Annihilation

Rating: 7/10 (30 March 2018)

Po-faced and 'intellectual' sci-fi that thinks it is smarter than it really is seems to be the in-thing now, with 'Annihilation' and the much-ballyhooed 'Arrival', but this is probably the more enjoyable film. Instead of physics, today's lesson is biology, so get your study materials ready.
Not unlike hundreds of other films in its wake, 'Annhilation' follows the exact same formula of 1979's 'Alien' in tone, story, Giger-designed-looking structures and female heroine lead, but this is one of the better versions thanks to some excellent, atmospheric cinematography and pacing that actually respects the attention-span of the viewer (which was one of the truly subversive and brilliant things about 'Alien' that doesn't get mentioned as much, in a film that was full of genius ideas). Admittedly, the pacing probably seems good because the writing is so thin, so it's not like we have a lot of developments to cram in here.
The acting is also very good but it's largely in vain, because this film never feels as tense or as frightening as it should; and even worse, the characters are paper-thin and unlikeable, and we can list them as: 'The Adulterous One' (which admittedly is interesting within the context of multiplying cells and splitting yourself between multiple people, losing yourself in the process -- the existential theme of the film), 'The Gay One' (we would have worked it out for ourselves but just in case, we get some out-of-place flirtation dialogue),'The Sheepish Self-Harming One' and 'The Dying One with Nothing to Lose' (..but does Jennifer Jason Leigh ever not look cool?).
Cancer metaphors like these have been around in sci-fi literature (Ballard) and film for some time ('Akira'), but 'Annilation' still feels like a spirited attempt at trying something creative, that almost works.