Ascendant, also known as Rising Wolf, is a 2021 Australian thriller film co-written and directed by Antaine Furlong.[1]
| Ascendant | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Antaine Furlong |
| Written by | Antaine Furlong Kieron Holland |
| Produced by | Drew Bailey James M. Vernon Kristy Vernon |
| Starring | Charlotte Best Jonny Pasvolsky Alex Menglet |
| Cinematography | Frank Flick |
| Edited by | Jonathan Tappin |
| Music by | David Hirschfelder |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | English, Russian, Mandarin |
Plot
editAria Wolf is trapped in an elevator while her father is held hostage by Russian gangsters. She comes to realise she has extraordinary abilities.
Cast
edit- Charlotte Best as Aria Wolf
- Jonny Pasvolsky as Richard Wolf
- Alex Menglet as Yaroslav
- Tahlia Sturzaker as Young Aria
- Karelina Clarke as Young Zara
- Susan Prior as Barbara Wolf
- Andrew Jack as Dr Thompson
- Lily Stewart as Zara Wolf
- Elsa Cocquerel as Chrissy
- George Burgess as Sergey
- John Harding as Nikolay
- Justin Cotta as Anton
Reception
editOn review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 45% based on 11 reviews.[2]
Writing in The Australian David Stratton gave it 2 stars stating "The film is likely to prove as great an ordeal for the audience as it is for its luckless heroine."[3] The Canberra Times's Ron Cerabona gives it a 3 star review noting "while sometimes hard to follow and with some contrived or implausible elements, is impressively atmospheric, well made and well acted."[4] In New Zealand's Waikato Times James Croot give it 2 stars and finishes "Visually impressive, this Australian production may well lead to bigger things for the clearly talented Furlong, but narratively, it's a barely coherent mess that feels like a desperate cinematic placeholder until the global movie industry gets back up to speed."[5]
Writing in Variety Richard Kuipers says "Promising ideas turn out to be mostly empty thought bubbles in “Rising Wolf,” a confusing and derivative Aussie combo of hostage thriller and sci-fi fantasy."[1] Austin Chronicle's Trace Sauveur gave it 1 1/2 stars saying "Rising Wolf gets so caught up in the idea of a supposed potential franchise that it forgets to make you care about the film you're currently watching."[6]
Awards
edit- 11th AACTA Awards
- AACTA Award for Best Sound - Angus Robertson, Peter Purcell, Phil Heywood, Scott Mulready - nominated[7]
References
edit- ^ a b Kuipers, Richard (1 May 2021), "'Rising Wolf' (Ascendant) Review: An Unwieldy Mix of Hostage Drama and YA-style Fantasy", Variety
- ^ "Rising Wolf". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Stratton, David (10 April 2021), "More downs than ups", The Australian
- ^ Cerabona, Ron (11 April 2021), "Thriller showcases rising talents", The Canberra Times
- ^ Croot, James (11 April 2021), "Ascendant descends into a mess", Waikato Times
- ^ Sauveur, Trace (13 August 2021), "Rising Wolf", Austin Chronicle
- ^ Burke, Tina, "The full list of nominees and winners for the 2021 AACTA Awards", Who Magazine