Movie Review: Restore Point

In the year 2041, increasing social inequality has led to a rise in violent crime. Fortunately for those who opt in, a new technology exists known as Restore Point which is able to revive the recently deceased, as long as they have backed up their brain’s data within the last 48 hours. Anything older than that leads to side effects including irreversible death and so has been banned.

Emma “Em” Trochinowska (Andrea Mohylová) is a top detective in an unnamed Central European country, and so she is assigned to look into the apparent murder of Restore Point inventor David Kurlstat (Matěj Hádek) and his wife. Especially curious about the deaths is that neither of them had a valid restore point available to be returned to despite being so important to the company. It is assumed that the homicides are the work of terrorist group River of Life, which are known for their anti-resurrection-technology stance, but as Emma begins to look into the case she quickly learns that things are not as they seem and that the truth may be far more dangerous than anyone realizes.

The near-future setting of Restore Point is wonderfully realized and feels utterly believable, though it’s not really the focus of the movie, which is instead a riveting but relatively straightforward noir mystery. Mohylová shines in her feature film debut as a no-nonsense detective who is still recovering from the death of her husband at the hand of River of Life, ably conveying the deep well of pain and rage that is ever present beneath her outwardly calm demeanor.

Astute viewers will likely have little trouble piecing together whodunnit, but that doesn’t take away from the film’s pleasures and at least a few of the details are likely to surprise. That the story doesn’t delve further into the ethical ramifications of Restore Point and the motivations of the River of Life group is a pity as it could easily make for some riveting philosophical debates, but viewers will be left with much to think about regardless. Restore Point doesn’t quite live up to the potential of its core conceit, but director Robert Hloz has crafted a highly engaging and beautifully shot cyber noir that fans of the genre, or just mystery films in general, are certain to enjoy. ★★★★