Review of 'Extinction'

extinction.jpg Peter (Michael Peña), is a father who has a reoccurring dream of an invasion that results in the loss of his family, Alice (Lizzy Caplan) and two children. Haunted by this his boss encourages him to visit a clinic for psychiatric help but while there another patient seems to share the same visions which suggests they may be a prophesy rather than psychosis. Later that day this proves to be the case as the city is attacked by spaceships, forcing Peter and his family to flee their apartment, seeking shelter at Peter's factory but soon they will understand the truth of their existence, a truth more painful than the battle unfolding around them.

An interesting, light, SF action flick with a somewhat predictable plot twist half way through. The action sequences are quite well done and the special effects are also quite good but the story depth is what lacks here as well as any really compelling characters. The two children spend much of the time whining or putting themselves in harm's way while Alice has little to do with anything. As Peter, Michael Peña is a soft-spoken no-body who is mostly just confused, though takes a bizarre turn as a hero in the later sequences, a turn that never really convinces. Even the suspense of “how will they get out of this” at the end is somewhat anti-climactic with the viewer not really bothered either way. It ends up being a robot/synth vs human story.

To be honest, I had to go back to read the synopsis of the film having only just seen it which testifies to just how memorable this film actually is. Fun while it lasts but not much more than that. This feels much more like a television special than a big-screen film with the lightness of plot, and character that generally entails, so, a somewhat disappointing offering from Netflix.

Rating: “A bit better than average”

Review Date: 2020-06-28


Directed by: Ben Young

Studio: Good Universe

Year: 2018

Length: 95 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3201640/