Colin’s Column: Aliens are ruling the world but not the box offices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Colin Bauer

Staff Writer

“Captive State” (2019)

Cast: John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Machine Gun Kelly

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Synopsis: Set a decade after alien life-forms began to occupy Earth, the conflict between those for and against alien occupancy grows among the people of Chicago. Will citizens stop the aliens or is it already too late to defeat them?

Review:

“Their power – is a poison. Find the courage to resist.” This film is a new take on the apocalyptic thriller with a fresh idea. However, all of the unique concepts are destroyed by the time the film ends. Any attempts to deliver a message to the audience is distorted as the film progresses. That being said, the movie features a great story, mediocre performances, weak pacing and horrid visual effects.

In the beginning, the story and concept of the film instantly grab the audience’s attention, bypassing the process of aliens taking over Earth. Instead, they are already occupying the planet and humans must live among them, under their rule. This alien reign creates two sides of conflict among people: those supporting alien occupancy and those against it.

Much like 2019’s “Alita: Battle Angel” the picture opts for an audience that favors a character-driven plot rather than societal frameworks and how different life forms could coexist. Even just a taste of how this could happen would make “Captive State” a more interesting film.

Aside from John Goodman’s exceptional performance as a troubled cop searching for the truth behind the occupancy, the actors aren’t memorable. No one truly steals the spotlight and none of the actors connect with one another. Even Vera Farmiga (2013’s “The Conjuring”) doesn’t give much emotional depth to her small appearance. That’s not to say the roles aren’t well-casted. Rather, the actors feel disconnected from the script and choose to simply say the words on the page instead of living in the moment of the scene.

The pacing of this film is similar to stop-and-go traffic. Points of this movie are fast, exciting and thrilling but a vast majority of the film is also slow and drawn out. This is the effect of staying with the interpersonal conflict throughout the majority of the film. The action often stops in order to allow the audience to connect with the characters. While including interpersonal conflict isn’t necessarily bad, it impacts the audience’s attention span and the storyline.

The worst part of the entire film is the visual effects. The aliens in this film appear to be a rejected idea for one of the first “Resident Evil” video games and they haven’t aged well. Their “ships” look as if they were placed in front of a green screen and never cleaned up in post-production. Granted the effects are not used throughout the entire picture, however, when they are shown, they take the audience out of the world they are viewing.

Audiences may feel like they’re in a captive state while watching this film. While it could be an entertaining two hours when looking past its narrative problems, it may also be deemed a bore-fest, leaving audiences to check their watches to realize there is still another 45 minutes to go.

SCORE: 5/10