Really dissapointed. Is just like a bad trip.
Björk's most ambitious video to date!
I watched Annihilation on Saturday after being pretty excited to watch the movie for the past couple weeks as it was coming from Alex Garland, the director of the fabulous Ex Machina. I'm not going to lie though, I was a little bit disappointed in the end. Not because the movie was not good by any means. It was actually a very well done film with stunning visuals and art direction. It's just that I felt like it had the potential to be a "great" movie, and just fell a bit short in the last quarter/third of the movie or so.
I think that opinions on the ending sequence has varied quite a bit. Some people love it and have raved about it. I, on the other hand, felt that it was a just a tiny bit lacking and while visually stunning, not super original or "groundbreaking". I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't connect as well with the final quarter of the movie though (if that makes sense) without spoiling some major parts of the film.
While the movie is based on a trilogy of books (I've heard that it diverges quite far from the books though), the film borrows heavily from Tarkovsky's Stalker (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). The influence is noticeable throughout, not just from both movies having a Shimmer/Zone. If you're a fan of Stalker (1979), I'd definitely recommend checking Annihilation out.
As I mentioned before, the visuals were stunning, and I thought that the set pieces and scenarios that evolved over the first 2/3 of the film were very well done. I liked the balance of the film being a thriller (both physically and psychologically), while adding lots of thinking points and contemplative questions of "who we really are", "what is actual destruction", just to name a few. The cast was well done for the most part, albeit I wish that the characters other than Natalie Portman's protagonist could have been developed a bit more.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie and thought it was a grand visual experience. I was just disappointed a bit perhaps because I was expecting a bit too much coming in, and from what the first 2/3's of the movie set up. Also of note, the trailer definitely markets this film as something like a female Rambo/Predator action flick, which it really isn't. In the end, I think that I would give the movie a solid 7.5/10.
Films that pretend to be really smart but in fact aren't are bound to be more disappointing than films that don't pretend to be anything at all. I can't get my mind around how Alex Garland thought showing a character barfing light while yelling "annihilation" would seems like a satisfying ending (well, it's close to the ending) to a film that is set up in such a "look at how smart I am" way. Same goes for the old trick "kill one = kill all" (with a phosphorus grenade, in this case).
I get the fact that there are lots of ending theories and "hidden meanings", but even these seem really easy to set up if for a movie that doesn't really settle on anything at all. Guess I am just tired of films whose initial "mystery" pulls you in and whose endings aren't anywhere NEAR as interesting as the initial mystery. Okay, I'll stop rambling now.
I now take "From the writer and director of Ex Machina" as a warning.
I thought Ex Machina was (although flawed) an excellent movie, Annihilation was just crap though. Apart from the outfits, there was nothing even remotely military about any of them, the whole thing just didn't know where it was going or why, it was a huge confused mess. It probably would have made a good TV episode in an anthology show, but just not enough there to make a decent film. It put me in mind of Arrival (easily the worst sci-fi movie of recent times), low-brow junk masquerading as high-brow gold. Both were designed from the ground up to make stupid people think they are really smart. If a film is advertised as 'highly intelligent' they should at least be moderately intelligent, but this doesn't even come close. The fact the ending is somewhat ambiguous and there are several different theories about it doesn't mean the film is cleaver, it just means the ending has more than one interpretation. I'm not saying films should spoon feed you all the answers, in fact, I hate when that happens, It's great being able to contemplate a movie and it's meanings after the fact, the problem here is it gives you so little of worth to actually think about.
Goddamn, Al Gore was right...ManBearPig is alive and scary as shit
Annihilation
The shining points of this film is the cinematography, art, sound and score.
The acting was believable.
My biggest hang up is the plot, the first 2 acts are great and build the tension well. The climax felt ambiguous for the sake of ambiguity.
7/10
#NicksMiniReview
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Wow! This movie is a whole lot of non sense and randomness... And if it was supposed to have a plot I don't know where that went.
Other than good visuals and Natalie Portman, I don't know what else this movie has...
wow nice special effects inspired by windows media player
The movie touches on a lot of topics, and shows a lot, but never ultimately explains what happened, it just happens with no explanation.
The ending with Lena fighting her doppelgänger and detonating the phosphorus grenade was awful. What did the alien ultimately want? It is unclear.
I have seen some bad movies. This? It was bad on a whole different level. An inexplicable circumstance never defined. Plot points that made NO sense. *!!!
I watched trying to determine in Natalie Portman was a good actress. This movie was just awful. Gina Rodriguez... Tessa Thompson... Oscad Isaac... Jennifer Jason Leigh... WHAT THE * WAS THIS??!!!
Alex Garland wrote & directed this. Dude you explain anything. As visually captivating as some of it was everything else was just nonsense. That ending made no sense.
Theoretically, this movie is a metaphor on what will happen (even it is not possible) if our DNA is being mutated or 'refracted'.
IMO, even though Annihilation brings along the "Arrival", "Alien", "Stalker" vibes with it, this movie is unique in its own way.
100% recommended !!
The CGI is undoubtedly amazing, but the story fell flat for me and I can't seem to understand what about this is supposed to be so "deep." Everything was predictable and the ending was just like any other ending in any other sci fi/horror movie: purposely ambiguous . But even then, you can very easily understand all the implications and possible ramifications, so there's really nothing of substance to chew on afterwards.
All in all, it's an entertaining movie, but nothing else. You will more than likely forget about it the next day,
I'm sorry, but this was boring to watch.
Visuals are nice, but CGI was a bit over the top.
Story moves slow and I can't say that either horror or thriller labels would fit this film.
Maybe it's meant for an artistic intellectual audience.
For me it disappointed and won't recommend to watch this..
Of course people will immediately think of other sci-fi titles for comparison and reference, but what I enjoyed about Annilation is that it is basically Alice in Wonderland, except where Alice is a biologist, and Wonderland is an area of genetic corruption. I was intrigued, and entertained, and I enjoyed the visuals, which were curious and beautiful, but not over-done. One flaw is that out of four characters we only really get to know one.
Wonderful visuals packed into a tense story, that leaves you asking questions long after it's finished. Some genuinely creepy moments really help keep you on edge, as to try to figure out what it all means. It's great sci-fi.
This move plays more on the love/wonder/drama aspect of things--not so much thriller/horror/sci-fi. There are only 3 (maybe 4) short scenes with any sci-fi and/or horror.
In this movie everything is excellent, except for the story which is the most important part and doesn't make any sense. It's not like I expect a Sci-Fi with mystical elements to make perfect sense, but this movie's plot doesn't make even a little sense (more on that later...)
You aren't really invested in the characters and their goals, it's unclear what the stakes are and it's also unclear how the stakes raise in the 3rd act. The film does have a very good eerie and suspenseful feel to it which is good, but it get's ruined by the lack of sense in the plot and the completely idiotic behavior of the characters.
There is an obvious 'girl power' thing going on in this film which is fine, but I'll tell you what, feminists should be mad as hell with this movie. It depicts women as incapable, incompetent and stupid because of how mind-numbingly dumb the characters behave.
The most blatant example of this is the guardhouse scene. Where the women camp for the night in a watch tower in an elevated position, which has only one stairwell to the ground. The women, in their infinite wisdom, decided it's a good idea to put a guard, not in the watch tower which is an elevated position that provides a vantage point and where there are only one entrance and exit, no. They thought it's a good idea to put the guard exposed on the ground level. Furthermore, when inevitably the guard spots the monster and alerts the rest, the guard doesn't retreat to the watchtower. Instead, all the women in the watchtower go down to where the guard is and leave themselves exposed.
There are many such examples where the characters behave in extremely unplausible and stupid ways just so something in the plot could happen. This breaks immersion and makes you care less about the characters.
While a good film in itself; call me old fashioned but the book and the series is better.
It may be that if you come to this without having read each book when it came out you won't feel like anything is missing. But for me it just didn't quite mesh, for anyone loving that it's an all female expedition - that's just how it is in the book it's not written in to appease or enrage anyone.
From this version with the characters having names, to the myriad other forms it diverges from the books. It just feels too much has been lost.
I won't ruin anything if you do read the books. Which I would totally recommend and have been doing so for years.
1 / 2 directing & technical aspect
0 / 1 story
1 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
1 / 1 act III
1 / 1 acting
0 / 1 writing
0 / 1 originality
0 / 1 lasting ability to make you think
0 / 1 misc
5 out of 10
I was plenty interested in this one at the beginning, but once the main character (Lena) joined up with the group of girls it slowly made its way downhill for me.
I found this under a thriller genre list and was expecting the sci-fi aspect as well from the (very) brief description, but not the horror. The other characters came across as so flat and almost; I dunno, generic and cookie cutter like? Standard, overused, vague personalities. I suppose the writers didn't feel like putting any effort into them. I couldn’t remember their respective names; I kept getting them mixed up when I didn't just forget them entirely. (Not much of a spoiler right here; I just like to try and allow others to make up their own minds about some details and not be potentially influenced by what they've read beforehand.)
Things increasingly became ultra weird and creepy and wayyy too long and drawn out. The last 30-45 minutes were the worst. I was getting bored and anxious for it to just be over already. The ending was essentially a non-ending; a big build up to a two second non-surprising surprise.
As a big lover of rainbows and iridescence, I was a bit disappointed that “the shimmer” and its effects turned out to be so horrifying. I was hoping for the possibility that it was just a misunderstood phenomenon at first and a mystery to unravel, but actually be good for humanity; not destroy it.
I’m skimming over other reviews on IMDb right now and while the movie has a notably decent overall rating, it seems I’m not alone in feeling that this was tedious as hell to get through. Many didn't feel that way and loved this, but many also hated it. I felt that Ex Machina (done by the same director) was a decent film and I chose to watch it a second time. Under the Skin has also been mentioned alongside this film. While I rated that a 6 for various reasons, I didn't actually care for it personally (more like a 4) and wouldn't give it another go. I don't suppose that helps you decide whether or not to watch Annihilation for yourself, but maybe? I also read this was based on a book and that the film finale was drastically changed from it. I might look into it out of curiosity.
Oh! And how could I forget? In order to throw in some sexuality/bare skin they put in an utterly pointless scene where it's revealed that the main character was a fucking cheater. Her partner in crime loved his wife though. rolls eyes
Alex Garland has been buzzing around the sci-fi world for awhile now. He has his hooks in the community and gained a lot of popularity writing for Boyle on several of his projects--to varying levels of success, imo. Ex Machina was a big step: the directorial debut. And although it features absolutely stellar visuals and acting, the writing itself fell just slightly short of where the rest of the film took me. I make it sound worse than it is. Ex Machina truly is a magnificent movie and I do very much love it, but the script just didn't quite gel with me. It's very on rails. It didn't leave a whole lot up for guesswork in the viewing experience for me. I kind of knew exactly where we were going. That might be the point and that might be exactly why a lot of people love it, but it did detract from the film for me, even if only slightly.
And that's why I anticipated Annihilation so highly. I felt like Garland was right on the cusp of something and when I saw that trailer I had a feeling I was about to get what I was looking for. It's pretty rare, as a viewer, to see a film that feels like it's right up your alley in a way that few other projects really seem to be. And every single second of Annihilation works like that for me. The weird sci-fi, the Lovecraftian overtones, and the feeling of utter depression amidst one of the most beautiful worlds I've ever seen. It's also terrifying.
It's kind of like LOST with a more overt horror influence. It's polarizing though, I know. Some will think it's too vague, some will think it just doesn't offer a whole lot, and the cinephiles might say it's too reminiscent of Stalker (but, ugh, hard disagree). I don't care though. This is one of the best science fiction films ever made.
Annihilation is a movie that is hard to categorize. In some parts, it's a straight-up sci-fi. Other parts give off a distinct psychological drama kind of vibe. Some parts are even horror like. But that doesn't really matter as everything is very well made. The cinematography and locations are excellent, the story is engaging and thought-provoking, and the actors do a very good job in delivering a script that is essentially about human nature and our flaws.
I enjoyed Annihilation, and I think I will rewatch it soon, as it's certain that there is more to discover with this one...
The movie provide tons of new and interesting ideas, but sadly you are not going to see them resolve into anything at all, as they all just kind of fade through the story.
The movie was fine actually, if it wasn't trying SO hard on hiding its weakness in those boring Inception "BOOM!" sound, CGI recolored forest, slow and hollow girls talking, and most of all, the so very pretentious ending.
At first the movie is pretty interesting but it quickly falls apart and the ending seems like it was rushed together by a first year film student on a shoestring budget. Don't bother.
From simple explenations movie goes to not understandable mode..
Las tres cuartas partes de la peli me han gustado, el final me ha dejado un poco frío, creo que no he llegado a comprenderlo.
It saddens me to see that bunch of people didn't understand this movie, hence the bad rating. That's a shame, because this movie is a pure masterpiece!
This movie is very different. Sometimes I felt like a was watching Stranger Things with this parallel universe. The characters were well interpreted. I still need a few answers with that last scene.
Fun fact: The black character did not died first. Finally!
Annihilation is a very interesting movie. Even though the viewer is left with a lot of questions at the end and throughout the film, the story is fascinating. Very creepy, exciting and thrilling. The cast is amazing and the music is brilliant.
The visuals are amazing and even though I saw the movie only on the small screen (Netflix), I was very impressed.
Wow, what a waste of my 2 hours. First off, it is not the movie promised in the trailer. This was just stupid and I don't want to hear anything about it making you think. I can think on my own thank you.
Fantastic movie. Saw it knowing nothing about the book or the movie, and was absorbed and blown away. One of the better SF movies out there.
they simply ruined one of the best weird fictions ever. what the hell garland?
Drug is bad, don't do drugs. Never.
This has been one of my favorite sci-fi/suspense movies since it opened 5 years ago and I love that it’s seeing a resurgence since being added to Netflix at the end of June. This one is complicated; it features deep layers of meaning, some tricky biological science regarding mutations, and it’s all wrapped in a horribly beautiful psychedelic iridescence. The production design is stellar. There’s also one of my favorite creature/monster moments of the 2010s here (the bear). Highly recommend (and the book trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer is VERY weird but interesting).
Annihilation is a visually stunning and intellectually challenging sci-fi film that unfortunately received a lower-key release, much to the disappointment of audiences. The movie, directed by Alex Garland and starring Natalie Portman, follows a team of women as they venture into a mysterious area known as "The Shimmer" to uncover its secrets and potential threat to humanity. The film is anchored by Portman's strong performance and supported by a talented ensemble cast. The narrative is complex and ambiguous, requiring full attention from the viewer and leaving much open to interpretation. The film's visuals and sound design are striking and make it a true cinematic experience. Overall, Annihilation is a thought-provoking and visually captivating film that should be seen on the big screen.
Annihilation es una película de ciencia ficción visualmente deslumbrante e intelectualmente desafiante que desafortunadamente recibió un lanzamiento de bajo perfil, para gran decepción del público. La película, dirigida por Alex Garland y protagonizada por Natalie Portman, sigue a un equipo de mujeres que se aventuran en un área misteriosa conocida como "The Shimmer" para descubrir sus secretos y la amenaza potencial para la humanidad. La película está anclada en la gran actuación de Portman y cuenta con el apoyo de un elenco talentoso. La narrativa es compleja y ambigua, requiere toda la atención del espectador y deja mucho abierto a la interpretación. El diseño visual y sonoro de la película es impactante y la convierte en una verdadera experiencia cinematográfica. En general, Annihilation es una película que invita a la reflexión y visualmente cautivadora que debería verse en la pantalla grande.
I don't understand why this film gets so much hate. It is conceptually brilliant and challenging, and the effects were well done.
Streamed via Hulu (FXM)
I don't know what to say about this. This film explores human self destructive behavior with unsettling visualization and chilling score. It's thematically interesting, the concept is very unique and I really liked the monster design but it chose to commited to just the atmosphere. The first half was boring. Poorly written dialogue, I almost didn't care about any characters, they're just forgettable, and the lead's relationship felt very forced. It did pick up but move way too slow and I don't get the weird chronological structure, feels unnecessary. The last 20 minutes was a great experience. The score was supremely haunting and it worked really well with the ending scene. If you're into cosmic horror, it's worth checking out.
this movie rocks.
new monsters to be scared of.
perfect balance between sci fi and horror.
action packed.
Underworld meets Bird Box.
I've read the book, saw the movie and they both has the same problem: the authors do a great job at the start and the middle, but couldn't end properly. The book goes better, way better, but has this too. I read the all trilogy waiting for something great. But ends unsatisfactory.
What do I have to say about this movie? That I lost 115 minutes from my life.
Confusing.... this movie made no sense....not realistic..... great atmospheric scenes but wasn’t my cup of tea.
I don’t know what too say. I feel stupid for watching it , but I’m not as stupid as the person who wrote it.
This movie is a complete mess
This has the potential to be the highest jump in review score because after seeing it once I struggled to give it a score as high as '6' because there's just nothing about this movie that makes sense. It's a beautiful movie it's well acted but I got nothing from it.
Contrast to Arrival which was a movie that I fully appreciated. That was a movie I fully understood and just didn't like. This movies is just as trippy and psychodelic as I thought it would be and yet in the end I got nothing. Maybe because I wathced it in five spurts. Maybe because I watched it under various lighting on my laptop. Who knows either way it's barely above a 5 until I watch it again or read some other reviews.
Natalie Portman is an automatic watch for me, and being science fiction I was interested. But this was a little weirder then I was expecting, and the reason why I didn't give it high marks it left me more confused then satisfied, it ended with too many questions and I'm happy I only saw this on a plane and nothing else. To just kill time, I watch it but happy I didn't go to the movies to see this.
Boring. Fall asleep a lot of times. Had to rewind a lot until I was able to finish it. Interesting idea but that's it. Just an idea.
This is NOT what I was expecting. Starts of interesting but it stops exploring the world they live in and it's simply a very strange ending. When they reach the lighthouse everything sterts to spin out of control. It looses its suspense and just feels - strange.
Had kind of an expectation before watching it...totally disappointed. It makes no sense from start to the end. If then make a no sense means something being "intelligent"..well... Nothing new..if not the idea of the refracted DNA. And I was kind of ok until Lena get to the point where the meteor crashed into a lighthouse. The rest was too much no sense. I like when a movie leaves an open ending..but this didn't trig my mind on thinking what it could be.. By the way..if the story of the movie is based on what Lena's reports, and Lena isn't herself anymore..then everything is based on nothing.. Oh..and the ouroboros tattoo..like a tattoo is part of a person's dna? really?? Yet it apperes on many people once they get there... And Josie? Turned into a bush? that's it? Cause she had no will to fight or look for answers? Really? I get mutation and refracting DNA..but to turn into a bush in the matter of few seconds...give me a break!
Wasn’t feeling this movie.....kind of boring
I didn't like Ex Machina and I didn't like this. I fell asleep twice. Sorry Alex, just not my cup of tea. 3/10
I don't like the story, I don't like when there are so many "what?" and "why?" moments...and if I knew that this movie is about 80% pure CGI, I wouldn't have watched it in the first place! Still, they tried something new, but they fail! I think that Natalie Portman did a good job... I love her :) so 3/10 from me.
Interesting take on the 'subject' (dont want to spoil anything). You'll be guided through slowly increasing 'insanity' of all around till controversial ending.
Huh... Cool one, don't answer all the questions, but it's a good movie :)
First of all i need to say that the sci fi genre tag on this film is loose to say the least, the film does fall within this category but Star Wars, Alien etc this is not.
Secondly there are NO spoilers within this review.
Annihilation had the promise to be something more than what it ending up being. The potential for the film could have spawned a new franchise but sadly I feel they missed the mark in the end.
As echoed in other comments, the first two thirds of the film are very good. Intrigue and mystery drive the film forward in a quest to discover just exactly what the shimmer is. However the final pay off is what let's the film down and feels somewhat rushed.
The cinematography at times is simply beautiful with some fantastic shots. A divulge into the psyche of the struggling soldier is thought provoking as well as the human need for self destruction.
Annihilation seems to have got stuck in confused state of what the ultimate goal of the film should be. Hints of films such Predator, Apocolypse Now, but ultimately never delivering the ending the build up of the film promises.
Overall I enjoyed the film for what it was and I think the fact that I still liked the film even with the poor ending shows the strength of the first two thirds.
A solid 7 in my eyes.
I was all set to love this. Didn't happen. I didn't hate it....but, eh. Bit boring.
This is....this movie blows my mind. It is definitely worth watching, it is incredible, and I don't say that about a lot of movies, especially not Si-Fis but everything about this movie is amazing right down to every last detail. I'm still thinking about it.
Curious movie that makes you think you're watching. A reflection.....
Don't know if I liked or not. Its very different from the book and not sure if it's mistery is well handled. Good performances but still didn't like it much.
A mind trip into chaos.
Not quite scientific accurate but this one definitely lets you think. Also some mistakes are noticeable. Doesn't matter tho, this is a kind of movie I would really enjoy watching over and over again.
ah! I didn't know the books. I hope they make movies of the other two books, I'm definitely gonna read them now.
the movie feels incomplete. you are left with so many questions.
Annihilation was one of the movies that I am absolutely glad I saw in a theater. Alex Garland has a way with his CGI that is fascinating.
Garland did a great job making the characters feel real. I really enjoyed the internal debates I had as I watched all of the things inside "the shimmer" resolve/be revealed.
The whole story felt up for you to decide the morality of each action, which I thought really lent itself to the realness of the movie.
Overall, I'd say Garland is 2 for 2 in his directorial career
In the end, I thought this movie pretty much followed what has become a typical alien-type movie mystery story. It had great visuals and some other original aspects, but I thought they were minimal. The book had its own shortcomings, but at least it had an original story, and the movie pretty much removed this originality and seemed to force the movie down a more mainstream-style story path. There were other very cool aspects in the book that the movie removed, of which I'm also not sure why. Knowing the book and seeing the movie was definitely a negative, but just looking at the movie as objectively as I can, apart from the book, I think the movie movie was just so-so.
Just watched. What can i say? Boring as hell. Totally waste of precious time. Poor acting and story. Everything sucks in this movie.
Visual is good but the story is meh. There was no twist and everything was predictable.
Do Not Bother!! Worthless Film. Really Bad!!
What a visually stunning, thought provoking, and uncomfortable (I mean that in the best way possible) movie. Alex Garland knows how to make a hard sci-fi movie and he needs to do more. The visuals and the score are just so trippy and creepy that you just can't look away. Natalie Portman showing off her amazing acting skills. Tessa Thompson and Oscar Issac are both good too.
The whole lighthouse scene I was mesmerized. What an awesome scene. The way the alien started to take form of Lena's face really freaked me out. The lighthouse burning with Lena watching it might be my favorite shot in the movie. And then to end it with Lena and Kane back together but not themselves was a perfect ending. Kinda the same way Ex Machina had a great ending.
EDIT: Even better on rewatch. This is a drop dead gorgeous movie. Watching it in 4k HDR is mesmerizing. The color palate jumps out at you. The score is haunting, especially near the end. The lighthouse is still very uncomfortable.
This movie was awful! It started off great, thought they had a good plot, then they go into the "shimmer." It became very hard to follow, the story was going back and forth and sideways. I found myself wishing the end would just come lol. There are way better "end of the world" movies out there. How does this director go from 28 days and 28 weeks later, and Dredd to this crap. Will never watch anything with this director again, I should have known, wasn't that impressed with ex machina either. And Natalie Portman?????? Hasn't she been downgraded to a "B" movie actress yet? I can see that her acting as not improved at all since her days in "Star Wars."
The visuals were great, but the screenplay...
Unforgivable. Horribly dull presentation of what could have been a fine Sci Fi idea. Fought off sleep and now wondering if I should have just taken a nap. 2/10
[5.4/10] The benefit of the cinematic form is that it’s malleable. A great movie can be a self-serious naturalistic drama or a zany, loosely-plotted comedy. It can have a tight three act structure or it can have a messy spillover of events that fit a different tone. You can do a million things with two-hours of screen time in a million different ways, and as a reviewer, I try to keep myself open and generous to the new and different ways inventive auteurs find to take advantage of the medium.
But the problem with Annihilation is that the things it's good at -- its visuals and its final, captivating sequence -- feel disconnected from the ways in which it is a movie. If you stripped this film for parts and just extracted certain images or scenes, you would find compelling bits and pieces. And yet, as an all-encompassing piece of art meant to tell a story, meant to introduce characters, meant to make you care about what’s going on from the first minute to the last, it falls woefully short.
The film tells the story of Lena, an ex-soldier/biologist who ventures into a mysterious zone called “The Shimmer” to try to find out what happened to her dying husband. She teams up with four other scientist/soldiers to investigate the bizarre happenings inside, where no communications can reach the outside world and from which no one has ever returned. The expedition goes predictably awry quickly, with Lena and her crew finding signs of other failed attempts while they try to make sense of the unknown phenomena all around them.
The result comes off like a Predator clone as presented by David Lynch. That description may sound exciting, or at least interesting, but the truth is that for it’s first hundred minutes or so, Annihilation is a remarkably boring film given its premise. Generic military types with barely-sketched personalities wander anonymously through the jungle where little of substance happens between the occasional, solid set piece. Director Alex Garland can’t spice up his standard issue, Star Trek-esque “hey, there’s some freaky stuff going down on that planet” narrative with anything approaching real character or intrigue. It leaves the whole exercise feeling like an hour and a half of treading water to justify the film’s grand, final showpiece.
That showpiece is a doozy. If you lopped off just “The Lighthouse” segment of the movie, apart from the doldrums of the setup and the ponderousness of the frame story, it would be an incredible short film. The demoscene-esque symmetry and variation of the energy blob that Lena confronts, the Del Toro-esque figure who consumes her teammate and withstands her bullets, the mirroring alien creature that moves just so and eventually erupts into a singular immolation, all grab the viewer’s attention and evince a mood and a vision that are abstract, palpable, and transcendent, but all but missing elsewhere in the film.
The worst part of the whole endeavor is the dialogue. There’s a thudding quality to almost every exchange, where people declare exactly what they’re thinking, robotically convey some exposition that’s already obvious to anyone with a brain, or speak in bland action movie clichés. There’s always some artifice to movie dialogue, but holy hell, nobody in the world talks like this. I initially wanted to attribute it to the stupefying effects of The Shimmer, but the truth is that everyone in the movie speaks in the same awkward, stilted rhythms regardless of where they’re in the alien zone or not. The merits of this film are far and away on the visual side, and it seems like the verbal side was massively neglected by comparison.
The runner up in that department is the characters. No individual’s personality is depicted through action, everyone’s backstory is just announced, either by another character or through the patently unnecessary frame narrative. But hey, that’s OK, because everyone is a flat, stock archetype anyway, whom you’ll forget as soon as they’re picked off or disappear or get transmogrified into something else. Even Lena, who should be compelling given her losses and purpose, is a weird blank space in the middle of the film, barely defined despite being the nominal driver of the action.
That action, thankfully, isn’t bad. Apart from that impressive final sequence, the only thing to really recommend Annihilation is its production design and aesthetic, with remixed flora and fauna that stand out amid the film’s otherwise soporific qualities. True to a film starring Natalie Portman, there’s a bit of a Star Wars prequel vibe to some of the CGI, but most of it is forgivable, and when the lights go low and the digital seams don’t show, the film’s capable of some real terror and awe.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for its mystery and themes. It becomes clear what’s going on within The Shimmer fairly quickly -- that whatever this entity is has been remixing and mashing up the various inputs its found on our planet is. But that doesn't stop our heroes from wandering around and puzzling over it for god knows how long. By the same token, the film tries to connect everything to a grand theme of unconscious self-destruction being our downfall, cellularly and socially, rather than external malady or directive choice. But while it’s an interesting idea, it’s lost in a sea of tepid scenes and tin-eared dialogue trying to dramatize it.
That’s the overarching problem with Annihilation. It fails at the things that you need to sustain a film: character, story, theme, pacing, dialogue, intrigue. But it succeeds at the things that could exist apart from the structure and be just as good, namely the raw imagery of the piece and the almost baletic, psychedelic sequence at the end which the audience only vaguely needs the backstory provided to appreciate. There’s things worth salvaging from this film -- bravado sequences that almost justify the experience -- but they come apart from, or at the expense of, the things essential to the form.
Annihilation is an interesting, occasionally astounding art project, but it’s not much of a movie.
The movie does not work for me because the setup has serious logical problems.
For years, they have studied that shimmer and sent teams they've never heard of again. Of course, their next step is to send in a handful of female scientists, to give them an automatic rifle (but not much else that might come in handy, such as a decent flashlight), and to expect them to succeed. The simple explanation for this is that the male soldiers have failed. Has anyone ever come up with the idea of sending in heavy equipment or have I missed something?
I should probably put Alex Garland films on my Dont Watch List, because that's three out of three now that I found rather mediocre.
I only watched this because I read an article saying Annihilation shows what the world is like if pokemon were real. I was disappointed.
Annihlation is up there with the great science fiction films of the 21st Century and arguably the 20th Century as well. The cinematography is beautiful throughout and the music and score helps to keep you hooked into the world. Although I wasn’t a fan of the non-linear story at first, it really helps to explain the story a bit smoother which only helps to make the last act even more insane, giving me major-2001 vibes. The more I think about the film, the more I question what it really meant and how it all came together, only strengthening its status as a great science fiction film.
Something struck me as I watched this film. A single entity in a swamp presented more of a threat to mankind than all of the disposable aliens swarming the Avengers or blue beams shooting into the sky in nearly every superhero movie.
I'd like there to be more science fiction like "Annihilation". It walks an entirely female squad into a strange world where the sense of wonder outweighs the fear of the unknown. It generates a sense of dread and suspense that can be terrifying.
If you want a deep character study, this probably won't do it. This is more about the "shimmer" slowly spreading through the swamp than it is any character's personal battles or traumatic life experiences. It tries to make you feel for the team by providing some of their stories, but they aren't particularly detailed.
"Annihilation" gets crazy in the last 20 minutes in a good way. It gets even weirder than it was previously and the accompanying music added to the impact. Oh...and the bear scene is awesome.
Second review:
I watched this for a second time since originally seeing it in theaters back in early 2018.
One thing that impressed me this time is the all female squad that heads into the "shimmer" to investigate the oddity. There isn't a lot of backstory to any of the characters (other than Portman's "Lena"). It reminds me how little we knew about the all male characters in John Carpenter's "The Thing". And just like in that film, the characters in "Annihilation" are just smart, never mind their gender.
Of course, no one took any notice of that or this film and its casting because it isn't one made to appeal to the mindless masses. I know that comment may seem elitist but it's true. This is a shamefully underappreciated film.
"Making movies steeped in vagueness these days is proving to be an excellent way to earn critical praise, but being artfully ambiguous strikes me as a way to cover for not being able to finish the job."
I worry this movie may have really been cursed by its publicity. Studios can't market something as a blockbuster action movie and then deliver a bizarre, borderline stream-of-consciousness big-budget art flick, but that's sorta what they did here. It leaves people (including me on the first night) going in expecting a lot of answers to be fed right to us, when instead, we get nothing but questions.
If you look at the other reviews here or elsewhere online, a lot of people are pretty dissatisfied with the scientific explanations the film gives for what is happening. Frankly, if you believe that those explanations are all there is to the story, you have a right to be dissatisfied with them.
But part of this story is about coming to accept or at least make peace with what is unknown and confusing, and the scientists offering these fragments of poor explanations for what is happening around them are at least as ill-informed about what's going on as we are. I'd argue that this is a story about people who don't understand the situation they're in told subjectively enough that we'll never fully understand that situation either.
And I'm OK with that.
Holy crap! This movie was way more scary than I realized it was going to be. Awesome though!
Science fiction that makes you think. This is a slow-paced film that pulls you step-by-step into the world of the shimmer. Natalie Portman is the main focus and it is very much her character's story. While not on the same level as Arrival, Annihilation shares that film's desire to keep the aliens alien, with their motivations and technology left unexplained.
The characters, during the course of the film, have their own take on what is going on (the physicist and the refraction explanation), but I think this should be seen as a human in the situation explaining thing in terms they understand rather than as 'the explanation' of what is actually happening.
Words to describe this film: creepy, transcendent, bizarre, beautiful, original... and shimmery! Honestly, there were times when this film could have played as an effective screen saver on my tv, so elegant were the visuals.
The film, as a whole, is very good. Alex Garland has created something unique, and while I am sure there will be those head scratchers who didn't 'get it,' we should celebrate this film in whatever camp we fall into. It's not often we get a piece of hard sci-fi like this - as others have mentioned, the last film in memory to compare this to is Tarkovsky's Stalker. I would also splice the same director's Solaris into the mix, as well as 2001 and Prometheus, especially around the themes of creation and evolution - the film seems to play with a Garden of Eden theology, despite the Darwinism notions of genetics. There is so much more I want to say but can't quite find the words - my head is metaphorically self-destructing as I type this - but it's a film better experienced before reading any comment or review anyway.
Funny, I did not know that the same director was behind Ex Machina, only found out after I saw the movie. And I had the same problem with that movie as I have with this one. When characters who are presented as being very smart do stupid things, it just ruins the movie. It did for me with Ex Machina, it did it for me here. The great visuals and all the interesting idea are just destroyed by it. Not a bad movie at all, but far from great.
Greatest movie ive ever seen by far. DMT instantly puts you into a conversation with your subconscious so why would EVERY living thing have dmt in it? I think this movie dances with the idea that dmt is the universal language between all living things and as we learn more about it we will see its the closest thing to “god” there is. People who use the word “weird” tend to be the ones who never think about what that description actually means.
Not quite what I expected, but it was still a very well done movie. As weird as it it, it made me uncomfortable at times in a good way if that's even a thing lol
I loved the visuals and the soundtrack of this film but was disinterested with the other elements. Everything was predictable, even to the very last scene. Perhaps I have watched too many similar movies that I can now guess what's going on, not sure.
Some of the 'mind-blowing' plot elements my friends thought at the end, were clearly visible throughout the film, and semi-obvious.
The lighthouse scene was visually stunning and not too haunting, which I personally appreciate. Although the second I saw Dr. Ventress, I guessed the next 5 minutes-the end of the film (it would clone her, get out, etc.).
My favorite scene was that void that Natalie Portman looks into. The visuals and sounds were impeccable.
Overall, this averages out to be an above-average thriller, with something to think about afterward.
The main issue that I have with the movie is we found something, I’m not going to try an comunicate I’ll just hit and blow things up… but make more interesting the person who started the journey is not the same who ended it. Maybe don’t say that and let the watchers think. I don’t know I liked the plot but not that much how they resolved the mystery
Did anyone else find thay the scene where the alien catches fire and burns down the lighthouse very much resembles the Burning Man Festival?
Crazy seeing that mainnactress lol but this was mid
I think it takes a bit too much time to get to the good stuff, but the 2nd half is sooo good. The "help" scene is one of the most disturbing non-gore scenes ever.
Ninth Viewing. Still just as sensational. Sci fi has never and will never top this.
this movie is terrible and it has such a dry dull atmosphere to it. i wouldn't recommend it complete waste of time.
Very interesting movie. Watching it I couldn't help but think of the book The Deep (published one year after Annihilation was published). Only one was on the earth, and the other in the ocean. Interesting enough to seek out the book that spawned this movie though. Definitely worth the watch.
The concept has some interesting ideas but the plot is a bit of a mess. It's basically the same plot as Evolution but trying to make it serious. The concepts of loss and guilt don't really mesh with the sci fi setting and the characters aren't really fleshed out. The visuals were good and the movie was entertaining enough though.
This moving was crazy the whole way through. I’m usually into Sci-fi movies but this one was weird. The screenplay was okay but the plot left a lot to be desired.
felt like i was on crack or dr*gs while i was watching this, good lord
Alex Garland makes some pretty unique content, and it is not talked about enough. This movie is a trip that kept me engaged and entertained from start to finish. While this may not reach the heights of Ex Machina, it is darn close!
Rating: 4.5/5 - 9/10 - Highly Recommend
Shout by DiegoRBlockedParent2018-03-17T15:54:58Z
Ex Machina also by alex garland was a great movie but this movie is such a waste of time. Its concept it´s attractive and it could have been a great movie but it got lost along the way.