Unwilling to contradict us in terms of the quality of its cinematic content, Netflix continues to lock itself into bad thrillers. Extinction is no exception, and navigates between amorphous sci-fi and lazy thriller; A regrettable fate for a scenario that deserved more attention.
Already the trailer presents Extinction as an ultra-classic science fiction movie, punctuated by alien shots and races through cities that are falling into ruin. Unfortunately the first hour of film reinforces us in this idea, as the scenario follows the usual patterns of the sci-fi action movie; Peter, a family man who is absent to say the least, has visions of alien invasion, which will, in a rather slow pace, eventually come true. Then follow the clichĂ©s of the genre, chase, hide-and-seek and company; Until then, we wonder why make yet another disaster film on the subject. Ben Young (director of Love Hunters released in 2016) seems to wallow with ease in the simplicity of the dialogues and characters, and puts everything on a twist that, because of this scripted laziness of the first moments, falls flat.Â
Extinction begins and ends like an episode of Desperate Housewives : in voice-over, we are told universal truths, about characters that we do not yet know, but who must therefore resemble us. And yet when you enter Peter's family, empathy is not there. Poorly developed characters, without personality, unbearable young girls who will only know how to cry and scream throughout the film, Ben Young struggles to make his family endearing. The actors are as well treated by the insipid scenario as by the alien shots. If the cast could have been attractive (Michael Pena and Lizzy Caplan, who we saw respectively in Ant-Man and Elusive 2), the direction of actor and the very average supporting roles make us very quickly leave the film.Â
Very limited financially, Ben Young still tried to include special effects that, even if very basic, are not really successful either. Between the improbable explosions and the shots of light, the director focuses on what is more complicated to do, while a simpler photography would surely have allowed a greater proximity with the characters; Everything that happens to them slides on us without touching us, since what catches our attention is, in the end, more this madness of the greatness of the fights than their emotions and their way of feeling the whole situation. Between the overplayed panic of the two girls and the absurd tranquility of Peter who himself does not seem to believe in this film, the spectator swims and contemplates with coldness and distance the most horrible scenes.
We must still recognize the film a last half hour above the rest, where we finally discover more about this family and what happens to them; Extinction only manages to find its rhythm in revelation, and therefore never takes us beyond boredom and disarray. The dead fly over us and never reach our interest or our compassion.
Minutes go by, and nothing ties us to the family of Ben Young's film; Extinction turns out to be yet another film that brings nothing to the genre, and that delights in a disconcerting ease. We hope that the director will be able to regain his audacity so as not to die out in turn. In the meantime, if you still want to find out, Extinction is available since July 11 on Netflix.
Ben Young Extinction trailer:
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