The Objective (2008) Reviews

• The Objective - Plot About Djinn

  nineveh-42008-08-15

  Many people don't get what the supernatural events were about in this movie. It is normal because it contains elements of common themes of ghosts and ufo. However, it deals with neither. Many of the events of the film makes sense if you understand occult lore of the Middle East surrounding creatures known as the Djinn. Forget about the Aladdin version of the Djinn. Mythological and occult lore of the Djinn is entirely different. Djinn are said to be of fire that doesn't burn. That is an ancient reference to electricity or magnetism. The word jinn in Arabic has the linguistic meaning of 'invisible' and it also shares the same linguistic root as the word 'mad'. Let's take a closer look at the movie... 1) The man in the cave is actually a sorcerer. The beings he was communicating with are the djinn. They are invisible to the naked eye, but they registered on the solider's equipment. He provided them water that turned into sand. Djinn in ancient lore are able to materialize things ranging from food to gemstones. However, they eventually turn to dust. 2) Evil tribes of the djinn such as the Beni Ghilan (followers of al-Ghoul) are believed to consume dead human flesh. 3) Ancient records detailing djinn materialization talk about strange sounds like 'buzzing bees' before they appear. In this movie, it is the buzzing sound of a chopper. 4) Magnetic phenomena....there is a little known Arabic text called the Green Island dating back to medieval morocco. This book talks about a man who was kidnapped by the djinn and taken to a magical island. He was returned to his village many years later. He left behind a make-shift map trying to point out where this magical island was. Modern researchers of the story tried to correlate the map with modern geographic data. They discovered that the instructions placed it somewhere in the middle of the Bermuda triangle. The mountain range appears to be another secret home of the djinn and thus seem to reflect strange magnetic phenomena. 5) Weird lights...the same old occult texts when discussing djinn manifestation refer to lights that suddenly appear and shine upon the sorcerer from which emerge strange figures (the djinn). 6) Ending....djinn are reported to have strong telepathic abilities and to be very secretive of their reality. The film's ending is about a man whose brain was scrambled by the djinn after being touched on the forehead by one of them. He got too close and he was neutralized and left behind as an example... I don't claim to know exactly what the script writer intended with all of those references. I am making an educated guess here based on the similarities (coincidental or intended) between the events of the movie and the ancient mythological narrative. Check out books such 'Book of Deadly Names' for more info on the djinn.

• So, What's Up With The Ending? - Explained

  bezoris22014-03-20

  Friends ask me this question fairly frequently - especially now that the movie's been back on Netflix. I thought I'd post my analysis, which, for what it's worth, has satisfied most of them... (My background is in Eastern philosophy and mythology, which this movie is primarily about and why I'm asked this question.) (1) The Background (2) The Analysis First question is usually, "What are those balls of fire? Ufos, ghosts, souls?" Short answer is: none of the above. Or at least, not specifically. In order to answer this question, it's necessary to understand what "a Vimana" is and how they function in Indian religion and mythology. (1) Vimanas are, in short, "chariots of the gods." They are typically depicted as peaked royal palanquins or stupas (peaked temples), hence their visual representation as triangles. But they are also occasionally birds, as in the case of Vishnu's mount Garuda, or winged structures. In Hindu mythology, existence consists of seven higher and seven lower heavens or planes of existence. When Indra, leader of the Devas (a group of lesser gods) wants to visit earth he - you guessed it - jumps in to his Vimana and shoots down to our plane of existence. Running through all planes of existence is an endless pillar of fire, lingodbhava-murti, the primal form of Shiva, the creator (that later also includes Vishnu at the bottom and, generally, Brahma at the top). While the pillar is endless in Hinduism, in Buddhism the top of the pillar ends at Brahma until Buddha (or anyone) achieves enlightenment, at which point it becomes endless. The top of the "Brahma pillar" is a triangular structure with Brahma's three faces representing dominion, or arbitration, over the past, present and future (he looks in to or "sees" all-time). The lingodbhava-murti, then, is both endless (spaceless) and timeless or "out of time." But what does all of this have to do with the movie? (2) So, Keynes and his team are off searching for Vimanas in the desert. And they find them: the arrival of Vimanas signified by helicopter sounds ("birds" - see above), triangular structures, and the small metal airplane (a chariot with wings). But why is the metal airplane first discarded in the dirt by the oasis and later clutched in Keynes' hand at the end? Specifically, Keynes achieves a form of enlightenment as indicated by the touch on his forehead at his third eye (a common association), his levitation (another common trope), his "open eyes" in the medical suite, and his entrance into - or acceptance by - the Vimana. At this point he has moved outside of our specific plane and is traveling throughout existence. He too "sees all." There are also, I believe, references to quantum mechanics and string or multiverse theory at this point - specifically with regards to the flares. Waveform collapse, in quantum mechanics, refers to when an infinite number of possibilities, or potentialities, collapse (mathematically) in to a decision point or "singularity." (Interestingly, both waveforms and strings are often described as "vibrating" and waves - after all - DO vibrate; another sly association, I think, with his vibrating hand.) In certain forms of multiverse theory these decision points do not cancel out other potentialities (as in QM) but birth additional universes in which they did occur: a universe in which you went left instead of right, called your mother back instead of ignored her, liked peanut butter instead of hating it, etc, ad infinitum. The flares, then, are all from Keynes. As Keynes begins to "enter" the Vimana and transcend - or move out of - fixed existence he/we begin to see his entire waveform - if you will - or his mutiverse of singularities. We see flares that he might have sent up or did in another space/time-line... past, present and future. Simultaneously. There are also reasons to believe that his wife is actually dead during the timeline we observe in the film (from earlier dialogue, his weeping over his wife's picture, references to why he took the mission in the first place knowing it was suicidal (nothing to live for)). Yet she's alive at the end credits giving an interview? And the plane is both in his hand and back at the oasis... Notice, too, that the final ascentional montage contains formulas from Einstein's relativity theorem (on Space-Time) and what appears to be the head of Brahma, among other symbology. Neat! Finally, why is Keynes apparently "saved" or "enlightened" when everyone else gets blown away? On somewhat shaky ground here, but I think, possibly, that he is meant to be seen as at least seeking enlightenment, attempting to "see farther," while the rest of the group do not. This evidenced, mainly, by his camera... Of the large, monocular variety, as you recall: literally "a third eye." The only other group member to individually see the other "travelers" dies after having seen them through his BINOCULAR night vision goggles (and killing the guardian/ascetic/enlightened old guy). As far as production goes, I agree with most other reviewers: it certainly could have benefited from a larger budget. But it worked for me and I'm a fan of deliberate, well-done low-budget sci-fi (as well as the other kind). If you'd like more of this, I recommend Shane Carruth's two fantastic movies: "Primer" and "Upstream Color." Also can't say enough about "Valhalla Rising," another great "film of ideas." Bone up on your Dante, Apocrypha (Dismas/The Harrowing of Hell) and Norse mythology to enjoy that one though... But if you do, it's fantastic. For what it's worth, I have no connection whatsoever to anyone involved in the production of these films... Best, Chris.

• Ambitious movie that is Interesting despite flaws,,,

  Siamois2008-09-03

  The Objective is, in many ways, reminiscent of science-fiction movies of old, particularly the 70s. But whether it was intentional of Daniel Myrick or it simply is a coincidence, I wouldn't know. One thing is for sure, the real magic and strength of older science-fiction classics is not fully conjured here. This small-budget movie's premise is simple but opens many possibilities. An elite military commando is sent on a mission in the tensed, war-torn present-day Afghanistan. They are led by a mysterious government operative. Their "Objective" is relatively unclear but considering the risks taken, the stakes must be high. As the story unfolds, the mystery remains and the plot thickens but we are still left with a sour taste as the development and tension doesn't pay off much. There's a mish-mash of elements here that have been a success in other works and movies. Shades of The Andromeda Strain. Shades of Aliens. Shades of Space Odyssey, of Altered States and of old Bermuda Triangle Movies. More than anything, with just a little rework, this could have been a solid X-Files movie. CIA agent Ben Keynes could easily become FBI agents Mulder and Scully, which would have made things much more dynamic. One of the biggest problem The Objective suffers from is an underdeveloped protagonist and cardboard peripheral characters. One of the secrets to the success of Aliens is that James Cameron, in a much busier storyline, was able to present his space marines as more than mere Alien-hamburgers. In just a few lines, or a few silent frames, we are exposed to colorful personalities and the various interactions between them. In The Objective, not only are the special force members absolutely bland, but they don't even interact in interesting ways with the plot or the main character. When a film-maker introduces characters that are obvious plot tools, I call this weak film-making. But when such characters aren't even effective tools, I call this awful film-making. And that's unfortunately the case here. As for the actual plot... suffice it to say it is intriguing. A few hints are given here and there in the movie that might help figure out what the shocking resolution means. We are firmly in speculative science-fiction at times, much like old sci-fi. This makes this flawed movie a valid entry for fans of the genre but others would be better off passing. This is still a solid effort by Daniel Myrick and commendable on an $8,000,0000 budget. But it seems a less ambitious, more tightly knit plot would have been preferable over too large a scope.

• Event Horizon meets Afghanistan

  JackyBryant2008-08-07

  This movie is an amazing blend of science fiction, horror, and thrills. A CIA agent recruits a couple grunt soldiers to track down a religious leader in Afghanistan to interview him. But the soldiers soon find out that this is just a deception to lure them deep into a remote region of Afghanistan. What follows is a thrilling, scary, and exciting film that almost never lets up until the ending. The writing is great, there are no over the top lines and long philosophical battles between characters, this is a movie about soldiers and they speak and act accordingly. The acting is fantastic, characters seems genuinely scared and nervous whenever appropriate. And the plot is a fantastic twist on the usual 'small company' war story movie as it adds elements of supernatural horror and psychological terror as the main antagonists instead of rival soldiers. The cons are the slightly low budget special effects at some points, instead of showing poorly done CGI, I would have opted for the 'less is more' approach and focused on characters reactions to the supernatural phenomenon instead. The ending was a bit disappointing as well as there is very little concrete resolution but with some creative assuming and inference it is relatively obvious as to what happens to each individual character. If you like horror or thriller movies or just want to see a fresh idea then absolutely give this movie a chance. It's a bit nerve wracking if you're watching it in the dark and definitely not for children. Adults however, especially those into film, this deserves at least rental.

• Good first half, disastrous last part

  rishi_is_here-12008-08-09

  I just didn't get it, it started so promising. It has created all the supernatural sensations during the first half, added with very good acting and pretty good cinematography. But then it loses. Mainly because nobody would understand what is the objective of the soldiers who are following a horror trail in middle of nowhere. I would say its a perfect example of very bad story telling where you created all the attention and then just don't deliver it. The end is so disappointing, what did it mean? Is the guy still living and in a trauma center or he died. What is it that they were following in the entire movie? Well it may be shrouded with mystery and director may keep it for the audience to think on , but then at least give something to think on.It will get marks only for its low budget but good direction except the end, good acting , tight conversation and creating the tension.