Movie Review: ‘5 Galaxies’

Review by James Lindorf

“5 Galaxies” is a new Sci-fi themed anthology film that will be available on DVD and Digitally starting December 10th. Five stories set in five different time points follow characters in some classic sci-fi tales and some whose inspiration is decidedly more modern. The stories feature big names like Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy), Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), and Neil Jackson (Sleepy Hollow) supporting a cast of unknowns for segment directors Nelson Lee, Kristen Hilkert, Amir Reichart, Vitaly Verlov and Marc-Henri Boulier. Stories include a reimagining of “Logan’s Run,” survivors searching for hope following a worldwide nuclear war, and a Philip K. Dickesque bounty hunter on the trail of a criminal with a face-shifting device.

“5 Galaxies” is big on ideas and, unfortunately, light on execution on multiple levels. Large scale problems include no cohesion between the segments, not a progression in time, a piece of technology, or even an actor to tie it all together. They are also not the same degree of Sci-fi; some are character studies with a futuristic setting while others have robots and time travel devices. The film is frontloaded with its two best segments, and after a severe dip in quality, it finishes with its third-best story about the bounty hunter. On a smaller scale, there are issues with consistency among the special effects and acting. However, none of those issues wouldn’t be expected from a low budget project, and none were overly off-putting. The most upsetting moment was when one story finally started to approach an exciting premise only seconds before ending.

“5 Galaxies” may work best as a jumping-off point for various discussions among friends and family or maybe even a writing prompt for other artists. The second segment about a depressed young woman visiting her friends and family is easily the best and would be recommendable as a short film on its own. Mixed in with the rest of the stories and it is just the bright spot, and the added weight takes it down from a thoroughly recommendable product to a give it a spin if it shows up on a streaming service you already pay for one.