Synopsis:
Ben Young directed Extinction, which debuted on Netflix in 2018. The film was co-written by Spenser Cohen, Brad Kane, and Eric Heisserer. It is an action thriller in the realm of science fiction. It tackles the topics of memory, identity, war, and the essence of humanity, all in a story that builds toward a twist which defies genre classification. An initial simple alien invasion is story is turned upside down and the movie explores the deeper concepts of humanity and empathy.
The movie revolves around a character named Peter, played by Michael Peña, who is a factory worker and part of a family living in a sprawling, futuristic city. Peter is beset by alien invasion nightmares. He suffers from the sequela of an alien invasion and a riling and grappling death on the sky visions. He is mysteriously plagued by nightmares that deeply concern his wife Alice, who is portrayed by Lizzy Caplan, and their two daughters, because they believe Peter’s visions are warning premonitions.
His worsening paranoia prompts Peter to seek psychiatric help after what seems to be a breakdown at work. He, along with other people, seems to be having the same recurring dreams. Just as he begins to piece together his chilling visions, a full-blown assault on the city begins. Civilians are under attack as the street is rocked with explosions, buildings are crumbling, and soldiers are flying down and attacking jawlessly.
Peter is now in the middle of the chaos, his new responsibility is to now protect his family and navigate them through the city. Survivors are being chased down by armed soldiers in armored suits and masks. Using the knowledge gained from his visions, Peter is eerily accurate in avoiding danger, but he is still left with so many questions: who are the invading soldiers? Why are they attacking family units?
While avoiding the onslaught, Peter and his family are forced to confront one of the masked soldiers. The family is caught, but Peter is able to overpower them. Instead of killing them, he removes the helmet and the strange face is finally revealed. They are not aliens, but instead, the rest of the world. The twist is beyond shocking and is a complete flip to what everyone is expecting.
Peter, Alice, and others of their kind are not humans; they are “synthetics” — androids of advanced technology who won a war against humanity several decades prior. After the defeat of humankind, the synthetics chose to erase their memories, opting to live peacefully without the war and their origins. Humanity, exiled for many years, has now returned to earth to reclaim it.
Peter’s nightmares were not visions of the future — they were a self suppressed memories of the past. As he begins to remember, the nightmares become far more vivid, and the reality of his awakening begins to set in. Because of this, his awakening shrinks the ethical and emotional boundaries of his reality. In his mind, he is the one protecting his family from the “invaders.” In truth, he is the one who is protecting them from the very species they replaced. Regardless, the factors of humanity versus synthetic being blend into a fog as deep as emotions, relationships, and personal decisions.
In the last moments of the film, there is a shift in the narrative. The focus now pivots to the themes of hope for existence rather than extinction, suggesting the coexistence of humanity and synthetics. However, reprisal remains at the forefront as the synthetics claim their identity as “humans.” The duality of the existence of a “synthetic” and a “real” human, as well as the blurring of humanity towards emotions, relationships and decisions become the backbone of the last part of the film.
Cast & Characters:
Michael Peña as Peter
Peña as Peter in a sci-fi action film leads and plays a role that merges fragility, strength, and emotional richness. Peña sairs a pivotal role as a “visionary” in a film that centers on both “sight and the heavy burden of truth.”
Lizzy Caplan as Alice
Caplan plays the role of Peter’s wife who evolves from a doubting partner into a protective spouse. Her emotional growth, particularly in relation to her identity reawakening, balances the film’s humanity against its machine-like characters.
Amelia Crouch & Erica Tremblay as Peter’s daughters
These younger actresses enhance the story’s emotional depth with their warm performances.
Israel Broussard as Miles, a young human soldier
His interactions with Peter and Alice add moral ambiguity into the story. He might be seen as a blunt “enemy” but alongside Peter and Alice, who are filled with love and empathy, he begins to profoundly question the mission he is supposed to carry out.
Mike Colter as David
A pivotal supporting character in the film as David is a close friend of Peter’s who later defends the synthetics’ existence and their way of life.
Direction & Visual Style:
Watching Extinction directed by Ben Young, one could say that the first half of the movie grabs the attention of the audience by the unraveling of the suspenseful intricacies of a mysterious story layered with psychological tension, slowly turning towards a more action-filled, sci-fi style of movie. While the budget is moderate compared to major studio blockbusters, the film makes effective use of its resources. The visuals of the city under siege, the sleek futuristic designs, and the armored human soldiers are reminiscent of classic dystopian science fiction.
For this movie, the use of muted colors along with grays, blues, and metals provides the perfect reflection of the cold and emotionally repressed society in which the synthetics inhabit. The flashbacks, as well as the memories, are edited in a sync that is frenetic and glitchy, emitting the reoccurring idea of identity being fractured.
Writing & Story Structure:
One of the most impressive and strongest aspects of the movie ‘Extinction’ is the plot twist. For instance, the beginning of the movie where it seems to be a family story and they are surviving an alien attack is soon shattered by the fact that a character and ‘his kind’ are indeed not human. The movie indeed makes a full circle dawn of iterating every little detail for an audience to pay attention to. The audience is not polarized by the moral built of the movie, they are invited to appreciate the different angles and perspectives of it.
This film analyzed the consequences of denial, the price of tranquility, and human nature. The synthetics decided that the violent history of their people would not grant them peace, but deep down, they were aware that the harsh truth had its own necessity. The “machines” being more humane than the “humans” returning to Earth is what makes this story impactful— the opposite of the standard science fiction storyline.
Peter and Alice, the main characters, have quite a bit of development. The rest of the cast, unfortunately, along with the dialogue, is quite lackluster. The plot has quite a few loose ends too. It is never explained how the synthetics maintained a societal infrastructure or why humans decided to return Earth at that time.
Reception and Ratings:
Extinction’s imdb rating of 5.8 is a reflection of a film with harsh criticism and mixed acceptance. Viewers had a split opinion on the movie, some heavily criticized the pacing, world-building, and cliché story at the start while others praised the philosophical elements and unexpected twist.
While many loved the unexpected twist, others were not quite as impressed. The biggest criticism seemed to center around its lack of depth, or, to put it another way, its failure to grapple with the necessary ramifications of its premise. It is a heavily criticized film, admired for its “thinking” sci-fi qualities and compared with other films such as “Blade Runner,” “I, Robot,” and “Battlestar Galactica,” but the consensus seemed to agree it lacked those films’ complexity.
The film’s niche popularity grew on Netflix as it took advantage of the streaming platform’s tendency to promote mid-budget science fiction films which are rarely shown in cinemas.
Themes and Analysis:
Defining the Human Condition:
The Humans synthetics seem to display love, fear, empathy, and loyalty while the humans display barbarous militaristic and vengeful traits. This reversal challenges the question of whether humanity is defined by one’s biology or by behaviour.
Identity Forms through Memories:
The film expresses the perspective that memories, whether painful or joyful, are integral to one’s identity. In the case of the synthetics, their attempt to suppress memories made them midway incomplete or vulnerable, and thus, a fraction of their identity.
Perpetual Conflict:
The historical war between humans and synthetics in the film mirrors real-world conflicts fueled by fear of the ‘other.’ This film critiques the concept that war ever truly ceases to exist if their underlying, unaddressed, reasoning persists.
Empathy as Evolution:
Alice and Peter’s ability to love and protect each other is the emotional heart of the film. The destruction wrought by humanity suggests emotional maturation is still possible, highlighting the synthetics’ evolved emotional intelligence alongside their desire for peace.
Conclusion
Though the film is at times predictable, the surprising climax along with its deeper themes makes Extinction a film that captures the imagination. It is a film that ponders on what it truly means to be human, exploring this idea with a powerful twist.
Along with the thought-provoking twist, the film also gives the audience something to ponder upon. It is powerful in its subtle messaging, fueled by an emotional performance from Michael Peña. Although the film doesn’t stand at the same pedestal as other iconic works in the science fiction genre, it is a film that definitely ranks as an underrated gem in Netflix’s catalog.
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