Duncan Jones’s first feature film was 2009’s “Moon”. The film received lots of praise for its inventive story, which contained themes of scientific realism and plausibility. It also received multiple nominations and awards from the British Independent Film Awards. So, you could say the director had a great start in his feature film debut. Now, nine years later, the director returns to deliver a follow-up entitled “Mute”, which was released on Netflix on Feb. 23. The film stars Alexander Skarsgard, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux. So, how did the film do? Let’s talk about it.

To give you a general idea of what the film is about, “Mute” follows a man named Leo, who is unable to speak. He searches for his missing girlfriend in Berlin set in the future.

In terms of what I liked, the visuals are really colorful and vibrant. It really brings the futuristic aspect into full scope and brings the set pieces to life. Even though the look and feel shares lots of similarities to “Blade Runner,” it still managed to feel different and be its own thing. The other thing I really liked is the concept presented in the film. The idea and world is rich with possibilities and makes for interesting stories to be told if another film is to be made in this world.

Other than those two positives, the film has a plethora of problems. For starters, the story is not interesting and ultimately boring to watch. A good noir must have a gripping story to keep the audience wanting more. With that said, the story doesn’t do much to grab the audience’s’ attention and loses focus as a result. Also, with the exception of Paul Rudd, the performances were mostly tasteless and bland. All are great actors, but they were given bland characters to work with.

In short, “Mute” had lots of potential but ultimately fell short in terms of storytelling and gripping performances. Without these, the noir factor doesn’t work and ultimately the film itself does not work.

“Mute” Overall Score: 6.5/10

Letter Grade: D