On sunday I was catching up on a lot of content I have been putting aside as now Im getting back to blogging and one of those movies was 40 Acres (2024) and honestly it didn't hit like I thought it would, the whole concept seems pretty solid on paper but the execution kinda stumbles in way too many spots, it just tries to be to many things at once. This movie throws you right into this post apocalyptic nightmare where some fungal pandemic killed off most animals, civil war tore everything apart and now farmland is basically more valuable than gold, which sounds badass in theory but then everything gets messy real fast and you start wondering what the hell they were trying to accomplish. You got the Freeman family, these Black Canadian farmers who inherited this sacred piece of land from their ancestors way back, they gotta defend it against these cannibal raiders who want to steal their crops and shit, but the damn movie can't figure out if it wants to be a family drama about survival or a zombie movie or some kind of deep political statement about land rights and history, besides we never see cannibals been cannibals, that would have made things more interesting though.
Rottentomatoes Rating
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/537bxvp2)
Hailey gets played by Danielle Deadwyler and she is this fierce protective mother who trained all her kids on survival tactics, while her husband Galen tries to keep everyone together as a family unit, but their oldest son Manny is getting restless and wants to find his own path in life which creates tension that should be interesting to watch but ends up feeling repetitive after a while. The cannibals look way more like regular zombies or people who have been wondering around without any food for a while than actual flesh eating humans, the violence gets so over the top that it stops being shocking and starts feeling like cheap thrills just for the sake of it although is what holds this movie together. There is also this whole backstory about the historical significance of getting 40 acres and how it connects to broken promises made to freed slaves after the Civil War, which could have been really powerful if the movie committed to exploring it properly instead of just throwing it in there like an afterthought to make it seem deeper than it actually is.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/537bxvp2)
The visuals are probably the second strongest part of this whole thing, with some beautiful cinematography that captures how vast the Canadian landscape is and makes the farm feel like its own character in the story, the movie does make you feel you are out there in a vast land with thick woods, the environment also looks a bit cold at times. The way sunlight hits those fields during quiet moments gives you this peaceful feeling even when everything else is going to hell around them, camera work during action scenes is solid even though the action itself gets repetitive after the third or fourth attack. But then the sound is so messy that even dialogue gets put behind and you cant clearly listen to what they saying during the action scenes, its so badly that you end up straining to understand what people are saying half the time, which becomes a huge problem when you are trying to follow character development and key moments that actually matter, I can understand how they try to add tension and emotion but through the sound but sometimes feels completely disconnected from what is happening on screen, like the sound engineering and director were not even working on the same movie together.
[Source](https://tinyurl.com/537bxvp2)
Acting is decent between all characters, they all feel like at the same level, Deadwyler brings real intensity to her role as this protective mother but even good performances can not save writing that does not give characters room to grow beyond basic stereotypes. Michael Greyeyes is solid as the father trying to hold everything together but feels way underused for an actor of his caliber, the kids all kinda blend together except for Manny who is supposed to be this rebellious teenager but comes across more whiny than sympathetic to the audience, there are times when you really want him to man up and wanted to smack him, only to then tell his mother "...but I could never hate you", bunch of cliche lines too. Where this movie really loses me completely is when it leans heavy into the cannibal horror stuff because these so called threats feel more like a joke than actual danger, with this cannibals around making dumb decisions that make you wonder how they have survived this long in the first place.
The movie tries to create this sense of constant danger but then undercuts itself by making the enemies feel completely incompetent and then you start predicting exactly how each encounter will play out before it even happens, they attack from the fields and then the kids defend from the top of the house, literally happens three times with one of the kids been the sniper. Its like the producers thought if they just added more gore, action and violence they would keep everyone watching hooked but all it does is turn into this generic apocalyptic action movie that wastes the more interesting family drama that could have turn things around and at some point in the story they wanted too but wasted too much time explaining whats what, like using the flashbacks to give context. There is also this weird tone shift where the movie tries to be both grounded and realistic about survival while featuring these cartoonish villains who feel like they wandered in from a completely different type of film. Although is not the worst of the year it has some merit if you can look past its numerous flaws that plague the entire movie, it does have some cool action scenes too aside from core family relationships that have moments of real emotion, especially when parents are training their children for survival or discussing the history and significance of their ancestral land, which gives the story some much needed heart and soul. The movie does touch on important themes about legacy, inheritance, and ongoing effects of historical injustices, even if it does gives it damn enough time to keep building up momentum.
40 Acres feels like a missed opportunity that had all the right pieces for something really special but could not figure out how to put them together properly in a way that made sense, one of the main characters who was suppose to be their biggest allies only appear about three or four times on the movie including a flashback and they gets killed, its like they wanted to give context and stretch the the movie by using chapters but it doesnt work that well, I mean the plan and intention is there but its the execution, this makes it an ok ish movie although not a bad one, almost like a cable type of movie, it stumbles with poor sound design, inconsistent tone and a script that can not decide what kind of story it wants to tell the audience. Their are many element feels forced and unnecessary, like how Manny got tricked out by a girl when his mother was telling him then hole time, its a trap, turning what could have been a thoughtful family drama into a generic action / horror movie with political pretensions that never quite land where they should. If produce had focused more on character development and emotional weight of what is to be living alone during apocalyptic times while toning down over the top violence, they might have created something memorable instead of just another forgettable entry in the crowded dystopian genre that we get flooded with every year, zombies and apocalyptic theme movies. Acting is solid enough to carry weaker moments but even good performances can not overcome fundamental problems with pacing and script, its a worth watching movie if you are really into post apocalyptic family dramas but do not expect to be blown away by anything that will change the genre, I would give it a 6 out of 10 which puts it in that frustrating category of movies that had potential but wasted it through poor execution and unclear vision about what it wanted to accomplish.
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