Future World (2018)

Future World is the kind of scruffy, neon-dusted sci-fi fever dream that wins you over less with polish than with sheer, oddball atmosphere—like a post-apocalyptic mixtape where every track is slightly warped but hard to turn off. James Franco and Bruce Thierry Cheung lean into a grimy wasteland vibe of rogue warlords, drugged-out outposts, and mythic “cures,” while Suki Waterhouse brings a cool, watchful intensity that gives the film a surprising emotional pulse amid the chaos. It’s messy, violent, and frequently lurid, but also weirdly watchable in the way midnight movies can be, especially if you’re in the mood for striking images and a loose, dream-logic journey rather than airtight storytelling. If you need clean world-building and tight plotting, this may frustrate you—but if you like your sci-fi bold, sleazy, and hypnotic, it’s an intriguing ride.

Future World is clearly aiming for a dreamy, Mad Max-meets-art-house sci‑fi fable about survival, power, and an android discovering autonomy. The problem is it rarely turns those big ideas into a coherent story—scenes drift, the writing feels thin, and the visuals often come off more like “we shot this in the desert” than a fully imagined future. If you need tight world-building, purposeful action, or characters who feel like more than sketches, this will likely test your patience, especially with the heavy mix of violence, nudity, and drug content. The main redeeming angle is the occasional mood and Suki Waterhouse’s committed presence, but it’s more a vibe experiment than a satisfying movie.