https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2-49Xl-Q64 

REVIEW

There is no robot from the future, no aliens ferocious, no machine guns, Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest film is thick with depressive drama shades of grief and deepest regret. The title itself means "effects or consequences after an unpleasant incident", in the case of Aftermath which is also an adaptation of the real story of the Überlingen mid-air collision event telling of a tragedy of an airplane accident that drastically changed the lives of two humans in it. There is Roman (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a middle-aged architect who is waiting for his wife and daughter to arrive from Ukraine, there is Jake Bonanos (Scoot McNairy), the ATC (Air Traffic Control) operator who is "responsible" for the terrible disaster because of a situation beyond his control.

Despite selling the story of a plane crash, Aftermath 95% takes the setting on a flat, secure plane, but that does not mean there is no threat from Elliott Lester's drama. But be calm, even though it is potentially a contemplative depressive drama dish that can slap your emotions, it does not have anything really solid in its narration to get you to reflect on what's going on inside it. Script written by Javier Gullón feels weak for a movie that sells the theme of grief, tragedy, and revenge, let alone an adaptation of a true story that could have added to Aftermath's emotional value. Yes, it becomes ironic considering that in the past Gullón with Enemy Denis Villeneuve once presented a fascinating mystery thriller spectacle. 

But I am glad how Lester chose to separate the two main stories to then be smashed at the end of it later. This means that we have plenty of time to get to know the two main characters in a balanced portion, how their normal life that later transforms into grief, guilt and regret destroy them from within. The problem was that Lester's drives were running too long, even to the point of stumbling. The audience is hoping there will be something stronger after the tragedy, but we are more served with the grim faces of Schwarzenegger and McNairy who are desperate without actually being invited to engage emotionally in them. This then makes Aftermath tiring to follow. Even the second meeting at the end will not have too much impact, there is only an element of revenge without ever really able to give a deep reflection on what happened until then we easily forget it just like that. 

Though not supported by a powerful story but Aftermath still has little grip to make you care, it's more because of the solid appearance of the two main characters who look slick. Lester was just showing his grief from the outside with the gloomy appearance of his characters, but it was hard not to admit that Schwarzenegger knew what to do here. Not much dialogue was spoken of the character Arnie played, but his body language game was strong enough to show grief in it, indirectly proving that Arnie was not an actor relying solely on his muscles. There is anger there but we never really know what Roman character will do here until the end of the story later. While McNairy was assigning an equally big task when he had to bring regret and deep responsibility after what he did, Lester even gave Jake family the character to add to his moral burden, although in the end it did not matter much because of the lack of narrative support provided.

RATING (6/10)

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