Review of Captive State (2019) by Nobodyyouknow — 15 Mar 2019

Excellent, tense sci-fi thriller. The best sci-fi, IMO, is allegorical as Captive State certainly is. The alien invasion could just as well be, say, the Nazis occupying Poland, but the suspense is enhanced by the mysteriousness of the aliens -- the unknown is always more frightening. The tension starts within minutes of the movie's beginning, and it slowly escalates over the next 1.5 hours till a climactic scene (which I won't divulge); things subsequently calm down in what seems a sort of epilogue... until there's a surprise (which I won't divulge :-) ). The direction style felt a lot like District 9.

I understand some of the criticism about character development, but it's not really a character-driven story. It's about the human desire for freedom and the lengths to which some people will go to obtain that freedom. It's conceptually similar to the tv series Colony: people make choices about the kind of life they want to live and whether it's worth giving up that life for a greater good. It's certainly not surprising to know that some people will always choose to fight for freedom, and we go into Captive State knowing this, but we can still enjoy the ride.

The movie doesn't spell everything out for you, which I appreciate, but some might find it frustrating at certain moments where you have to fill in the blanks. It's an intelligent thriller with excellent performances (wish Vera Farmiga were featured more) and an ending which most will find satisfying.