Restore Point (2023)
The idea of having the ability to backup your memory in case of death and restore it in a new body has been a science fiction stable for many years. It is both a great plot device for exciting stories and a way to explore more philosophical questions about being human. This Czech movie falls mostly into the plot device category, and I think that is a missed opportunity.
The premise is a near future where it is possible to backup your mind and in case of a violent death, people can be fully restored - as long as their backup is no older than 48 hours. A terrorist group thinks this is unnatural and they have successfully killed, for good, a high number of people. We follow Em, a police officer working on investigation this terrorist group. Her husband was killed by them 2 years ago, so her personal investment is naturally high. There is more exposition made here than I personally prefer, at the cost of the more emotional aspect of this technology. Which I find more interesting. It is briefly touched upon from to time, with the unsettling feeling of missing a few days of your life leading up to your death and how people generally fear death even more now that the possibility of restoring is there, when they go over the 48 hours. There are also hints at how society has adapted to this new fact of life, with for example people playing Russian roulette for fun and games with minor consequences. But the meat of this story is a thriller where all of the above is just a plot device, that admittedly does create an exciting narrative. It is sadly not much more than a plot device. The conspiracy that unfolds isn’t that compelling, and I think it has too many convenient plotholes that glosses over many of the consequences and side effects that such a technology would have.
Rating: 2.5