Future World (film)

Future World is a 2018 American science fiction action Western film, directed by James Franco and Bruce Thierry Chung, from a screenplay by Chung and Jay Davis. It stars James Franco, Suki Waterhouse, Jeffrey Wahlberg, Margarita Levieva, Snoop Dogg, George Lewis Jr., Cliff 'Method Man' Smith, Lucy Liu and Milla Jovovich.

The film was released on May 25, 2018, by Lionsgate Premiere.

Plot
At the film's opening, a voice-over explains that mankind's technological breakthroughs in the development of artificial intelligence and robotics eventually lead to a global war. Afterward, the remnants of humanity struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland while the surviving machines remain hidden.

In the wasteland, a Warlord (James Franco), raids a settlement that contains a high-tech lab with an android girl named Ash (Suki Waterhouse). The Warlord activates Ash who opens two different colored eyes, (one blue, one green), that light up when she receives commands through a handheld remote.

Elsewhere, in a fertile zone called the Oasis, a young man called the Prince (Jeffrey Wahlberg), sets out on a mission into the wasteland in search of medicine to help his sick mother the Queen (Lucy Liu). His only clue to finding it is a faded postcard of a place called "Paradise Beach" where the rumored cure resides.

The Prince and his friends who accompany him, stop at Love Town, a wasteland settlement that deals in sex slaves and is run by the pimp "Big Daddy Love Lord" (Snoop Dogg). There they try to get directions to Paradise Beach but attract the attention of the Raiders. The Prince's friend Rico (Ben Youcef), drives off the Raiders with a handgun – a rare and valuable item in the wasteland. Big Daddy approaches with an offer to meet with someone who can help them, but it ends up being a trap set up by the Warlord where Ash captures the Prince and kills his friends. The Warlord then forces the Prince into taking them back to the Oasis, during which Ash, (who knows the Warlord will kill everyone), decides to save him.

Ash is damaged during the escape, leaking fluid from a gash in her abdomen, but she and the Prince manage to find shelter where she passes out when her systems shut down. The next day the Prince fashions a stretcher and drags Ash's body through the wasteland until he eventually finds the ocean. There his hopes are shattered when they are taken prisoner again by another group of wastelanders residing in the ruins of the seaside resort.

At the resort the Prince meets the "Drug Lord" (Milla Jovovich), who offers him the cure but at a cost. She injects him with a syringe and he passes out after experiencing hallucinations. Meanwhile Ash is taken to Lei (Margarita Levieva), a mechanic and a prisoner of the Drug Lord, who repairs Ash and reactivates her. Afterward, Ash is taken before the Drug Lord who fawns over how valuable she is.

The next day the Drug Lord forces the Prince into a gladiatorial battle with one of her minions saying that if he survives he gets the medicine and goes free. The Prince manages to defeat his opponent and retrieves the drugs, but the Drug Lord says that Ash is staying with her.

Later that evening, Lei goes to free Ash who is chained up in a cell but her attempt to saw the chains proves futile. Ash accepts her fate to remain a prisoner but decides to repay Lei for her kindness and makes love to her. The next morning, the Drug Lord discovers Ash and Lei together and, in a jealous rage, orders Lei to wipe Ash's memory of the event and reprogram her into a loving companion for herself instead.

Outside, the Prince returns and tries to sneak back into the resort just as the Warlord arrives and attacks the complex. In a drug-addled fury, the Drug Lord faces off with the Warlord who ends up killing her with the Prince's handgun. During the distraction, the Prince tries to help Lei and Ash escape, but they are all captured. The Warlord tries to retake control of Ash with the remote, ordering her to kill her friends, but Ash kills his men instead. She stabs the Warlord with a machete and then escapes with Lei and the Prince on a pair of the Raider's motorbikes. The Warlord gives chase, but Ash stops and kills him in one last stand.

The three eventually make it back to Oasis where Ash tells the Prince she's leaving to find others like herself that are out there somewhere. The Prince returns to his mother and gives her the medicine as Ash rides off with Lei into the wasteland. In a mid credit post scene, Ash returns to Love Town and frees the sex slaves, who get revenge on Big Daddy Love Lord by attacking him.

Cast

 * James Franco as Warlord
 * Suki Waterhouse as Ash
 * Jeffrey Wahlberg as Prince
 * Margarita Levieva as Lei
 * Snoop Dogg as Love Lord
 * George Lewis Jr. as Ratcatcher
 * Cliff "Method Man" Smith as Tattooed Face
 * Lucy Liu as Queen
 * Milla Jovovich as Drug Lord
 * Carmen Argenziano as Grandfather
 * Scott Haze as Gutter
 * Rumer Willis as Rosie
 * Elisha Henig as Grandson

Production
In May 2016, it was announced James Franco, Milla Jovovich, Twin Shadow and Margarita Levieva joined the cast of the film, with Franco directing alongside Bruce Thierry Chung, with Dark Rabbit Productions and AMBI Group, financing the film, with Monika Bacardi, Vince Jolivette and Jay Davis producing. That same month, Lucy Liu, Method Man, Suki Waterhouse, Jeffrey Wahlberg and Snoop Dogg joined the cast of the film.

Filming
Principal photography began in May 2016, and wrapped in June 2016.

Release
It was released on May 25, 2018, by Lionsgate Premiere.

Home media
The film was scheduled to be released through DVD and Blu-Ray on July 10, 2018, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Critical reception
Future World received negative reviews from film critics. It holds a 0% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews, with a weighted average of 1.6/10. On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 10 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review writing: "A low-rent, post-apocalyptic sci-fi tale that doesn't succeed as either homage or parody of such obvious inspirations as the Mad Max series, Future World proves as original as its title". Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club also gave the film a negative review writing: "Franco and Cheung's unorthodox approach of directing almost the entire film in random, nomadic Steadicam shots with wobbly zooms alienates the simplistic plot".