Scrambled thoughts on Annihilation
No, contrary to what you might think after seeing that title I do not at the moment have any immediate thoughts on mankind's eminent annihilation. However, I do have some thoughts on the movie Annihilation. Mostly due to the fact that I just watched it. I watched it and I have opinions. Now there’s something unheard of, surely.
But really, Annihilation is one of those movies that you ought to have a few things to say about as the credits roll. It’s one of those “direct-to-Netflix” kind of deals. Well, sort of. Interestingly enough Paramount sold the international rights for this film to Netflix, meaning that if you’re inside the U.S. you’ll be seing this on the big screen, where as we on the other side of the pond will be watching on the small screen. That’s a new one to me, but an interesting choice if nothing else.
The movie, at it’s very core, is about an alien invasion, or more accurately an infection, and stars a bunch of Hollywood celebrities - Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac. However, the perhaps most interesting name here is the director; Alex Garland. You might not know his name, but you might have seen his directorial debut - Ex Machina. A movie which, although it wasn’t my personal favourite of 2014, was a very interesting film.
And so is Annihilation. It shows of the kind of aliens that mankind have a hard time getting their grasp on. Not the big eyes monsters, and nether the shy and friendly type who just want to get back home. It’s familiar, but interesting. It dwells in mutation and makes the case that alien’s arrival might not destroy us, but change us in to something else.
I went in to this movie thinking it was going to be scary. It had been described to me as a sci-fi horror flick. I was expecting something along the lines of Alien, but it turned out to have more in common with Aliens. Which is funny because i don’t think that’s what it was going for. It was trying to be much more psychological and weird. Which it both succeeded and failed with.
See I am so conflicted regarding this movie. I like the idea but I think it needed more polish. I love the environment and the mystery to it, but I also hate how it tries so hard to keep you guessing. It doesn’t feel fully satisfying.
We get so much build-up, but little pay-off. Some pay-off is even spoiled by the movie itself since we constantly have to cut back to annoying flash forwards. It’s one of those where the whole movie is actually one big flash back. Which I hate.
Even the giant twist at the end falls flat as the movie never really dares to do something with it. It just tries to be weird. While I can appreciate the effort to not be just another block buster sci-fi I also feel like you have to tell a full story.
Then again, Annihilation is interesting. And gorgeous. Natalie Portman is a great lead in this. Jennifer Jason Leigh sounds bored out of her mind this whole movie, and what build up we get for her character is just another one of those arcs left without pay off. It's not a complete mess. it is actually pretty good. My feelings sort of equals this movie. It's all over. If nothing else, give it a watch - it might conjure up a few interesting discussions.