Everyone has a Bad Day at the Office, but not like this indie movie. We had the trailer the other day, and it looked unique. OK, not completely, but shot in POV, which is a technical nightmare to film.
We were invited to London for a screening, but I couldn’t make it, and I’m a little annoyed now, as it would have been fun on the big screen. And yes, there were loads of other people invited, not just us; we’re not that big… yet.
Bad Day at the Office stars John Hannah, Radha Mitchell, Tamer Hassan, Lana Parrilla, Roxanna McKee, and Tim Fellingham. Chee Keong Cheung directs and co-writes with Oliver Morran.
The Story
We wake up in the head of Karl Davis (Hannah), who doesn’t know where he is. It’s all shot POV (sort of; I will go into that later), and we look around a hotel room. Someone had a big party last night, with underwear, drugs, oh and a dead body in the bathroom. Written above the body is the word ‘RUN’, in blood.
Karl cannot remember what happened, and doesn’t have long to figure out who he is, what’s going on, and how he’s going to get out of this mess. Which is bad, as the police turn up, although they aren’t official policemen.
Molly (Mitchell) is a maid in the hotel, but she also seems to know Karl. The rest of Bad Day at the Office is them figuring out what the hell is going on.
It’s set out in chapters, with each chapter introducing different people that seem to want Karl dead. It’s kind of like a John Wick/Bullet Train but shot in the style of a POV, or first-person shooter, and it never lets up.
The Cast
I was surprised to see Hannah in this, as Karl is very energetic. Don’t get me wrong, I like Hannah; he seems cool, but not ‘action star’ cool. Good thing is, you’re never sure it’s him that doing it all. Yes, it’s his voice, with that Scottish lilt, but the running around; I’m doubtful.
It’s always good to see Mitchell; she’s done some great roles in her career, and she gives 100% here. The only time we see her is from Karl’s POV, but we do enter her POV at times, which is interesting, but with a ‘however’.
POV?
POV is point of view; I know you know that, but I was just stating it, just in case. The only other movie that springs to mind with POV is Hardcore Henry. Bad Day at the Office is like Henry, but different.
Hardcore Henry was true POV; all shot from one person’s viewpoint and all done in ‘one take’. Bad Day at the Office isn’t a true POV; for starters, we shift between people, sometimes in the same shot.
The thing was, the camera never stays still for more than a second! I used to edit people’s home movies, so I’m used to crappy photography, zooming in and out, and basically seeing camera movement that would make a hardy sailor seasick.
Firstly, I was annoyed that the POV wasn’t the same as Hardcore Henry, but once I embraced it, I started to have fun.
On a side note: I hate when directors don’t think about the technical aspects of movie making. The VHS series of horrors are all crappy because they don’t edit VHS tape correctly. I watched one of them and had to turn it off, as it wasn’t technically correct.
Back to POV
Back on to Bad Day at the Office, this isn’t a POV movie, but it is technically impressive. That being said, the whole ‘camera not staying still’ also annoyed me, as it gave the impression that Karl had Parkinsons, ADHD, and was high on speed.
The camera kept zooming in and out, like Karl was leaning forward every 2 seconds.
Then where were the camera angles. It seemed like Karl kept leaning his head from left to right, again, almost every 2 seconds. I get what the director was trying to do, but it was annoying. As I said though, I don’t get ‘seasick’ watching stuff like this, but I imagine some will.
Overall
All that being said, what Bad Day at the Office is, is bloody good fun! The story is like a video game, with each chapter being a new level, with bad guys Karl needs to fight off. Sure, the story is a little thin and predictable, but the ride is wild.
The action is great in places, but then a little over the top in others; but again, you’re having fun, so who cares?
Bad Day at the Office would have looked great on the big screen, as it’s so wild. You don’t get many POV movies, apart from those ones where the plumber turns up to fix the sink. Technically, it must have been a nightmare to film, but they did it.
Rating
Most of the stars here are for the technical editing, filming, and just how difficult it must have been to make. It loses stars for the predictable story.
It rates highly on the popcorn-o-meter, as it was just good fun. I can’t imagine I would watch it again anytime soon, but I enjoyed the ride.
