Annihilation - Movie Review

Annihilation is the film I have most anticipated in recent months. First of all, I am a sucker for good science fiction. It is my favorite genre. And it is a genre that is done bad as often as it is done well. I like new and unique approaches to the genre, which this film promised to deliver. And deliver it did. I led off my weekend movie viewing with this interesting addition to the genre.

Lena (Natalie Portman) is soldier turned biologist. Her husband Kane (Oscar Isaac) remained a soldier after she moved on to academia. When Kane returns from a mysterious mission, he is physically a wreck. Lena soon finds herself at a secret government site, Area X. Whatever secrets Kane was holding, whatever ailment caused his organs to begin failing, must not get out to the public. Lena could consider herself captive to this secret, or she can participate in unraveling it. She chooses the latter, in spite of the low odds for success. She sets out on a mission into the shimmer, an aural phenomenon that has encompassed a large area of a national park and appears to be spreading. She is joined by an all female squad of experts.

Dr. Ventriss (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a psychologist. Anya (Gina Rodriquez) is an EMT. Sheppard (Tuva Novotny) is an anthropologist. Josie (Tessa Thompson) is a physicist. Together, the five women set out to explore the strange manifestation that is quickly engulfing everything around it. There is a dichotomy of beauty and violence that are entwined in their dangerous destination. The women begin to piece together information based on their expertise and remnants of previous missions. The combination of memory loss and disorientation leads them to develop a plan to find their way out of the shimmer. But the shimmer might have other plans.

Annihilation is based on the book of the same name, written by Jeff VanderMeer. The screenplay was adapted by Director Alex Garland. The concept of Annihilation is fertile ground (pun intended) upon which to grow an intriguing science fiction story. The film moves at a plodding pace with dialogue that felt muted throughout the film. At times, the film reminded me of Tree of Life for reasons both good and bad. The mystery was compelling and I was anxious to know where the story was taking me. I enjoyed the story, but felt a bit exhausted by it at the same time. The pacing was intentional, I get it. But the combination of quiet dialogue and a reluctant pace hurt the film. There were some decent action sequences, interesting characters, brilliant concept and originality were offset by mild boredom at times. This film is one that is also very visual. Clues are dropped visually and the world created inside the shimmer has a definite visual and textural appeal.

As the women were walking toward the shimmer, I was thinking Ghostbusters. It was a random thought that was followed by a second thought. No way. Ghostbusters sucked. This film featured a strong female cast, intriguing characters and a worthwhile story. Between the story and the acting, we were treated to good scifi. In spite of the faint speech employed in this film. Portman was solid in the lead role. Oscar Isaac did not have much screen time. He was okay, but not really around enough to draw any conclusions about his performance. He spit up blood really well. Rodriguez and Leigh were both solid in supporting roles. Thompson had a less visible role on the team. She was good. Overall, the casting added credibility to the story.

At one hour, 55 minutes, Annihilation felt just long enough. Even with the slow pacing, the film didn't feel too long. It would have been easy to drag this film beyond two hours, which suggests to me that careful attention was paid to the editing. The film was rated R by the MPAA. The rating is based primarily on the violence and gore factor. While not gratuitous, there was at least one scene that was difficult to watch. I am sure quite a few people covered their eyes. There was a nudity free sex scene that was depicted twice. There was a bit of sexuality and sexual references. There was some strong language. Almost all of that typical for movies these days. The sexuality was tempered. Alone it would have earned a PG-13 I believe. The rating stems primarily from the gore. It is the stuff nightmares are made of. So keep that in mind with younger viewers.

Alex Garland did Ex Machina (which also featured Oscar Isaac) as well as this film (as writer/director). He officially has my attention as a producer of science fiction. This film was solid, although not as tightly woven as Ex Machina, which was one of my favorite films of 2014. This movie features a cast primarily made up of women. I don't think that was intended as a statement, but it worked for me. If it were done for the sake of empowerment or social justice, I probably would have passed on this film. Instead, it is a subtle gesture that was well done. It was done to further a science fiction story worth telling. This film could have been improved with a bit more action and more direct dialogue. But it was solid. 7.5/10.

Photos and trailer are from DNA Films and Paramount Pictures.