Review of Annihilation (2018) by Peter C — 05 Mar 2018

"Annihilation' should have been more appropriately retitled "Synthesis." Because this movie is not about destruction, as such, but alteration, and combination. Alteration of perceptions of life. Alteration of the environment. Alteration of one's own concept of mind and self.

Combination of talents. Combination of perspectives. Combinations of disciplines.

My main concerns with the movie was its all-too-standard "and then there were none" horror movie structure. Someone gets killed by a beast. Someone mentally snaps. Someone succumbs to their environment. And, of course, the tired "split up the party even though we know we are dying off one-by-one.".

The movie was visually mesmerizing and the plot was compelling. But I felt a lot of the women characters were only given about five minutes of screen time and then shuffled off, mortal coil-wise, to increase the requisite body count.

I had wished there would have been more ensemble problem-solving. More to show how women, collectively, would have solved this mystery differently than all-male squads of soldiers.

I also felt it was utterly unbelievable how this operation was handled. Why not go in a few feet through the Shimmer, then come right back out?

For that matter, why risk human life at all? Why not send in a fleet of drones?

As for the climax, I have an overt spoiler alert: the one white phosphorus (WP) grenade resolution of the threat was about as unsatisfying to me as learning that Triffids were allergic to salt water. I can understand that might have stopped the one creature, but why did everything else collapse? The shimmer? The crystals? It all unraveled without explanation.

There was, however, redeeming satisfaction in the denouement. Which I hope they leave open-ended and do not ruin with any plans for a sequel.