Annihilation (2018)

Annihilation (2018)

A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply. Based on Jeff VanderMeer's best-selling Southern Reach Trilogy, Annihilation stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac. It was written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later).

Rating: R (for violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality)

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Alex Garland

Written By: Alex Garland

In Theaters: Feb 23, 2018 Wide

Box Office: $20,636,742

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Garland's version is a worthy mutation. Making movies steeped in vagueness these days is proving to be an excellent way to earn critical praise, but being artfully ambiguous strikes me as a way to cover for not being able to finish the job. Annihilation's commitment to older psychoanalytic (and deconstructionist) models for the self and its inexpressible shadows makes this a readily accessible drama of emotion. Annihilation is some heady nightmare fuel, but its most striking quality may be how little it has in common with the current trends in mainstream science fiction. In this numbingly ludicrous science-fiction drama, written and directed by Alex Garland, a talented cast of actors play undeveloped characters delivering leaden dialogue in a haphazard story that's filmed with a bland slickness. This movie, unlike something produced for mass audiences, is about what happens in the calm moments between the loud, splashy sequences.

Drawing on mythology and body horror, Annihilation is an intelligent film that asks big questions and refuses to provide easy answers. Sci-fi at its best. It's one of the most stunning displays of directorial vision in recent memory, sure to be a classic of the genre in the years to come. Paramount executives were concerned Garland's movie was "too intellectual" and "too complicated" to appeal to wider audiences. What rubbish - Annihilation is the thrilling, smart science-fiction movie you need in your life... Portman's high-tension acting, her inability to relax, suits the material down to the ground. It's one of her best performances . The movie's tug-of-war between thrills and fuzzy philosophical waxing results in something much too close to a zero-sum game.

I found the movie confusing and boring most of the time so I would give a 3/5.