'ANNIHILATION'......DNA CAN YOU SEE, BY THE DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT......

Annihilation (2018)     The fate we predict for this movie............it'll stay forgotten for decades before it's rediscovered and hailed as some kind of fractured, sci-fi masterpiece........

            The rampaging, reptilian film and theater producer Scott Rudin stood his ground and wouldn't bow to Paramount's demand to make this movie more touchy-feely audience friendly........

            Fat chance that would even remotely work.   This movie's as cold, austere and remote as one of Jupiter's moons.......and in its still-life pace and adamant refusal to explain its many mysteries, the film most resembles those strange, arid Russian sci-fi epics, "Solaris" and "Stalker".........

            So the film went out into theaters trying to find an audience that doesn't exist.......mass quantities of people who'd jam into the multiplex to watch intelligent, art-house sci-fi/horror.  Yeh, good luck with that.

            The story itself?  A jumbled mish-mash of "2001", John Carpenter's "The Thing", "Alien" and "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers".

            Some of it even reminded us of Ivan Reitman's stupid 2001 summer comedy "Evolution", a sci-fi version of 'Ghostbusters........with dopey characters battling a rapidly evolving array of alien life forms.......

            'Annihilation'  unfolds like 'Evolution' if it had been directed by Terence Malick. Or maybe Michaelangelo Antonioni.......

             Everything in it looks maddeningly familiar to every sci-fi movie you've seen.......yet the film maintains its very own personal, introverted, weird vibe.  And it never compromises itself to beg for your favor with wham-bam action tropes and pseudo snarky one liners from its cast.

             We seriously hate describing plots of movies......but here's a quick stab at it. Five brave female scientists explore a chunk of coastal real estate overtaken by what they dub 'The Shimmer'.....a pulsating alien atmosphere that's settled down on the environment.

             The Shimmer, whatever the hell it is, acts like a warped funhouse mirror on the DNA structure of the surrounding flora and fauna......corrupting, twisting and blending plant and animal life into all new Shimmer-ized mutations.

              In other words, a massive bummer for anyone who stops in for a picnic or a stroll.........

              To nobody's surprise, horror, gore and death quickly ensue.......and at this point the film wisely centers on its star, Natalie Portman, who bows to no one in her ability to play a deer caught in the headlights......or in the sights of monsters who can mimic the screams of their dead victims.

               No popcorn munching here.......if you're up for a challenging, sometimes confounding two hours, then by all means submit yourself to "Annihilation"....(but if your idea of sci-fi is confined to the noise and fun of 'Star Wars' and the Marvel Universe, don't even dream of going near this one....)

               Since we doubt we'll live long enough to see this movie re-examined and newly heralded for its dazzling imagery and its refusal to ask for anyone's admiration or understanding we'll jump the gun right now and hurl out 3 & 1/2 stars (*** 1/2)   Given its chilly reception, we can safely guarantee a balmy day on Jupiter's moons before a studio ever pumps out something like this again.....