Annihilation
- Mar 4, 2018
- 2 min read
The word annihilation is best described as complete destruction. This simple explanation for the word is lost in this movie of the same name. Directed by Alex Garland who directed the well received Ex Machina, I had high expectations of what deep commentary the movie might expose. Annihilation does attempt to provide insight into the human condition, but much of it is lost in the trills it aims to provide.
Annihilation follows in the thread of movies like Inception and Prometheus. There is an exciting story to pull viewers into deeper conversations concerning what the characters think about humankind's place in the world. The previously listed movies did this by making interesting characters that the audience invested in and wanted to learn more about. Conversations that the characters had, both related to what was happening around them and provoked meaningful conversation outside of the theaters. The action of those movies also avoided muddying the critical thinking they aimed to inspire.
Much of these successes are not found in Annihilation. While characters are memorable, the conversations they have and the insight they are meant to provide lacks inspiration. Instead of their backstories driving the characters deeper into the shimmer, jump scares and horror are used. Each character has a reason to make the adventure and the movie hints at this on many occasions yet this never amounts to anything interesting. The backgrounds of characters are mentioned as if marking checkoff boxes. At the end of the movie there is no payoff for any of the characters who entered the shimmer, they are mentioned and then quickly forgotten.
Overall Annihilation missed the mark. It opened up a grand visual conversation about the intentions of a creator and creation itself and then lost its focus. There are moments that shine in the same way Ex Machina did and the movie was successful in stirring genuine interest in its themes. The final product is too much sauce and not enough substance.
6/10
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