Review by Jon Donnis
Altered arrives with a premise that feels strangely close to the direction our own world is drifting toward. You can almost sense that familiar knot in your stomach as the film lays out its alternate present. A society rebuilt after nuclear fallout. A shiny new world split cleanly by genetic privilege. The setup is strong and has the sort of grounded bite that gives science fiction its punch. You can see the truth in it, even when the plot leans into spectacle.
Tom Felton carries much of the weight as Leon. He has an easy charm here, a kind of battered sincerity that stops the film from slipping into pure pulp. His partnership with Liza Bugulova's Chloe feels warm and lived in, which helps when the wider story starts piling on its themes. The pair scrape by in the Special District, where the air is thick with rust and resignation, and their scavenger life has a real texture to it. The pace moves nicely as well. At a little over eighty minutes, it never drags, and you can settle into it without feeling as though you are signing up for a marathon.
The trouble is that the film keeps nudging you with messages instead of trusting the world to speak for itself. It grabs at every political idea it can reach. Genetic inequality. Healthcare access. Corruption. Class war. Propaganda. All of it thrown in at once. Instead of building a layered picture, it tips into something a bit cartoonish. You find yourself wishing the script had picked one thread and given it the time to breathe. The modest budget also shows. Some sequences in the Genetics District have ambition, though now and then the effects wobble just enough to pull you out of the moment.
Still, Altered has a spark. The world feels interesting even when the storytelling falters, and the central relationship keeps the whole thing from collapsing under its own weight. Felton does good work with what he is given, and there are glimmers of a sharper, more focused film lurking underneath the noise.
Altered is a clever idea that never quite blossoms. It rushes through its themes, leans too hard on political shouting, and lets its thin story drag down a strong concept. Even so, it is watchable, reasonably brisk, and held together by Felton's steady presence. A generous 6 out of 10 feels about right.
Out Now on Digital
Apple TV - https://apple.co/4iIT9YU
