**This post contains MINOR spoilers**
The Story- On December 31, 1999, Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny’s (Julian Dennison) planned night of fun turns into a disaster, when the Y2K bug hits at a New Year’s Eve party. Eli teams up with Laura (Rachel Zegler), Ash (Lachlan Watson), Garrett (Kyle Mooney), and CJ (Daniel Zolghadri) to fight back against Amalgamation, a sinister algorithm, and a violent horde of sentient machines. A plan is in place to stop Amalgamation and the machines from enslaving humanity, but the group runs into a series of setbacks during the last stand to save the world….
My Thoughts- Eli is the shy and socially awkward nerd, who’s chasing Laura, the girl of his dreams. Danny? Well, he’s a geek, but he’s far more outgoing and confident, if we’re comparing him to Eli. Ash, and her group friends, including Farkas (Eduardo Franco), proudly fill the roles of the “rejects,” or the “freaks.” And Chris (The Kid Laroi) is the douchey big man on campus, a jock, who arrogantly sticks his chest out as king of the cool kids.
Y2K is loaded with the usual archetypes for high schoolers, but Rachel Zegler’s Laura slightly breaks the mold to stand out a little bit. Yes, Laura is popular, but she’s not cocky, selfish, or conceited, and she’s not a mean girl. Laura is genuinely surprised by any negative reactions, or assumptions about her character. She never went out of her way to become popular. She didn’t cut anyone down, or step on anyone, who she might’ve believed was beneath her. In her own words, Laura’s rise in the social hierarchy “just happened” without her putting in any real effort to be on top. That’s right, she got there by just being herself, no matter how much her personality rubbed certain people the wrong way.
If you’re looking for 90’s nostalgia, Y2K has just about everything that you could possibly think of and more. The music (The Thong Song takes center stage here), dial-up internet, AOL (you’ve got mail!), Tae Bo, a Men In Black reference, Limp Bizkit, and Fred Durst! The grainy POVs from Ash’s treasured video recorder adds to the nostalgia to give you the feeling you’re watching something straight out of the 90’s. On top of that, Garrett works in a video rental store, and a VHS recording of Varsity Blues is used a deadly weapon in one scene. I’m a 90’s/early 2000’s kid, so it was easy to spot numerous “I remember that!” moments and callbacks throughout the movie.
Outside of one big and surprising death, Y2K goes through the motions. It’s not hard to predict how the story of the nerd (Eli), who’s pursuing the girl (Laura), who’s supposed to be out of his league will end. But Y2K is still an enjoyable post-apocalyptic horror comedy. It’s a silly and harmless coming-of-age movie, with a satisfying conclusion and a happy ending. Also, the kills and the death scenes are hilarious, including the microwave, a blender attacking someone’s private parts, and a can of hairspray being used as a flamethrower.
The casting is excellent, because everyone is a perfect fit for their characters. The dynamic between Eli’s parents provides a few laughs. Howard (Tim Heidecker), Eli’s father, is clearly more uptight, nerdy, and proper. On the flip side of that, Robin (Alicia Silverstone) is a free spirit, but she’s still a kind and loving mother.
A big thumbs up for Kyle Mooney playing the eccentric hippie stoner, and Mason Gooding’s Jonas is basically cut from the same cloth. The big difference between Garrett and Jonas is, Garrett is bold and kind of reckless. Jonas takes a safer and more laid back approach to dealing with the machines. He helps out on crowd control to give Eli a chance to deliver his big rah-rah speech at the school. Garrett? Well, let’s just say running towards a machine for a one on one fight is not a good idea, if you want to stop the global uprising.
Lachlan Watson easily delivers one of the best performances as Ash. Watson plays a conflicted teenager. Ash is an outsider, but you can also see she’s angry. She’s confused, and Ash is hesitant to let her guard down around certain people, so she clings to the trash-talking punk kid side of her personality. Truly a good performance from Watson, especially during the scenes, when Ash shows the vulnerable and emotional side of her personality.
The story of a group of unlikely heroes (including Fred Durst) teaming up to stop a seemingly unstoppable and powerful force? It’s a formula that’s almost impossible to screw up. You’re going to get something out of it, and Y2K mostly gets it right. The core group of characters change in different ways after the big showdown at the high school. Everyone’s journey comes full circle after a bloody and gory humans vs machines battle with high stakes, proving the fighting human spirit will always have an advantage over crafty technology and machines.
Rating- 6/10
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