Rim of the World

Four kids on bikes save the world
I can find enjoyment in all different genres of movie, I like good ones, bad ones, so bad they're good ones, but every once in a while, I come across a movie that just baffles me. Rim of the World is one of those movies.

The basic concept is enjoyable enough, four kids on bikes have to save the world from an alien invasion, I get it, it's a fun trope that's making a huge comeback and I am here for it. I love these types of things. But this one...this one, Dear Readers, is something beyond being good or bad. It's technically made very well, the effects are good, the actors in it are pretty solid for kids, and even the story is fine, if maybe wanting for a bit more development. Where it falls apart is the execution and I think the direction.

I can usually follow a movie pretty well but the second this thing started, I couldn't wrap my head around what it was trying to be or who it was really for. It starts off kind of like a sci-fi horror, which is fine, it sets up what's to come but then we cut to the most bizarre introduction to a movie's characters I've ever seen. On its surface, it seems normal. We are introduced to each kid in a specific situation which highlights their personality traits, got it. Apparently, they are all going to a camp called Rim of the World. One is going because his mom wants him to branch out and socialize, one is going because he's rich, I guess, and the last is going seemingly against her parents' wishes because she has a brochure with a picture she likes...ok.

What follows is our three established characters arriving at our titular camp and to the most, uncomfortable, off-putting world building I've ever seen. I am using loaded language, I know, so let me clarify. It's not an offensive movie, it's the way the shots are done that is off-putting. For starters, the camp counselors all seem to know exactly who our main characters are by name; like they were expecting specifically them, out of a sea of new arrivals. This is never explained. I thought maybe it was the one kid and the mom was friends with them but then they introduce themselves.

Then we move into a headache-inducing exchange where the main character and the camp counselor do not ever appear in the same shot, it cuts between them and the counselor appears to be talking directly to us, the viewer. I don't know why this irked me so much but I did not like it. It felt like I was watching two different movies, one where a camp counsellor is trying desperately to make me laugh and one where a boy and his mother are walking around, silently and smiling blankly and nodding despite the fact that the counsellor is not giving the impression that he's going to really be watching her kid all that well.

What was this supposed to be? Did they want us to feel like we were joining the camp? Why? They never really gave a good explanation of the camp other than it's an "Adventure Camp" but nothing made me think, wow, I wish it was real so I could go. Were these filmed on separate days? What did they tell the actors? Was she just walking around a set smiling and nodding at nothing? Because they were not in that scene together, I can assure you of that. What happened here?

On top of that, there's an awkward sex joke involving a 13 year old with an older girl, which is a little weird. Again, the girl seems to know who the kid is despite this being the first day and I'm trying to figure out, how they know these kids by name already. I don't know why the names thing bugs me so much but it does. Yes, even more than the awkward "Take it out and put it in my box" double entendre mix up that they were trying to execute here. It's not phrased weird at all, she clearly meant for him to take his cell phone out and put in a box that she kept off camera for the punchline.

Our heroes are Alex (main kid), Dariush (rich boy), and ZhenZhen (token badass girl). Wait, I thought you said there were four kids on bikes, you say? Not until after the first three are separated from the rest of the campers because ZhenZhen wants to hike to the exact location of the picture in her brochure for reasons I may have missed the explanation for. A bizarre fight breaks out between Alex and Dariush when out of nowhere, Dariush decides to murder Alex, or something. Look, he pushes him to the edge of a cliff, knowing full well that Alex has a thing with heights, he can't have really thought he was doing a good thing here. This is when we are introduced to Gabriel, our resident Judd Nelson of the movie (the movie also makes a Breakfast Club reference so I feel justified here), who rescues Alex and punches Dariush in the face.

An astronaut crash lands to Earth. She is there to pass the task of saving the world to our heroes in the guise of a key. She is then killed off in a brutal way for a movie geared towards young teens. Yes, there is no blood anywhere in this movie, that doesn't stop the deaths from being any less brutal though and I was kind of put off by the astronaut's death because of how bizarrely sexual it was. We've already invoked sex in this movie multiple times, from the "my box" awkwardness to the boys arguing over virginity which is a trend that is bizarrely prevalent in young teen movies. So, when the astronaut is killed by a gigantic claw being shoved into her mouth, it feels really gross to think of this as being marketed to 13 year-olds. It's not the hugest deal, probably most kids would overlook that context but it weirded me out, personally.

After this point the movie settles into a more coherent tone with the four kids on their bikes, riding through dangers to save Earth from being wiped out completely. I actually started to enjoy it a bit more. The action pieces were good, it had clear arcs for all of our characters, even if their set-ups were clunky and I liked that each of them had a hand in helping to save everyone that forced them each to face up to their own insecurities. That was a nice bit of characterization. I also liked the upheaval of the kids on bikes trope when the kids come across a cool car and unceremoniously ditch their bikes because, yeah. It makes sense that kids would take advantage of the lack of people around and law enforcement and have fun.

Of course, the urgency of getting the McGuffin to x destination is ground to a halt when the kids decide to have an awkward fashion show dance in an abandoned mall. I mean, I can't argue that kids might have a blast doing that but it still was an odd placement when they were just worried about a deadly killer alien assassin hot on their trail to murder their faces off...nah, let's just dance and show off our new styles.

All in all, this movie was definitely entertaining and had some cute moments but the execution was very clunky and awkward. I checked out who the director of this movie was and to me, it explained a lot. McG is definitely a hyper and more juvenile Michael Bay, known best for his interpretation of Charlie's Angels. I feel like, this could have been a lot more fun in better hands or with a tighter script. The actors were fine, the set design was fine but there didn't seem to be a very consistent flow to the story. I can't call it good, I can't call it bad, I can't even call it so bad it's good, it just kind of is. Give it a watch if you're in the mood for silly fun that you can riff from your couch but it's nothing special. It's a shame, I really think this is an idea that could have worked with a more, developed story.

Damn you, McG!



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