Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Mantera (2012)

Sixteen year old Azman receives some packages in the mail. When he opens them he finds the disassembled prototype of Mantera, a motorcycle and outfit which contains... something that bites or pricks the user and gets into his DNA, which essentially enables him morph with the motorcycle.

Weston Tech, the company who developed Mantera, becomes aware of their missing prototype and notices the disappearance of top scientist Dr. Natasya Pushkion, who is behind the espionage.  Weston is not amused because the buyer from the Legion of Darkness is putting pressure on them and wants Mantera now.

When I heard the description of a man getting a package in the mail that contained something which caused him to morph with a motorcyle, I imagined all sort of craziness.  Surprisingly the movie is not very exciting because instead of a cool man motorcycle hybrid, what we get what is essentially a Transformer.  If I'd seen the dvd cover, I would have known this, but alas, the results could not live up to my imagination.

There's a lot of running around as the Legion of Darkness tries to acquire Mantera and so do the Russians. Honestly I can't remember if the Russians are part of the Legion or just the muscle for Weston Tech.  But the movie is confusing at times and nonsensical at others.

And what the heck is up with Azman? He's sixteen but appears to have his own apartment and no visible means of support... well until he's hired by the Legion of Darkness so they can get their hands on Mantera.  And how did Dr. Pushkin discover he had a pure soul? And why does every character pronounce his name differently?  First it's Azman, then it sounds like asthma, hazmat, assman - it just keeps getting more and more ridiculous.

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