Synopsis: Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on both sides of the conflict - the collaborators and the dissidents.
Runtime: 109 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief language, and drug material)
Who should see it? Fans of apocalyptic sci-fi and alien invasion films.
Directed by Rupert Wyatt and written by Wyatt and Erica Beeney, Captive State is Wyatt's first sci-fi flick since Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Wyatt successfully revitalized the Apes franchise eight years ago, but his efforts here yield mixed results. The idea behind Captive State is actually quite intriguing as Wyatt and Beeney have a strong premise with plenty of unique sci-fi concepts, but it all becomes muddled in execution mostly due to convoluted storytelling.
Conceptually, Captive State offers an exciting spin on alien invasion stories by setting itself a decade after the first contact. At this point, aliens have already integrated themselves into our society as our "legislators," closely monitoring the citizens of Earth with a Big Brother mentality. The invasion's over, but the human uprising against these alien overlords has just begun. Wyatt is more interested in the ideology behind rebellion than the humans leading it though, so characterization is tenuous at best. However, Wyatt excels at building atmospheric tension (huge credit to Rob Simonsen's score), the visual effects are first-rate, and the alien designs stand apart from what's come before.
The narrative is where everything unravels. Sequences of events are forced together to paint a broad picture of rebellion, but the supposed protagonist is absent for much of the action, so there's very little connective tissue. A prime example of this occurs maybe thirty minutes into the film. Suddenly, the audience abandons the protagonist for an absurd amount of time to watch a group of mostly unfamiliar rebels enacts a scheme. These characters are painted in broad strokes and introduced very quickly, so as an audience member you're left confused about the subplot's relevance to the overarching story. It makes sense later on, but I couldn't shake off the clunky exchange.
Light characterization aside, the performances across the board are sufficient. Ashton Sanders and John Goodman are both under-utilized as leads, but provide high-caliber performances when all is said and done. Meanwhile, Jonathan Majors, Vera Farmiga, and Kevin Dunn bode well in the ranks of the supporting cast. It's just a shame these actors weren't provided any substantial material to sink their teeth into because that could have easily elevated my interest in the onscreen affairs. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and I wasn't invested in the story or characters as a result.
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