Stunning and oftentimes trippy visuals with an ending that is fodder for thought provoking speculations

Rating: 8/10 (24 February 2018)

The premise of an alien/unknown environment and its effect on the explorers who try to fathom its mysteries is really nothing new in sci-fi. Not even remotely.
2001:A Space Odyssey, Event Horizon, Sphere, Interstellar are but a few of the examples off the top of my head pertaining to this sub-genre. They even did it just two years ago with Arrival. However, the beauty of this trope is that if properly utilized, it can really make for an engaging watch as we the audience , along with the onscreen explorers in a closed environment , try ourselves to make sense of the weird events and get a payoff when the final clue is revealed as to the mysterious entity's origin and purpose.
Annihilation rather very successfully accomplishes in this target, namely to enthrall the viewers with the wonders and horrors of the perplexing location called Area X (very reminiscent of The Zone from Andreii Tarkovsky's S.T.A.L.K.E.R. ) and to make them care for the fate of the lead character (played effortlessly by Natalie Portman) who is resolved to find out why a part of the Earth's landscape is afflicted by such bizarre phenomena .
The visuals and look of Area X is overall the film's strongest suite. Alex Garland has a penchant for showing beautiful scenery that appears too dreamlike and yet can be the setting for something sinister, as he did before in Ex Machina . I also liked how none of the characters in the expedition to Area X were overly cliched and that the dialogues felt very natural. Every character interaction and every flashback serves to strengthen the narrative and explore some of the film's more underlying themes.
The ending itself is purposefully ambiguous , as it was in STALKER, but there are enough clues thrown about to let you know what exactly transpired and how the film itself maybe an allegory for an actual real life problem. It's not the end itself but rather its subsequent interpretation by the audience that is the most rewarding.
Definitely a one time watch.