Extinction – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
Extinction screams start of a franchise or series. For all it does is lay the foundation for a further development. Question is, is it something worth seeing? Director(s) Ben Young Screenplay By Spenser Cohen, Brad Caleb Kane Date Released 7/27/2018 Genre(s) Sci-Fi, Action Good If You Like Sci-Fi Movies Focused on Escaping a Threat Sci-Fi…
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Extinction screams start of a franchise or series. For all it does is lay the foundation for a further development. Question is, is it something worth seeing?
| Director(s) | Ben Young | |
| Screenplay By | Spenser Cohen, Brad Caleb Kane | |
| Date Released | 7/27/2018 | |
| Genre(s) | Sci-Fi, Action | |
| Good If You Like | Sci-Fi Movies Focused on Escaping a Threat
Sci-Fi Films which have a heavy focus on family Movies that have a twist Having some difficulty choosing who is really the villain |
|
| Noted Actors | ||
| Peter | Michael Peña | |
| Alice | Lizzy Caplan | |
| David | Mike Colter | |
| Miles | Israel Broussard | |
| Hanna | Amelia Crouch | |
| Lucy | Erica Tremblay | |
Summary
Sometime in the future, a man named Peter finds himself getting a series of vivid nightmares. Ones in which aliens invade the planet, destroy parts of the city, and massacre a lot of the population. These dreams haunt him for days, weeks, it may have even been months. Leading to many saying he should seek help but he finds himself avoiding doing so. Which, as his visions come true, may end up being the one thing which saves him and his family.
Highlights
It Seems Like a TV-Movie Pilot
We’re left with a bit of an ellipsis when it comes to how this film ends but everything before it sets things up for a series. Whether we are talking about the truth behind who the aliens are, what Peter and his family are, much less David, Peter’s boss, role in all this. This movie gives us the gist, enough to be a bit open-ended, maybe even stand alone, but there is definitely potential for this to continue if this is a hit for Netflix.
The Twist
The main thing to note about the twist is that it leaves you questioning who is the villain and who should you root for? Should it be Peter and his family or this alien named Miles? Who is in the right or is the whole situation too complicated to use a binary like right and wrong? Also, taking into consideration people like David, could it be they are the villains of this scenario and everyone else were just followers?
Heck, could this be an invasion in an isolated area or is this around the world? Again, there are so many questions left unanswered that make you feel this could get a sequel or become a mini-series.
Establishing the Family
In the “Genre Roundtable,” by The Hollywood Reporter, it is noted that the best Sci-Fi or Horror has a sub-genre to it. Something which gives it a certain oomph so that it avoids the usual archetypes or expectations. For Extinction, that would be the family element. Through watching Peter bond with his daughters, seeing Alice worry about him, and how Alice isn’t a woman trapped in the apartment who is a straight up damsel, you come to like this family. Thus making it when the twist is presented, it adds a layer of complication to everything.
On The Fence
Lucy Is That Annoying Child You Wish Got Killed Off
Peter and Alice have two children, Hanna and Lucy. For the most part, while Hanna gets moody and makes you want to roll your eyes, she is okay. Lucy, on the other hand, she is the kid who always finds a way to put herself in harm’s way. You know, the kid who ends up being the reason someone dies, or nearly dies. Which, you kind of want to excuse since bullets are flying all over the place, people are dying, and one alien decides to just look at her. Yet, at the same time, the fact Alice and Peter don’t yell or flip out, thus giving you a cathartic release, leaves a bit of pent-up rage.
Overall: Positive (Worth Seeing)
Will Extinction overwhelm you with quality and its story? No. However, considering how iffy Netflix movies are, and the sci-fi genre in general nowadays, this seems pretty good in comparison. Yes, it does set up future entries in a way that can be frustrating. Also, it has an annoying kid whose main purpose seems to be causing life or death situations. Yet, thanks to Caplan and Peña, you’ll likely find yourself enjoying their fight for survival and the complications which come from the twist.
Hence the positive label. Though Extinction isn’t the best anything, whether we are talking about movies or films in its genre, it makes you like it enough, or rather leaves you intrigued enough, to want more. Something very films seem capable to do nowadays, especially if they are clearly setup for sequels.
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