After watching "Molli and Max in the Future" for the first time, I was left feeling a bit confused as to what I was supposed to be feeling by the time the credits rolled. A sense of confusion crept up on me, and I asked myself: Did I miss something?

So I immediately decided to watch it again.

The fact that I felt inclined to watch it one more time in less than 24 hours, and did so without feeling like it was homework, is a testament to how undeniably enjoyable the movie is. This is mainly due to the world created and put on screen by director Michael Lukk Litwak. Using the lower budget to his advantage, Litwak excels in bringing together practical and computer-generated effects to create a very unique futuristic society. It's a quirky, weird, and fun universe where humans coexist with fish-people, demi-gods lead sex cults, magic is real, and parallel universes are the newest tech commodity.

The visual effects and production design are a feast for the eyes, putting to shame the effects of some of today's biggest blockbusters. It's a lesson on how much you can achieve with so little, as long as you have a distinct and creative vision. I would love to see more of what Litwak does with his ideas within the sci-fi niche.

With that said, I can't say I loved the story. At its core, the film is a conversational romance in the spirit of "Before Sunset" (one of my favorite romance movies of all time), where we follow Molli and Max as they develop a friendship after their meet-cute and navigate through years of their lives crossing paths with each other. Beneath that friendship, however, lies deeper feelings that they both hold towards one another.

One of my biggest complaints with the story is that I just couldn't be convinced that there was any romantic tension between the two main characters. Nothing in the narrative was done to really justify the love Max felt for Molli, or vice versa. It lacked emotion. Nevertheless, the movie does successfully show how they come off as great friends but fails to prove to the audience that they belong together as anything more than that.

Finally, another gripe I had was with how much the movie was trying to preach and comment on current political and environmental issues of our society. Perhaps it may have seemed smart and funny on paper, but it really just came off as out of place, in-your-face, and excessive. Nothing is subtle, and I truly don't understand the point in stuffing the story with so many messages. The black holes created by the Cheese Company, the out-of-nowhere plague, the galactic ruler debate-it all felt forced, and personally, I didn't feel it fit or was needed.

Overall, "Molli and Max in the Future" is a very unique and stylistic film with a creative vision and some clever comedic moments. Although not the greatest love story I've seen, I still recommend it as I feel it may leave somewhat of a lasting impact.