an obtusely unresolved, wedged-in science experiment. I also think that the ending was too wrapped up, for it needed more chaotic absurdity instead of the full-fledged RESOLUTION (as I picture it written in red ink on the screenplay), tidying up the loose ends.
So, take it for what it is. The cinematography is beautiful, the acting is decent, the absurdity is great when it isn't switching genres, but the tone and balance in the direction and the screenplay needed to be refined. No, it's not MASH or Stripes or Catch 22 or even Jarhead, but it's a quaint, interesting - if not flawed - film in the same vein. I expect the filmmakers to improve in their next project with a leaner and meaner film.
I liked Biggs in the lead role, and I was wondering if I could distance him from American Pie; I did, and the other actors put in some good work as well. There are some great lines in it too, my favorite being "We're the US Army you piece of sh!t, that's what we do. We guard stuff". I wish the filmmakers had continued with the idea of purposeless army instead of straying down conspiracy alley.
If Guy X had stuck with the kind of MASH-in-Greenland kind of story, I think it would have worked better. For, when Biggs' character stumbles on the unsecured ammo depot filled with Vietnam amputees with weird prosthetics, the movie stumbles at that exact moment. Although the Biggs/Ironside conversations are handled slyly, it goes from being a wry, art-house take on arctic army life to an obtusely unresolved, wedged-in science experiment. I also think that the ending was too wrapped up, for it needed more chaotic absurdity instead of the full-fledged RESOLUTION (as I picture it written in red ink on the screenplay), tidying up the loose ends.
So, take it for what it is. The cinematography is beautiful, the acting is decent, the absurdity is great when it isn't switching genres, but the tone and balance in the direction and the screenplay needed to be refined. No, it's not MASH or Stripes or Catch 22 or even Jarhead, but it's a quaint, interesting - if not flawed - film in the same vein. I expect the filmmakers to improve in their next project with a leaner and meaner film.