Ambiguity masquerading as profundity

Rating: 6/10 (10 June 2018)

Annihilation starts with an interesting premise and does a solid job building up tension, but the movie ultimately fizzles out when it becomes clear there's no depth beneath the impressive visuals and synth-heavy atmospheric score.
The film sure is gorgeous to look at: Natalie Portman's biologist and her team of scientists spend the majority of their time exploring the Shimmer, a mysterious bubble that initially covered only a small area, but continues to expand without any signs of slowing down. Most of the area the Shimmer's claimed is swampland and thick jungle, a verdant wonderland where time seems to flow differently and everything's shaded by the shifting, brightly-colored edges of the Shimmer itself.
It's established early on that the Shimmer has existed for some time, and the government's efforts to poke at it with drones and instruments hasn't yielded results. They've also sent people, and no one has returned. With the Shimmer steadily growing larger, the authorities worry it will eventually swallow entire towns and cities if it can't be stopped.
Portman and her companions each have their own personal reasons for volunteering on what looks like a suicide mission, but they're hopeful - while the teams that went in before them and vanished had been comprised of military spec ops, they're a team of scientists who hope to succeed with brains where braun failed.
Sadly, Annihilation seems straight out of JJ Abrams' much-derided "mystery box" school of filmmaking. Whetting the audience's appetite and building tension are all worthy goals, but once the mystery is revealed, the narrative deflates. Strong performances from Portman, Gina Rodriguez, Oscar Isaac, Benedict Wong and the rest of the cast can't save Annihilation from the disappointment that sets in once that mystery box is opened.