Hollywood has been fascinated with the sci-fi genre ever since "Flash Gordon" hit the movie theaters many decades ago when movie studios were in their infancy. Since then, every generation had been offered a plethora of their own sci-fi films to sink their teeth into. Certainly these films have become more realistic the more technological we evolve into, but sometimes we simply want something that, not only is science based, but also has a fantasy side to it as well--this is why we have "Annihilation" offered to us.
Lena (Natalie Portman), a biologist and former Army soldier, joins a mission--to uncover what happened to her husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac) inside Area X--a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition which includes Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason-Leigh), Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez), Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson) and Cass Sheppard (Tuva Novotny) discovers a world of mutated landscapes and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity. The expedition team being comprised of a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, a surveyor and a Lindquist, has their hands full as reality and fantasy become intertwined as survival ends up being the order of the day.
Others to round out the cast are Benedict Wong as Lomax, David Gyasi as Daniel, Sammy Hayman as Mayer, Josh Danford as Shelley and John Schwab as Paramedic.
This was eclectically directed by Alex Garland ("Ex Machina" '14). This filmmaker's experience focuses more on writing which is also eclectic in style, however when he directs his actors, the emotion he is able to extract from them is amazing and it's as if these characters come to life. It was also effectively written by Garland ("The Beach" (novel) 2000, "28 Days Later..." '02, "The Tesseract" (novel) '03, "Sunshine" '07, "Never Let Me Go" '10, "Dredd" '12, "Ex Machina" '14) plus TV and video games. If I were to akin this film with another, it would probably end up being a cross between "Arrival" and "Alien". "Arrival" for its cerebral aspects and its obscurity, and "Alien" for its gruesomeness and seemingly hopelessness. They both also have a female as their centered hero which makes these films stand out. Certainly being an obscure film, storyline wise, it was a bit slow in a couple of places and jumped around a bit, otherwise a strong film with remarkable female roles. This certainly wasn't Portman's best effort--her "Black Swan" and "Jackie" were both superior, but this is still a powerful performance by her nonetheless. The supporting roles were strong and clear and certainly gave that realistic look. And, of course, the visual effects predominantly designed by Double Negative and Milk Visual Effects were seamless and gave an unearthly visceral look at what this environment , known as The Shimmer, was to look like.
If films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Fahrenheit 451", "Interstellar" "Inception" and the like are cerebral films you can appreciate, this film will also fall into this list with ease. This isn't for the mass audience appeal, so if a "Star Wars", "Star Trek" or "Guardians of the Galaxy" type film are more to your liking, this will probably not fit the bill. But if a thought provoking sci-fi film is something that will suit you, this will be a film you'll love.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: R 115mins.
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