Resist the cool trailer.

Rating: 5/10 (14 March 2018)

This is a unique film, I mean that in two particular senses. Firstly, the film introduces some unique and very beautiful artwork. The colours and special effects set the design language apart, especially in regards to the sci-fi genre. Secondly, the film occupies a unique position in the history of cinema, but only because of its unusual journey to the screen. Originally a studio production, it was sold to Netflix, which indicates that the studio execs had no confidence in it making money from the box office. In hindsight, their decision to cut loose is justified - but that is not to alter the fundamentally speculative nature of film production.
Studio executives do not have some sage ability to produce hit after hit - that is left to the zeitgeist of the time. No one knows what make a film a hit before it is made, or even before it is granted a release to the public. So, we must seek to judge films on their own merit, on the artistic vision that cinema reveals.
Alex Garland is a notable talent, with a penchant for writing intellectually driven films that still appeal to the lowest common denominator. Garland directs, the first time he has been given the opportunity to direct with a sizable budget with big stars to helm the production.
There's some interesting set design, but really that's about it. The protagonist and the central characters are all women, and while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, it stimulates disbelief from the outset. Why would untrained women be given assault rifles and sent into a new phenomenon to explore it? They are not suited to the job at hand, so naturally they all die. Good sci-fi asks us to suspend disbelief - but not to the same extent as the genre of fantasy.
This inability to keep the audience convinced that what they are watching is plausible or possible helps paper over plot holes. When Portman's companions betray her for not revealing the fact she was married or that her husband didn't know he was a predecessor in the "shimmer" or they weren't told etc, the reasoning for characters motivations becomes unclear.
The movie pretends to have a philosophical basis but it is weak or poorly articulated. Halfway in there are some pretty visuals, but meagre story development. Ultimately this film is a half-baked Arrival knock-off. Its a modern day B-movie at best, and a certainty to sweep the Razzies at worst.