Abigail

Abigail (Tinatin Dalakishvili) is a young woman orphaned by an authoritarian government when her inventor father (Eddie Marsan) is hauled away by the authorities, accused of being "infected" by the mysterious epidemic that has plagued the country for years, in this English language fantasy from Russia. As she gets involved with the underground resistance led by a handsome young rebel (Rinal Mukhametov), she discovers that there is an entire world of magic that the government is trying to control by arresting anyone with "a gift," which of course Abigail has. For an original screenplay, not based on any existing novel, it shows an absolute lack of originality from director Aleksandr Boguslavskiy, who also scripts. The story is a pale imitation of such dystopian young adult science fiction thrillers as "The Hunger Games" and "Divergent," set in a steampunk world that looks like pre-World War II Europe, with secret police who wear metal helmets right out of 1930s science fiction serials. As for the magical powers, they never rise above shooting lasers at one another. The largely Russian cast speaks their lines in English but their voices are overdubbed by second-rate voice actors, adding to the flatness of the clumsy direction. The production design is the best part of the film, including the cool, dirigible-like flying ships that take our heroes out of the walled city, but otherwise the film lacks personality, character, or imagination. Not rated, but there is no foul language or explicit violence and it should be fine for most audiences. Not recommended. (S. Axmaker)