
Year: 2018
Rated R
Rating: * * Stars
Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez
With some serious sci-fi mumbo jumbo, a look of sterile beauty, a good use of multidimensional space, and moments that are not for the squeamish, I give you 2018's Annihilation (my latest review). In truth, I think Annihilation is a lot of things as a movie. Sadly, entertaining is not one of them.
Annihilation's story involves four scientists and one paramedic. With machine guns, foot soldier gear, and flawed dispositions in tote, these five women venture into an area called "the shimmer" (if you've seen a Coldplay music video you'll know what I'm talking about). In "the shimmer", they eventually lose their memory, their sense of time, and they encounter nasty mutations of various animals.
Annihilation, which seems to ask more questions than an audience member can answer, feels preachy and contains a swift ending that has the emotional impact of a gnat. The film is frustrating and choppily edited, harboring a loud musical score, trite found footage clips, varied flashbacks, and shoddily acted flash-forwards.

Anyway, Annihilation's director is London-born, Alex Garland. Although wet behind the ears, he is indeed a visionary and a sort of mimeographed version of David Lynch. His camera is constantly roving with most of his scenes shot from ground level. As for his general direction, well it seems a little more assured than his script. Overall, Garland tries too hard to reinvent the science fiction wheel here. His Annihilation is artsy-fartsy and overwrought, with sumptuous visuals and odious violence that can't compensate for a continuity-free narrative.

Written by Jesse Burleson
No comments:
Post a Comment