'Major Grom: Plague Doctor' by Oleg Trofim Review: An interesting adaptation of a Russian comic

I haven't really had the time to watch things recently, everything has been too fast-paced for me to find a moment to really sit down and allocate more than an hour into watching something. I just moved into an apartment and have been dealing with the basics of having to fill the space and obtain the essential items for living. I'm a bit behind on what to watch or what has even been released, usually I'd roam through Letterboxd in search of something to watch and just choose whatever seems a bit appealing to me, but instead Kinopoisk, a Russian streaming service that's actually pretty decent, was used. Now, I enjoy international cinema from every decade, and I don't think there's a single country I wouldn't watch a film from, so to see a film adapted from a Russian comic book series, this was something that piqued my curiosity. This isn't the same as the west's idea of a comic book film, not all that into the idea of a superhero, but still holding the idea of villains and masked individuals with agendas that roam the night. That is to say that there are some similarities here. It's interesting to see how this would be considered something more of a blockbuster, bigger budget and with the idea of being a franchise title. Really following the trends!

Major Grom: Plague Doctor takes a look at the Russian society and its more ill nature, though it somehow manages to pull this off without ending up censored. The film was originally distributed by Netflix back in 2021, a year before the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place, so perhaps it just about managed to steer clear of the stronger control over media. Though this is a film that certainly criticises the system, calls out the rotten nature of its leaders and how greed is their main pursuit. It may seem a bit surprising, but such creations are quite common in Russia, they're just often done in a manner that isn't so on-the-nose. Such aspects of social commentary are often found within Russian television and cinema, but with less evident undertones, more relying on tropes to convey the idea of a villain, with more direct dialogue which details the corruption or manipulation from the elites. I think I prefer when such titles are done this way, when these aspects of social commentary respect the awareness of the viewer and don't need large sums of exposition to tell it, though in this case it's more a requirement than a creative pursuit, I must admit.

Outside of the political aspects of the film, this is still quite an enjoyable experience. It's a film that holds the fun of comedy titles with elements of the superhero genre. Plenty of action, while holding a surprisingly good level of directing and cinematography to it. Especially for a niche film distributed by Netflix.

I had no idea as to what the Major Grom franchise was before watching this, but from my understanding it is a comic series that shows a police officer that is a bit of a loose canon, the typical idea of an officer that often goes a bit rogue, causes a lot of destruction and still somehow manages to save the day, much to the distain of those around him. This is a protagonist that we don't really have a reason to care for all that much, and to some interesting coincidence, I found myself more caring for the villain and his interests more than anything else. It felt more like our protagonist working for the police was more of a pawn in that ill system, shutting down any method of confrontation, stopping those that are seeking to cause justice in one way or another when the judiciary system refuses to do so. The film starts off with a child fighting to defend a dog, with a group of children around that are hunting it down and going to kill it. The result is that the three children are killed instead. A bit of a dark story, but one that sets up a character that we don't really know of just yet. From here the idea of justice is already questioned, and who can be the one to dish it out when cruelty is faced head-on. What is going too far? Is there such thing as going too far?

The film is shot in the beautiful Saint Petersburg, a city known for its older architecture, and home to many creatives throughout the centuries. It's a city of artists, a city of thinkers. I think this location serves much better than the usual streets of an area like Moscow, where the development is rampant and the identity is a little lost. St Petersburg serves as this older, more atmospheric city in which things might go down in. And this really added to the film's tone. Opening with our protagonist running around causing havoc in the pursuit of catching bad guys; one directing choice shows how he imagines each scenario in advance, weighing the possibilities, though we don't always know this is what is happening, and in some instances it's as if we are watching him suddenly play out a heroic attempt only to get utterly broken and killed. This is how some of the comedy is served to us, in comedic moments that sort of trick the viewer. Mixed in with more fun characters that are lighthearted and serve as the typical trope sidekick to the supposed hero. To be honest, these characters didn't really have enough time to be all that interesting, I think this would've been a film that serves best as a series with more time into their characters and lives, but as it is still works, albeit feeling a little thin at times.

It's really our antagonist that remains the most interesting character. A torn man that is seeking revenge after a killer manages to go free. This masked figure created runs through the city and hunts down those who have wronged. Sort of a little like the idea of Venom in a way, but instead is referred to as the Plague Doctor. Something that makes sense as he speaks of the disease that runs through the city, the sickness in people and the mass corporations that pursue greed at any cost, even if that cost is the human life. This character holds a lot of depth to him, he's given a lot of backstory and seems rather tormented as a person, even if at the same time he is one of those more elites. A tech genius type that seems to think he can cure the world. I liked the ways he was portrayed, how his character held a design that looked relatively broken, with some degree of evil to him. Though considered to the bad guy despite his more positive intent. It questions the idea of morals in a great way. Like I said before, in some parts I found myself really understanding his points and thinking he was the more good person compared to the other characters which seem to hold the status quo at the funding of those elites.

Moving on to the directing, this is a very well made film, especially for being a Netflix title and adaptation of a comic book. But, let's not forget another major surprise: it is a Russian production. A film that holds a lot of quality to it, a great budget that utilises really beautiful cinematography and directing. I found myself really liking the interior lighting scenes, beautiful dimly-lit St Pete apartments, all old and rundown. The views of the streets and the city. It's a very beautiful film that puts a lot of western big budget productions to shame. I'd recommend it if you're into international films and perhaps enjoy some of the general superhero titles, though keep in mind that this is a shorter adaptation. I'm sure it skips over a lot to tell its story, and as mentioned can feel a bit thin in the narrative and character side of things.