Annihilation - 9/10
I made mention of this in my recent Oscar thread but I found 2017 to be a year of mostly disappointing movies which resulted in a diminished enthusiasm for going to the movies or even just watching them at home. Perhaps if they had been more like Annihilation then this wouldn't have happened. Because of the timing of my viewing, it just feels to me like Annihilation is better than anything I saw in 2017. It's easily the best movie of 2018 I've seen so far. (Sorry Black Panther and Game Night, the only other actual 2018 flicks I've seen so far.)
I remember reading Roger Ebert's review of The Grey way back when that Liam Neeson vs wolves movie first came out. He talked about the movie affecting him and leaving him in a mood after the movie ended. I looked up that review to see what exactly he said about it and I'm going to quote that portion here: "I was also stunned with despair. It so happened that there were two movies scheduled that day in the Lake Street Screening Room (where we local critics see many new releases). After "The Grey" was over, I watched the second film for 30 minutes and then got up and walked out of the theater. It was the first time I've ever walked out of a film because of the previous film. The way I was feeling in my gut, it just wouldn't have been fair to the next film."
That's kind of close to how I feel about Annihilation. I wouldn't say that it feels you with despair but it is a heavy and foreboding experience. When it ended, it took a couple hours to decompress from it. It just left me in a heavy mood and for awhile, I felt detached to things around me or my actions as my brain continued to process what I'd seen and how the whole thing made me feel. After a couple hours, the feeling subsided but it's been awhile since I remember really affecting so much that it took awhile to recover from it. I've seen stuff that made me feel a bit elated, sad, shaken, numb, etc when it was over but after, say 15 minutes or so, that feeling would pass and I'd be back to my normal self. So, the fact that this movie could do that to me is a reason why I do rate it so highly although I'm not sure it's a good thing when it comes to the idea of seeing it again.
The reason it seems to have this power is based on three things. First, it is Sci-Fi so it brings up questions and ideas on some interesting themes that stuck in my mind after viewing which kept me pondering in reflection. Genetics and biology is the obvious thing from this move along with the question of self but also the thoughts on self-destruction stuck with me and a good grasp on putting the alien into alien lifeform. Second, the movie really does blend deadly and beautiful together so even though there are fascinating sights to behold, I never trusted anything and always felt uneasy and the movie rewards that distrust. There are moments that move more towards the horror end of the scale that will linger in your mind after you walk out of the theater. Finally, the ending goes for the weird and strange. That may frustrate some people or confound them and its ambiguous nature almost seems a bit anti-climatic but it left a bit of a mystery in my head to work over and decipher just what it all meant. It also brought back some flashbacks of Under The Skin.
Now, there are also a lot of things that people can get hung up on about this movie. I think most people going to the movie are going for the premise of entering into this strange zone. To the movie's credit, it moves pretty quickly to get to that point and come up with a reason as to why Portman's character would be on this mission. It's servicable enough but in an effort to hurry towards entering the zone and set up its mystery, it leaves a lot of details and questions unanswered. Simple things such as why not have teams enter a few feet from the entrance to assess things and then come back out again. Why not try setting up equipment close by? Or starting building a path into the zone and taking things slowly? Why does every mission have to be a deep infiltration to the heart of the zone when no one is coming back from these missions? There are questions of sound logic that you might be asking yourself at first in these early beginnings. But soon you are on the journey and the mystery of what's inside and at the heart is what you want now want answers for so forget those other pesky little details. They'll still be there after the movie is done but at least they don't derail things or your suspension of disbelief too much at the start. A well, the film is a bit clunky with its characters as a lot of details are just explained to the audience about them and who they are. It's tell rather than show which is sometimes a necessary evil particularly for a movie like this since it isn't really interested in the characters but the journey and the sights in it. Overall, its strengths are greater than its weaknesses which is why I'm still willing to give it a high rating and recommendation.
One other point of interest for Nintendo fans is that, maybe about 2/3 into the movie, I suddenly had a moment of thinking about the Metroid series. There were a lot of elements that I felt paralleled moments of the franchise, particularly with the Prime series. Portman's character could almost serve as a standout of Samus but without a powersuit. Exploring a strange alien environment while having to fight off some of the monsters inhabiting it. Finding different ruins and finding notes / clues / videos giving some details of what occurred before. A meteorite that has brought with it something that is mutating the environment (maybe it was Phazon all along!) and the heart of darkness hole where it landed. If Nintendo is serious about bringing its properties to other media like TV or Film then I think this film should be the number one source for how to handle the Metroid series in making it a successful transition. In that regard, I think that will add another element of intrigue for anyone here when watching this film.
Topic: Rate the last movie you've seen (Read 1550386 times)
