Annihilation Review
R: violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality
Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions
1 Hr and 55 Minutes
Wir & Dir: Alex Garland
Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, Oscar Isaac
INTRO: It has been nearly three years since the release of Alex Garland’s directorial debut “Ex Machina.” The film was an unexpected critical and financial hit. It had the low budget of $15 million and made over $35 million at the box office. In the year after, the film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects beating big budgeted movies such as “The Martian” and friggin “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” After the success of “Ex Machina,” film buffs and Sci-Fi nerds were all eager to know what Garland’s second directorial film was going to be. At long last, we have his second film named “Annihilation,” based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer.
A group of soldiers enters an environmental disaster zone, and only one soldier (Oscar Isaac) comes back out alive, though he is grievously injured. In an attempt to save his life, his wife Lena (Natalie Portman), a biologist, volunteers for another expedition into the zone to figure out what happened to him.
THE GOOD
Character pieces are the best type of stories I love to watch. Why did I like “Arrival”? It was because that was a character-driven movie that focused on our lead having to uncover the mystery of her visions. What “Annihilation” mostly is when it comes down to it is a character story of a woman who does everything in her power to survive so she can uncover the mystery of her husband. Portman’s character Lena isn’t perfect and is very flawed but the reason why we connect with Lena because of her motivation to understand what precisely in The Shimmer affected her husband. It isn’t a convoluted objective or anything but is a pure goal that you can quickly get behind.
A crap ton of male militants enter the shimmer, and they all go insane and die (except Lena’s husband). Since that failure, this research group pretty much says, “Shit. Well, all the men died so let's send these group of female scientists to see if they can get the job done.” Not only is Lena only driven by love and goes along as an explorer but she's more complicated than that. She’s a biologist and an ex-military soldier, so her skills come in handy when creatures attack them in The Shimmer.
It isn’t just Portman, but every woman of this expedition is complex enough where they all have their own reason for being part of this dangerous journey. These women are more of a suicide squad than the actual Suicide Squad. You root for all of the scientists to make it out alive and well no matter what. Tessa Thompson is the shy and timid one. Jennifer Jason Leigh is the mysterious and determined one. Tuva Novotny is the wise one. And Gina Rodriguez is the angry one. Or better yet, Gina Rodriguez is the Michelle Rodriguez of the group because just like the roles Michelle takes, she is violent and takes no shit. But since this is an R-rated movie, Gina’s character can drop as many F-bombs as she wants. Seriously her character curses so often, you wonder how eager she was to drop some vulgarity she wasn’t allowed to say on TV. There was a point where she said, “fuck,” with so much emphasis that I said, “Ooh you can’t say that on the CW.”
Besides the characters being interesting enough to follow, the direction by Garland is stellar. There are a number of shots where the lighting reflects a character's expression and it makes some scenes play out effectively. Since he has a bigger budget, Garland has more leeway to play with visual effects, and it does. When it came to creating the world of The Shimmer, the entire land is mesmerizing. The colors are vibrant, the creatures (who aren’t deadly) are beautiful. It felt nearly like a Star Wars world opposed to its own thing, and that's a compliment. The VFX is hit or miss sometimes but towards the final act, a massive spectacle of CG occurs, and it's impressive.
THE BAD
Recently Paramount Pictures has been getting pretty ballsy with their releases. “Arrival,” “Mother,” shit even “Downsizing” I would add because all films are experimental stories that make your brain boggle a bit. Even if the film is very subjective by the viewer, you can appreciate the fact how different they are than your average Hollywood film. “Annihilation” is one of those narratives that play as an experimental film that has one thinking about the philosophies of one’s mind and how fast will it deteriorate. Though I appreciate the story’s thoughtful message, I’m getting pretty exhausted of how they’re all executed. Without giving much away, the movie plays way too similarly to “Alien,” but the only difference is that WE”RE NOT IN FUCKING SPACE and instead we’re on land! That said, a lot of the film’s elements include characters getting the same treatment as any side character in a Sci-Fi horror film.
This is one of those films that will make you feel incredibly uneasy due to the content. When I say this movie is gory, I mean this movie is horrifically bloody. You have bodily organs getting pulled out and people’s faces wholly slashed out. The gore frighteningly looks so real that at times it turns into a body horror movie. So if you get queasy quickly, I do not recommend you to see this.
I know this is based on a novel but due to this being both a Paramount and a Netflix movie, I sort of would’ve found it beneficial if this was a Cloverfield movie. The story has enough mystery and intelligence to elevate it the become a Cloverfield film. Story-wise the narrative is interesting, the climax is intense, and an ending leaves audiences going:
Or I still have the bad taste of “The Cloverfield Paradox,” in my mouth.
LAST STATEMENT
Alex Garland’s adaptation of “Annihilation” has enough star power who all give great performances along with a visual splendor from beginning to end. But, the execution borrows far too many elements from your average sci-fi horror flick while reaching pretentiousness towards the end.
Rating: 3.5/5 | 71%
uper Scene: Thorensen goes off.
