During my time on The Central Trend, I have clearly found an interest in reviewing all the newest and latest Netflix releases. So, as Memorial Day Monday rolled around, I sparked my computer to life and browsed through the new releases. The first title that really caught my eye was something that I would say is out of my common genres, but it was the first movie that flickered an interest inside of me. As I clicked play, my Memorial Monday on the couch moved into a Monday in California, and Rim of the World began its journey on my screen.

Right from the start, I realized that the movie was not what I had initially presumed it would be. As Netflix films tend to be full of, I was immediately introduced to a series of new actors, as well as those who would be the four main characters.

The movie sets up the foundation for the overall plot by beginning with four kids arriving at, ironically, Rim of the World camp. The audience is immediately introduced to three of the four main characters, as well as little whispers of their personalities: Alex (Jack Gore) is the shy, scared-of-literally-everything kid; Zhen Zhen (Miya Cech) is the quiet, tough girl; and, Dariush (Benjamin Flores Jr.) is the rich, cocky guy. The fourth main character, the nice, mysterious Gabriel (Alessio Scalzotto), is introduced shortly after the three kids arrive at the camp. Not only would friendships change among the four, but also their own personalities would face their own evolutions.

The film encompasses the story of four misfit teens who basically end up in a spot where they are entitled to save the world. As things begin to go haywire and aliens invade Earth, the four are left by themselves with a key to stop the invasions and save the world. With no parents, no electronics, and a long journey ahead, the four set out on a mission that involves the conquering of their fears in order to save the world.

Overall, the acting was mediocre. Considering the main characters were all kids, I gave a little slack in the whole performance, and my expectations were set a little lower than what I expect from more mature movies.

Jack Gore, who played Alex, was one of the actors that I believed performed best; I actually believed the story he was acting and the person he was supposed to become. He started off as a kid who feared everything. Right from the beginning, the audience could catch the fact that, clearly, the kid had not been out of the house much. However, through Gore’s actions, I was able to not only view but also experience Alex’s personality evolution. I watched as he took on his fears and became a stronger person. Gore made me really believe in the person Alex was to become.

On the other side of the scale, there was the mediocre, at best, acting. Alessio Scalzotto was cast as Gabriel, the orphan of the group. He had a tough role to fulfill given his intense background, yet he was not able to meet the requirements of his role. Often times, I could see the Alessio trying to act instead of seeing Gabriel as a character in the movie. The personality of Gabriel was lost in an entanglement of the wires of plain bad acting. I found myself searching for errors in Scalzotto’s acting rather than working on getting enraptured in his character. 

The film was overall a decent production. There were times where I found the lack of reality within the movie irritating and the drawn-out plot to be too bland. The whole movie was focused on the four kids’ journey to saving the world, but it lacked details to keep me enthralled.

Rim of the World also lacked value. Although it tried to tell the story of a friendship between four outcasts and the confronting of their fears, its greatest value ended up being the ability it had to adhere to a predictable storytelling formula. The movie had its burst of colors along the way, but the resulting piece was far from an interesting rainbow.

Would I spend an hour and thirty-eight minutes watching it again? Probably not unless I was watching with my 12-year-old cousins. The film just doesn’t hold value for ages past a mostly mature level.

All in all, Rim of the World stood as a mediocre film that tells a mediocre story.