Aniquilação

A cena com o «urso» a ganir como um humano e as imagens psicopatas do corte do ventre são os principais momentos deste filme B de ficção científica, que para os dois primeiros terços ainda desperta de alguma forma a curiosidade, mas acaba por cair numa insatisfatória treta misteriosa que mistura os motivos, metade dos quais são completamente planos e não vão a lado nenhum, e a outra metade, embora interessante em muitos aspetos, culmina na inarticulação de «não sei» da heroína no final. (07/06/2018)

Uma versão mais académica de Veio do Outro Mundo na floresta verde (e na praia). Um tema inicialmente mainstream com um ligeiro tom do filme B, mas ideias interessantes, culminando num encontro íntimo nunca antes visto da terceira espécie, fascinante na sua fantasia de longo alcance e necessidade provocadora de encontrar na sua maravilha o maior número possível de respostas. A cena final é um regresso às regras do género, mas funciona de forma deliciosa. Garland não é um hitmaker, é um criador de ficção científica hard-core. O Primeiro Encontro era sobre a relatividade da perceção do tempo, Aniquilação é sobre a relatividade das formas de vida biológica. Completamente diferente, mas em ambos os casos brilhante, ambicioso em conteúdo, e ficção científica inovadora. (24/12/2018)

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)

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)