Annihilation - review, 4/10

Rating: 4/10 (23 March 2018)

For a story that revolves around a mysterious phenomenon dubbed 'the Shimmer' which seemingly bends the laws of physics as we understand them, I was anticipating a certain element of suspension of disbelief. What I wasn't anticipating was the obnoxious ambiguity that is so persistently present throughout the entire movie, it was infuriating that the two main thoughts that crossed my mind flitted between, 'wow, that looks nice,' and '...wait, what?'
There's no concerted effort made to explicitly define anything, the movie leaves almost every aspect open to interpretation in what felt like an attempt to hide the fact that it had nothing important to say other than an it was an adaptation of an interesting idea (which is mostly conveyed through fancy SFX). The significance of the Shimmer is never delved into throughout the 120 minutes of runtime and the motivations of the characters are glossed over with little to no thought which leaves you with no shortage of unrelatable or unlikeable personalities spouting awkward dialogue to each other for no reason. It led to the formation of the expedition crew seeming rushed - a squad consisting of a loner psychologist, a grieving ex-soldier turned biology professor, a paramedic, an abrasive anthropologist and a physics graduate sets out to investigate the source of the Shimmer, an unlikely group with zero chemistry who meet the poor expectations their line-up inspires and often leave you wondering why or how they are qualified to undertake the mammoth task of investigating the most perplexing scientific incident in human history. The cast was largely hit-and-miss but Natalie Portman (who plays the protagonist, Lena), thankfully, gave a compelling performance but, unfortunately, it was the only one of the movie and can't make up for shortcomings of the rest of the movie.
The film begins to pick up late in the movie as the special effects are really able to show off the mind-bending reality of the Shimmer; crystalline trees, mutated creatures and a cornucopia of vibrant plant life make for a remarkable and unique aesthetic that looks beautiful in places. It even succeeds in inserting a sense of unease in the face of the unknown which gave off a horror-movie vibe and was skilfully sold in the unnerving recreation of what looks like a 'Crocotta' (a beast from medieval folklore). However, the perverse curiosity of the wonderfully weird world of the Shimmer soon wears off as the confusing story plods along in its absurd way.
The movie falls flat as the plot approaches the finale; the profound revelations that are to be expected after an hour and a half of build-up are swapped for a frustratingly opaque cop-out of a conclusion which leaves a bitter taste in your mouth as you realise that the two hours you just spent persevering in the hopes that the vague puzzle pieces the movie had been doling out would finally come together to show you something intelligent were in vain.