Set in 1943, the height of WWII, this is a story about an experimental O.S.S. unit code named PROJECT ARBITER. Thousands of feet above Northern Europe a small plane carries a skeleton crew of the Allies best, including Special Fields Op. Captain Joseph Colburn. His handler, Major Thomas Hardy, does a final review of the missions grim intel: infiltrate a mysterious villa on the Polish border and uncover its secrets. Colburn emerges donning a prototype suit, which can temporarily render its occupant invisible. As the plane’s bay doors howl open Colburn begins to put on the skull-faced helmet when the plane is rocked by an anti-aircraft shell. Rapidly losing air pressure and altitude, now there’s no question… this is a one-way mission.
Between this movie and The Prototype, I find myself quite impressed with the state of independent popcorn movies these days. Project Arbiter was shot on a Canon RED One camera on a small budget, and looks to use largely practical effects. I love the design of the super suit at the centre of the movie, too. I can’t speak to the quality of the movie itself until I see it, of course, but frankly, I don’t think it matters if Project Arbiter is good or bad – I’m just happy this kind of thing exists.