I’m an individual who goes to the movie theater for the mainstream movies that come out (Black Panther, Jurassic Park, Infinity War etc). Usually I tend to opt for the IMAX/Dolby Cinema showings since I’ve gotten kind of a liking to these types of showings. Now when a company known as MoviePass released a statement that they were doing a subscription of $9.99 per month to watch one movie per day, I definitely got excited.
When I first heard of this movie, I’ll admit that I was not instantly interested in this movie. It seemed to be very slow and targeted toward people who love Sci-Fi movies, which I’m not really interested in. When the reviews started to be released a couple days before the movie came out (Currently 87% on Rotten Tomatoes), I was intrigued. I decided that morning “What the heck, I’ll watch it”. The theater was 50%ish full on a Friday showing at 1PM. All adults (R Rated) and mostly mid 20’s-30’s.
Review (Spoilers):
*I have not read the book and went it with just watching the trailers and reading some non-spoiler reviews*
Absolutely loved his movie! From start to finish, I watched it with curiosity and was thinking was was being said throughout it. Yes, it did start off a little slow with the first act but that was with introducing the main character (Lena, Biologist) learning that her husband had returned after thinking that he was dead for over a year (From a military mission). During the second act, things get interesting. We encounter the “Shimmer” and everything that is going on within it. The “Shimmer” refracting DNA of everything in it is the big idea for the movie and it really got me thinking as it went on.
One of the parts that really made me love the movie was during the interrogation scene where Anya (Paramedic) is questioning Lena, Josie (Physicist), and Dr. Ventress when she founds out that Lena’s husband was the one who had gone into the Shimmer and gotten out. From there, we encounter “ScreamBear”, a mix of bear and what seemed to be an elk head. I got chills and goosebumps when it was revealed that Cass’s (Murdered by ScreamBear) DNA has merged with the Bears thus creating that when the bear “roared”, it was the screams of a dying Cass instead.
*Second is the plant people. This is a important section of the movie but a lot to cover so I will leave it with that it was a beautiful section.*
The ending act left me in awe that when the ending credits started, I didn’t want to leave my seat because I wanted more. The score of the end was amazing and it had a sense of wonder to it. “Alien” from the soundtrack is beautifully performed and executed in the end. From the moment she gets to the lighthouse to when she encounters the Alien, I was absorbed to the screen. I tend to look around the theater to see other peoples reactions during movies but this last act, my eyes were glued to that screen. The mystery of what was going on was amazing.
Conclusion: 4/5
If you like movies that make you think and that provide great depth in what is being shown (Interstellar, Gravity, Arrival etc) then this is one you want to see. I’ll admit I was lost at time’s but the movie does a good job on making sure that the audience catches up just in time to what is going on. Yes, the first act is slow at times and the dialogue can feel clunky but these (To me) are small gripes and don’t take away from the movie at all. Annihilation is a near perfect Sci-Fi film that grips your attention and makes you think beyond what is being shown to see if what you believe is true.
*Not affiliated with any companies in this review*
The AlExperience 
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