The only thing annihilated in this movie is its potential

Rating: 4/10 (12 February 2020)

My main gripe with this film is that it has great ideas and then executes them frustratingly poorly. For a movie that was obviously meant to be atmospheric and introspective (and granted, the world building is excellent) it gets no time to breathe and actually establish an atmosphere. All willing suspension of disbelief is constantly thrown out the window.
The dialogue is a major stumbling block for this film; it is awkwardly fast-paced and hackneyed, and akin to what'd you'd expect from The Room (2003) and NPC dialogue in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Every character is perpetually in the uncanny valley, and seems to have zero motivation. Nobody acts like a human in this movie; soldiers run head-first into danger and scientists are completely apathetic about groundbreaking discoveries. You can't build suspense if nothing makes sense.
This script and cast would've made for a great movie if it had been directed by Guillermo del Toro, and edited by someone who actually knows about pacing and colour grading. The actor's performances were only so-so, and I get the feeling that the director failed to get the best out of them. The various instances of CGI ranged anywhere from poor (opening, alligator) to great (climax). All in all, a sub-par film that I wanted to like, but has absolutely nothing going for it that makes me want to watch it again.