MovieChat Forums > Annihilation (2018) Discussion > brain dead scientists? (spoilers)

brain dead scientists? (spoilers)

posted 7 years ago by [deleted]
18 replies | jump to latest

"dum de dum.... after a year of study and many troops lost, we have learned nothing. I have an idea! Let's just WALTZ into this thing to figure it out. What's that? Yeah, we have no idea why no one returns, but let's NOT use any sort of space suit protection, let's touch all the plant life, an not be concerned with where those 6 missing days went. Let's bring military weapons, but not their tactics. We'll just wander blindly into broken down buildings where all the rest lost their lives, WITHOUT holding guns at ready or clearing the way. We'll station a single guard on the ground, at night, even though there is a solid 4 story tall watch tower with only one way up it. OH! And when we discover a plant/vine mingled with a dead guy's mangled body, let's pick at it with our bares hands. Above all, let's NOT waste time going into it with a WIRED communications system, and maybe security rope, and come back out real quick and get tested... no no no... we're SCIENTISTS! We are way to smart for all that."

[–] Blackbeard (153) 7 years ago

Wow, for someone who hates this movie so much, you sure are putting a lot of time and effort constantly posting about it. What a pathetic life you must have! Maybe try going outside to get some fresh air, or get a hobby or something...

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Jesus, why do you people have to get so personal? Think about how this movie is brain dead....

I'm trying to PREVENT others from falling for the fake reviews like I did.

(all said without resorting to personal insults)

and I'm sorry the movie you worked on is a POS. but it is. and not just to me:

https://www.cinemascore.com/

[–] SlackerInc (1101) 7 years ago

I got lured in by the reviews too. Hard to understand what the critics got so excited about.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

yup. the internet is destroying critical reviews. cant trust anything anymore.

THANKS MOVIE INDUSTRY!!! By paying for reviews where everyone calls everything a "Masterpiece", I now know to NOT trust anyone saying anything. You will be seeing WAY LESS of my money in tickets from now on....

... and I was one of your last, dedicated theater supporters. See what you made me do?

[–] AdamB (5) 7 years ago

Well said. Had to keep from yelling at the TV when I saw the movie.
Just another brain dead script trying to masquerade as artsy and deep.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

My thoughts exactly.

I love the movie anyway.

[–] Renovatio (2990) 7 years ago

Like Prometheus before it, this is not a literalist movie... They don't want to waste effort to deal with such pedantic nitpickery...

Do you really want them to spend 30 minutes of exposition, trying to use wired comms and having it fail... Trying to use space suits and having them be ineffective, explaining various military tactics and having them fail, etc...?

I'm sure even then people will find nits to pick... Why not just go with the flow? It's a movie, not a documentary or a process oriented TV show like CSI... By not wasting time with this stuff the filmmaker is telling you that that is not what the movie is about... That it's the themes of the movie that he wants to address instead... It's like when in a thriller like Rope, Hitchcock shows us in the first scene who the killers are, he's telling us that that is not the point of the movie...

Anyway, it's not a masterpeice, but not a bad movie either... The critics are enamoured with anying Netflix/Streaming/Technology... Either by being dorks or being coopted as these are the new big industries... I ignore most of them anyway, especially for ratings and such... i don't do ratings.... The only reviews i read are from a handfull of critics who can write well and are knowledgable about cinema... I read those sometimes AFTER i have watched the movie... I don't do consumer reports for film, art is not to be treated as just consumerism...

In our current social media culture, everything is a masterpeice, or a desaster... Offensive or empowering... There is no space for nuance, nor for context... I hope that at least on these message boards we can try to bring these two things back... Some filmmakers, like Garland and others are still trying to do this...

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

yeah, no. There is much fail here, and I DO wish I had read a LOT MORE realistic posts from people, not critics, not shills, and other people who think this is great.
Did you notice the guy here exclaiming over and over AND OVER that THIS is a "masterpiece"?? It's not even rewatchable as a bad B movie. Sure, everyone has their tastes, but this even failed at cinemascore.

This movie set it self up as something >>I<< should have loved - thus, I ran out and saw it asap - instead, I got your basic "filmed in a nearby park" INDIE style flick, that WASN'T deep, WASN'T pretty and strange, and felt more like THE VIEW doing a Sci-Fi parody with very little science fiction in it at all.

I'm not that nit picky, and enjoy checking my brain out at the door for many films, but this.... this was just insulting.

A missed opportunity for sure. ONE GUY'S OPINION, on the internet, of course. :)

Not a big fan of ARRIVAL, but I felt at least it did something interesting.

[–] johnmiller (3889) 7 years ago

Lots of sci-fi movies have "scientists" that do stupid stuff. Yeah, they shouldn't be, but it seems to be almost a tradition in screenwriting.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

True true, epsiecally lately. I recall older films where the science people were smart, but still, random weird things happen to them that they had to deal with. Here, they STARTED with stupid.

Like: what was the point of the 6 days lost up front? Why even bother mentioning it if it doesn't affect the story at all? OOOhh weir spooky! Would have been way BETTER if they circled back to that action having some sort of meaning or point. :P

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

You just basically summed up everything I thought!

[–] TTech (67) 7 years ago

exactly right, my thoughts too. And those of you rationalizing the retarded scientist's actions by "its not literal dur" or stupid excuses like that, IT DOESNT MATTER if it is or not. Its not mutually exclusive. Good directors make movies that can make sense on all levels and have smart scientists and still be multilayered and deep not swap one for another like this so so stupid turd of a movie or Prometheus(which at least has some redeeming qualities).

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

^^ This. I've seen PLENTY of GOOD movies where the scientists are very smart, and bad things STILL Happen to them to make an interesting movie. This was just $#!t, no turd polishing is going to help it.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 7 years ago

You make some excellent points, gjb. The whole "single guard on the ground" was especially stupid. But then in most movies like this, somebody has to do something really stupid to advance the plot.

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