Simpletons in the critic community are saying this was too smart for mainstream audiences
I have no doubt anyone of below average intelligence can understand this film.
sharei saw in cinema, it was ok, nothing more
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MovieChat Forums > Annihilation (2018) Discussion > Simpletons in the critic community are s...
Yeah, that narrative of it being too complex is nonesense... Any number of sci-fi movies have handled concepts as complex as this... People have no issues either following the story, which is simple, or the themes of the movie...
Especially when you consider that it showed in cinemas in the US and was straight to video internationally... Whereas in Europe, movies that are not plot centric are much more common and accepted than in the US, so why not show it in theatre...
I think it's more the case that the studio execs didn't see the movie as being commercially successful, especially after their notes were rejected (the producer had final cut and sided with the director) and decided to do the straight to Netflix deal to recoup money instead of marketing the movie for a global theatrical release...
what where the notes?
sharei don't know the details, but it seems I was mistaken. the conflict wasn't between the studio and the producers, but rather between one of the producers, Ellison, on one hand and the director Alex Garland and another producer, Rudin, on the other...
Quotes from article:
"The movie, which wrapped shooting in July 2016, had a poor test screening this summer that sources say was the root of the conflict. After the screening, Ellison became concerned that the movie was “too intellectual” and “too complicated,” according to sources, and wanted changes made to make it appeal to a wider audience. They included making Portman’s character more sympathetic as well as tweaking the ending.
Rudin, who executive produced Ex Machina, sided with Garland, defending the movie and refused to take notes. Rudin was able to hold his line, according to a source, because he has final cut."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/annihilation-how-a-clash-between-producers-led-a-netflix-deal-1065465
It seems they wanted Lena to be more easy to identify with and altering the ending, which seems vague... Also changes to give the movie more commercial appeal. Reportedly, Ellison's company didn't want to risk releasing it globally/wide without the changes...
lol pathetic, is that the Ellison woman that looks like a man? She is pathetic.
shareThis is David Ellison. I think you might have confused him with Megan Ellison who has a different production company. Understandable as they are brother and sister, but have different movie production companies.. Their father, Larry Ellison, made his billions in the tech industry.
It seems the movie is as the director intended it to be and that the critics are simply parroting what Ellison said about audiences. It is pathetic that the guy who produced Geostorm denied this movie having a theatrical release internationally... While it is his money, there is just no accounting for taste.. 😂
it was a great film, but it wasn't hard to understand.
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The critic community constantly assumes this, because most of them are arrogant, self-important Hollyweird jerks!
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Agreed. The beauty of not making everything too obvious, is to allow anyone with any intelligence level to have his own interpretation of the story. For example, why did the shark-aligator attack? To some of the audiences with simple mind, it is not even a question - of course it will attack because it is a "Shark-Aligator", it eats people. To most of the audiences, it is because the Shimmer kills intruders as Anya repeatly mentioned. But to audiences with higher intelligence, they see the shark-aligator had a specific target to kill because she is a potential threat. So, let's find out how smart you are: why did the zombie bear attack Cassie? As always, the clue is hidden in the conversation.
sharewho cares? this film is derivative and will be forgotten about in two weeks.
shareIf some audiences are not able to (or don't care to) understand those details, then to them this is not an outstanding sci-fi movie but still a fairly good horror film with mutant shark-aligator, horrific dead body, monster creature, human-shaped plants, cloned husband and faceless alien.
shareVery perceptive! I did not think about that scene that way.
shareThanks. When I watched the movie again I was surprised by the man in charge asking Lena about what happen to Josie Radek first. Which help me noticed that Josie, the physics, was the youngest and the smartest person in the team. During the expedition, Caccie and Anya were like big sisters around her protecting and babysiting her. By the end, I can't help wondering what if Joise wasn't physically targeted and mentally damaged by the aliens, then with her expertise and intellegence, she might be able to crack the Shimmer. On the other hand, her potential had not been neglected by the highly intellegent aliens, which is quite inspiring, specially for the young audiences. In this poster the young physics is standing in the front and the center, is also revealing that she was the hope. I more like this one than the final poster which is falled into individualistic heroism stereotype.
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