Review of Annihilation (2018) by Tcurran2 — 23 Feb 2018

Annihilation may not be entirely successful, but when it works, it really clicks. The last act's ambition was set for the stars, which is why it was such a shame to see the first 2/3rds carry on as a standard sci-fi schlock fest riddled with clunky dialogue and genre cliches.

Coming off the success of Ex Machina, writer/director Alex Garland is probably one of the few individuals who would've been able to get this film made, being as strange as it is. The studio appears to have little faith in the project, as they've dumped the international release straight to Netflix.

Substantively, Ex Machina this film is not. Though Annihilation's final images leave something for the viewer to chew on, Lena (Natalie Portman) and the rest of the group of female scientists assigned to investigate "the shimmer" are not nearly as compelling as Alicia Vikander and Domnhall Gleeson were in Garland's previous directorial effort.

The mystery and suspense built up during the film's first act is quickly dissipated as CGI creatures come barreling through forest environments to pick off the group members. When Annihilation is subtle, it is at its creepy best.

Unfortunately though, the script is nowhere near subdued nor intelligent enough to sustain compelling drama for the length of its two hour run time. The rumbling, ethereal sound design does most of the heavy lifting in providing the appropriate atmosphere.

The operatic chorus that accompanies Lena and the squad's revelations is a nice touch. Largely how one will feel about this film is their reaction once Natalie Portman reaches the Lighthouse. I bought into it.

Its creepy. Its disturbing. But most of all, it carries the film's intellectual heft. Self-destruction is the theme, but you're liable to self destruct yourself after trying to wrap your head around the film's final images.

But that fundamentally is what keeps things interesting.