Hävitys

Set in a green rainforest (and on a beach), Annihilation is a more intellectual version of The Thing. It has a rather mainstream theme with a slightly B-movie nature but interesting ideas, escalated into a hitherto unseen close encounter of the third kind, fascinating by its far-reaching imagination and a provocative need to find as many answers as possible in it. The final scene is a return to genre rules, but it turns out well. Garland is not a hitmaker, but rather a hard-core sci-fi filmmaker. While Arrival was about the relativity of the perception of time, Annihilation is about the relativity of biological lifeforms. Totally different, but in both cases brilliant, innovative sci-fi works, ambitious in their content. (24.12.2018)

The less sense there is, the stronger the fate, or how not even a mutated extraterrestrial ecosystem isn’t enough for someone to act with some sense with their protozoan intelligence, isn’t it, Marceloo? But on the other hand, I wouldn’t take Annihilation as a deeply philosophical work, either – the fact that anyone can get frustrated because of that is funny. Portman and four more scientists, about whom a lot can be written (though certainly not that the director has made them likeable) go to investigate a Zone… and they find pretty much what the trailer promised, although there is less survival and mutated creatures than expected. Then it nicely goes to a highly atmospheric and wordless mind-fuck, but there’s nothing unpredictable about it, either. In a Nolan film, Nataly would have spoken a lot in the end and that would be it. I really enjoyed Annihilation, it’s visually excellent, the special effects are engaging and here and there it pushes the mind into a nicely dark direction. But I have a soft spot for sci-fi premises like this, in any media, and I’m really interested in the book version now. But I don’t think this film is that awesome, really; my expectations were perhaps a little higher. (12.03.2018)

It’s great that Netflix, as part of its sci-fi mission, shoots stories that are part of the current new weird novel trend. I actually discovered the author of the source novel – Jeff VanderMeer a few months ago in the form of his book Veniss Underground and I was fascinated by his brutal surrealism. In case of Annihilation, it’s not that obvious but still similar. Had Giger been still alive and participated in the creation of this movie like he did in the case of Alien, it might have been a unique work. It’s still quite decent as it is, though. I was ecstatic even though I’d have appreciated more visual ideas in that bubble. (16.04.2020)

I appreciate Garland for one thing: how he is able to seduce critics, through his bloated and, in this case, nonsensical B-movie, to write about sci-fi masterpieces. Which is the case of a film that looks quite bad on television and is vague everywhere where it should be concrete and concrete everywhere where it should be vague. Truly a daring film. (14.03.2018)

Damsels in distress slightly differently. Sophisticated chamber slow (you will feel it is twice as long; but it's not a complaint) second-rate movie, where, however, everyone behaves logically and appropriately in given situations and which takes the same from Strugacky as from Things and Arrival. But surprisingly little of VanderMeer's original. On the one hand, the scenes are both captivating and disturbing, atmosphere is dense. On the other hand, it is supposed to be a hardcore sci-fi movie that is rich in interpretation and that has dimension overlap. And I am not at all sure whether it is justified and or whether the movie is just pretending to be that way or if it is just banal. In any case, (not only) for these reasons, it will make you wonder about staff, that´s fur sure. The movie will not get out of your head as soon as you see closing credits. (13.03.2018)

I was captivated by the trailer the other day, I'm not so impressed with the film in the end, but it's still a decent genre film with an excellent idea. Four female scientists, each specialized in something different, go to explore a new area where the laws of nature don't apply and where no one has ever come back alive. It's great idea, but I felt it didn't get as much space as it could have. The film is unnecessarily hampered by flashbacks that aren't very entertaining and it shows in the pacing. There's a great scene with a white crocodile and a mutant bear that wreaks havoc in a cabin and there's one excellent gore scene with a ripped jaw, that really had me going crazy with joy. The final philosophical half hour didn't impress me that much and I found the finale quite confusing. I would definitely add more mutated animals and anything from nature in general to make it more satisfying. The film is definitely worth recommending for the idea, the visuals and the bear, though it’s not great. 70%. (18.03.2018)

Perhaps only someone who has never lost someone dear to them can say that the flashbacks full of the strongest emotions and the most burning regrets did not perform their role perfectly, or even became boring. It is precisely in these flashbacks that Natalie Portman proves herself to be a treasure and the most correct choice for the main role. Her sincere tears or focused expression took me through the world that Alex Garland gives home to all his obvious or inconspicuous inspirations (Arrival, Aliens, Prometheus, or The Fountain), but never gets caught up in inspiration. Every time, she skates out of the situation originally and before you say lighthouse, she begins to create that new classic, which the reactions of strangers spoke of somewhat surprisingly, whether due to visuals, genre shots, or punchlines. The only thing that saddens me – and the creators are innocent in this – is the fact that we could only pick up Annihilation on Netflix. Rob Hardy's camera and the unending surprises from the new world were also made for the European silver screen. (14.03.2018)

It pays to put off seeing some films until the effects of the PR massage have worn off and the wave of reviews and screams on social networks and databases has dissipated. One can then approach those films largely free of the ballast of responses and expectations. Annihilation is a case of a work that not only benefits from the viewer having a clear and open mind, but to a significant extent absolutely requires it. This is not a sci-fi movie that takes pride in its scientific credibility, but rather in pure wonderment drawn from new worlds and forms in which it urges viewers to immerse themselves. The appearance of fauna and flora here can evoke the apocalyptic and environmental visions of Hayao Miyazaki. Except unlike those visions’ ecological logic of cause and effect, and thus the effort to move from parasitism to symbiosis, the world of Annihilation has no logic, meaning or goal. Its only principle is assimilation and transformation through growth. Garland introduces motifs of loss and self-destruction into his loose adaptation of the original novel of the same name and concurrently adds in the backbone of a possible interpretation of the entire narrative as metaphors for the turbulent dynamics of a relationship between two people and their complicated path back to each other, whereas it is an unavoidable fact that the end of a journey cannot be the same as the beginning. Thanks to its intentionally enigmatic nature, however, Annihilation works best as an expedition to another world that is extraordinarily captivating due to its grotesque monstrousness, unsettling volatility and spectral beauty. In today’s deluge of blockbusters heading out to new planets that remain pleasantly conventional, Garland has succeeded in bringing an element of fascinated wonder back to film. (26.09.2020)

A pure and, in places, really terrifying horror with an inconclusive ending. The hypnotic atmosphere of the survey mutating the national park is perhaps disrupted a little inter by the memory sequences, but they are important too. Garland cleverly layers a story full of memory holes and, through hints, sets the scene for a mind-fuck finale, which deserves deeper analysis, not so much of what happened, but more like why. The tricks are sufficient, even if a little unbalanced. The overall visual is just wow. The human trees, moldy bodies and all the other mutants serve to advance the story. The acting was flawless, with Isaac being the most intriguing of all. Another great job after Ex Machina. (14.03.2018)

Thanks God Garland didn’t make Arrival. Thanks to this, it did not lose its humanistic subtext and rational explanation, something that cannot be said about Annihilation. The surrealistic wandering through fantastic landscapes, decorated with brilliant set design and minimalistic music, is beautiful to watch and listen to, but the story is at times a survival, at times a parade of CGI monsters, and a nondescript finale. Sure, we don't always need a literal interpretation, but if it's WTF, it would kinda sting. Garland is a tinkerer of technology, a master of atmosphere and slow-burn stories about a few characters, but here he gets too wrapped up in the themes. There’re still a few brilliant directorial ideas, though. (15.05.2018)

I liked it more than the praised Arrival. Of course, it was different in many ways and a more modest film that did not deny its TV origins (unlike other Netflix films I've seen so far), but it had a great atmosphere, it was original, the characters interested me, and I got this pleasantly adventurous feeling of discovering the unknown. (27.12.2018)

The first three quarters are chilling, carefully escalated sci-fi with effective psychological insight and a wonderfully disturbing setting that was a lot of fun to discover. The last 20 minutes or so are a philosophical mindfuck that did not satisfy me at all. Garland is a smart filmmaker who keeps a firm grip on the viewer’s attention and knows how to tighten it with the patient development of each motif or with unsettling violence. It’s a pity that in the end I don’t really know what I should take from this film. Perhaps that it certainly belongs in cinemas, just like the excellent Natalie. Weak 4*. (06.12.2018)

The scene with the human-whining "bear" and a psychopathic recording with the cutting of an abdomen are the best moments in this over-embellished and shapeless sci-fi B movie. The first two thirds still somehow arouse curiosity, but in the end it is drowned in an unsatisfactory mysterious bluff made of strung-together motifs, half of which are completely flat and lead nowhere. The other half are very interesting, but in the end culminates in the meaningless heroine saying, "I don't know". (07.06.2018)

Right at the start of the year, a visually beautiful and original sci-fi film that just proves Netflix is on an incredible rise and has no shortage of innovative approaches. The visuals just blew me away, but so did the ideas the film presents. This is smart sci-fi that wants to say something, and it is beautiful to behold. (18.03.2018)

An altogether likeable compromise between a magnificently heavy yet intimate sci-fi story. What I liked best about it was the gradual escalation of thriller and slight horror elements. On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that much more could have been extracted from such an ambitious subject. In terms of narrative, Annihilation holds quite a lot back, and in the end in particular seems rather disorganized. (09.07.2020)