In the name of female gender glorification, ‘Annihilation’ presents illogical garbage disguised as sci-fi


It is perfectly justified when studios are roasted for absurd whitewashing practices

However, all this racial and gender diversification in movies simply to pander to the supersensitive millennials – who take offense to anything and everything –  is just as absurd as Jake Gyllenhaal playing the Prince of Persia

I am all for strong female characters in movies but – and all the feminists will hate me for this – these roles should not be shoved down our collective throats

Especially when it’s blatantly obvious that the primary objective is simply to indulge the “outrage brigade”, without any regards to the actual narrative requirements

While a lot of recent movies are guilty of the aforementioned, Alex Garland’s Annihilation takes the proverbial cake with its strong female ensemble sci-fi drama

https://www

youtube

com/watch?v=89OP78l9oF0 Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s terrifying eco-horror novel of the same name, Annihilation kicks off when an unknown object crashes into a lighthouse on the US coastline

It immediately creates a shimmery bubble around the area that mutates all plant and animal life within it, and more importantly, starts seeping into the outside world, which slowly and gradually starts eroding

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: IMDb[/caption] The government swiftly quarantines the whole place, with only the military given access to the affected zone, now dubbed as ‘The Shimmer’

Numerous Armed Special Forces are then sent in to take stock, but no living creature has managed to emerge alive from the area, with Sergeant Kane (Oscar Isaac) being the only exception

He then succeeds in reaching out to his cellular biologist wife, Lena (Natalie Portman), but without any recollection of his time spent inside ‘The Shimmer’, he promptly falls into a coma

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Paramount Pictures[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: IMDb[/caption] Lena – now determined to find out what has happened to her husband – elects to be recruited by the government along with a psychologist (Jennifer Leigh), a physicist (Tessa Thomspon), an anthropologist (Tuva Novotny), and a paramedic (Gina Rodriguez), to embark upon an expedition into the enigmatic quarantined zone

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Paramount Pictures[/caption] Upon entering Area X, our Bechdel-friendly cast is now part of a realm where vanishing colleagues, deadly animals and co-existing with an ominous otherworldly presence is just another day at work

The rest of the story is spoiler territory

A movie which was primarily made to celebrate strong and intelligent women, ironically ends up making them look like total idiots

The writing, which is supposed to be thought provoking, is at a plane which is beyond all levels of absurd

Garland made a strong impression with his debut feature, Ex Machina, as it was a deeply intellectual movie, which is why a lot of film critics were expecting his second film to follow in the same footsteps

But all you get out of Annihilation is one common sense-defying sequence after the other

The worst part? All of it is done at the expense of the female characters we are meant to cherish

Such instances include a team of female scientists being made to enter a zone from where virtually no one has ever returned, and that too without trained military professionals

I mean, we get it, the girls are all brave and gutsy, but there exists an idea known as sensible planning

Even if they were highly desperate to cast a power filled light on the female stars, they could have at least sent them in with a female army unit

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Paramount Pictures[/caption] Also, who in their right mind decides to traverse a mutated area in the waters and on tiny row boats, immediately after being confronted by a vicious alien alligator? Surprise surprise, our band of foolish leading ladies! [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Paramount Pictures[/caption] The aforementioned instances are just two small examples of logic being totally tossed aside in a supposedly smart sci-fi drama

The whole screenplay is just absurd, as opposed to being intriguing

However, let’s give credit where credit is due, for the film is visually stunning

The production design, covering a vibrant flora and fauna, is somewhat similar to the landscape shown in Avatar

The lead actresses are bearable, and do try their best to make something out of the ridiculous script

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: IMDb[/caption] There are much better movies (Blade Runner, The Arrival, District 9, Minority Report, Ex Machina, and so on) out there if intelligent sci-fi is what you are after

They may or may not pass the Bechdel Test, but at least you will not be missing out on a precious couple of hours of your life wasted on illogical garbage, in the name of female gender glorification



Date:23-Mar-2018 Reference:View Original Link