Director: Gareth Edwards
Stars: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able, Various Squid Monsters
I went into this hoping to see Sigourney Weaver fending off Charlize Theron clones with a flamethrower, but alas. . . The story is about Cthulhu-like aliens that have taken up residence in Mexico, after a NASA probe accidently carrying their spawn crash-lands right next door to the US. Neither the US nor Mexican military can put an end to the reign of terror inflicted by these beasts (who are only slightly larger than elephants, and react negatively to bullets), so the US says "Fuck y'all!" and puts up a big-ass wall along the Mexican border. Cut to six years later: American photojournalist Andrew (Scoot McNairy, looking like a poor man's Josh Pais), taking pictures in Mexico, is then hired by his media mogul boss to transport the boss's daughter, Samantha (Whitney Able as Pixie Cut Barbie), safely back to the US. Everything goes pretty smoothly until they realize that due to an alien migration, the border is on lockdown. The only way back to the US is through the "Infected Zone"(Because they can't take a boat to Florida, or fly out? The "rules" of this world are left unexplained, for the most part).
So, yeah. . . It Happened One Night meets War Of The Worlds. But if you go into this thing expecting tons of alien action, you'll be sorely disappointed. The aliens look great, but the film was made on a budget of half a million dollars, so it's not filled to the brim with Independence Day style carnage. It's mostly a character piece, about the rich girl and the world-weary reporter who learn to love each other (SPOILERS!) despite their differences. The monster scenes are tense, but few and far between.
I knew all of this going in, that it would be a character piece and such, so I wasn't disappointed in the concept. What does disappoint me is that it's a character piece about two characters that I loathe, portrayed by actors of questionable talent. The Paranormal Activity formula, in essence. And while Paranormal Activity was ultimately a thriller, this was set up as a romance, so caring about the characters is essential to your investment.
On the plus side, the movie looks gorgeous, and reminds me of beautiful south-of-the-border road trip movies like Y Tu Mama Tambien and The Motorcycle Diaries. When the leads just shut up and let the scenery talk, it works wonders. True auteur Gareth Edwards acted as director, writer, editor, special fx creator, production designer, cinematographer. . . and most likely did craft services as well. I have to admire his hutzpah, and appreciate his work on a technical level.
But, fatally, the characters are a nightmare of annoyance and stupidity. They look at the ruins of a town; "What happened here?". They hear an unearthly noise in the jungle; "What is that?". Um. . . monsters? The pacing is deadly, and I was bored out of my mind through a lot of unnecessarily dragged out scenes.
I hate to kick a small indie film and first time director, but I will say this; the dude probably has a great movie in him. But this ain't it.
FREDERICK OPINES: BAD
No comments:
Post a Comment