Molly: Blu-Ray Review

Available now on Blu-ray and DVD is Colinda Bongers’ and Thijs Meuwese’s sci-fi/thriller, “Molly”, starring Julia Batelaan in the title role. The best way to describe “Molly” is a female-led version of “Turbo Kid”, minus the humor. Although I can’t say I was a fan of the film, I will say that Molly did make for an interesting hero. She does not look heroic by any means. She is clumsy and looks kind of nerdish. Yet, she is still able to take down numerous villains through some vicious fighting.  In that sense, there is a definite uniqueness here.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, Molly is a young girl with super human powers. Through flashbacks we see her being experimented on, but we don’t know much more than that.  There is a sadistic ringmaster that wants Molly for his underground fighting matches and he will stop at nothing to get her, going so far as to taking a little girl that Molly was protecting.

There isn’t much story in “Molly”. We mainly follow the title character around the barren wasteland while she gets into a few altercations. It isn’t until the film’s final act where Molly enters the ringmaster’s village on the water that things get a bit more exciting. There is a claustrophobic feel to the location, much to do with the film’s limited budget, but it works. The fighting is a bit more intense when there isn’t much room to move. Still, “Molly” just isn’t all that interesting and despite the originality of the character, I found myself not caring about the world or the people around her. “Molly” is left open for a sequel. If that does happen, I hope the filmmakers are able to deliver a story as unique as their main character.

By: Marc Ferman