As good as concept sci-fi gets, these days

Rating: 8/10 (24 February 2018)

I've seen convincing arguments that someone like Kubrick couldn't exist in 2018. Any director with a budget large enough to truly innovate will be constrained by the studios' demand to produce something digestible for mainstream audiences. Space Odyssey and The Shining are too difficult for modern audiences. We're too impatient. We demand to understand.
This makes it rather unsurprising that Paramount chickened out and sold the international rights for Annihilation to Netflix in order to recoup some of the costs, an already low-budget picture as far as major studio sci-fi flicks go. This suggested to me that Annihilation was trying to do something bold and original, and I was right.
Let's get this out of the way first. If your model of good sci-fi is Blade Runner, Alien, or Space Odyssey, you're going to be disappointed by Annihilation. That's to be expected. But if you're ready to see something new and interesting that compares favorably with (say) Ex Machina, Annihilation is a godsend.
There's so much it does right, in terms of pacing, characterization, and music. The stuff of good movie-making is all here. Thematically, it grasps hold of its subject (human beings delve into Nature's heart of darkness), and sees it through remarkably. Portman puts in a solid performance as a scientist with secrets, and her character's arc is equally determined by both her human nature and her surroundings. Jennifer Jason Leigh also does a wonderful job, fresh off her performance in Twin Peaks (The Return). The real fireworks of the movie happen when the human, natural, and supernatural all collide. I'll say no more about the plot, however. This is one film which one should go into cold if possible.
Let me also say a little about what goes wrong. The primary problems stem from the studio-driven affordances I've been complaining about. There's much needless use of voice-over and flashback to drive the narrative, which would flow much better if it developed naturally. The need to see and understand generates a reliance on CGI in places that would be better served by practical effects (or none at all). It doesn't help that the CGI is often quite bad. The writing is a bit threadbare at times, and features a couple of unintended laugh-out-loud moments and painfully faux-scientific explanations.
All that's to say that the film could be better. But there's so much bravery in the attempt that it's hard not to love. Go see Annihilation, and support some of the best high concept sci-fi to hit the big screen in a while.