O'Dessa

For all its originality, O’Dessa can’t help but get tangled up in its own mythology, dragged down by a romance that never sizzles.

Is a cliché turned on its head still a cliché? “O’Dessa” will keep you wondering, and that counts for something.

A rock musical like 'O’Dessa' only works if it sufficiently rocks, and 'O’Dessa' somewhat rocks.

“O’Dessa” doesn’t lack for energy and even chutzpah but fails to do what it must do in order for us to be invested about its radical nonsense: care one bit about its characters’ fate.

A ridiculous Frankenfilm, swinging for the fences with other movies’ imaginations.

Everything about the messaging and plotting of “O’Dessa” is shallow.

Perhaps O'Dessa's target audience is aimed at theatre kids in the middle of a '90s phase, but not many others.

As much as the final destination is an overdrawn climax, the performances, the visuals, and the eclectic soundtrack in O'Dessa make the journey through Satylite City a memorable one.

It’s not so much that this film is a mess, but it can’t get out of its own way when trying to settle on the best way to mash up multiple genres.

Despite its occasionally infectious energy, it largely fails to connect on any level beyond the aesthetic. It’s a song that ends in dissonance, a smorgasbord of music videos in search of a compelling emotional throughline.