Netflix hasn’t had much success in the science fiction genre. But they’re set to break the jinx with Extinction.
Extinction is arguably one of the best science fiction movies of 2018. And what set the film apart is the mix of thrill, suspense, and of course aliens.
Like most science fiction movies, aliens invaded the earth, and you’d see sporadic shooting and bombing of civilians in the film.
Here’s a review of Netflix’s Extinction.
Extinction — The Story
Undoubtedly, there will be spoilers for the entire movie.
The lead actors Michael Pena (as Peter), and Lizzy Caplan (as Alice) starred as a couple with two daughters Lilly Aspell (as Lucy) and Amelia Crouch (as Hanna). The first thirty minutes of the movie seems somewhat dull as you’d see Peter and Alice struggle with their work-life balance and the stress of raising two healthy daughters.
Their life becomes more complicated with the regular nightmares Peter was experiencing. Unknown to him, these nightmares were visions of what is to happen. The discomfort was mounting, prompting Peter to visit a psychiatric clinic for a checkup. Things became pretty weird at the clinic when he discovered another patient who was experiencing similar nightmares.
The encounter reinforced his belief as he presumes that the nightmares are not ordinary, but visions of the future. Now you may be wondering what this nightmare is all about…
The recurring nightmare was somewhat strange, horrifying, and scary. It scared the hell out of Peter, the lead character and caused tension in his marriage. At work, Peter was unable to focus which also affected his performance.
In his nightmare, Peter experience a kind of alien-like invasion and the earth were confronted by an unknown enemy.
As the viewer, you’d enjoy these nightmares — and it would keep you alert and make you wonder… What’s next?
At first, you may count the movie off and keep it in the list of not-too-good science fiction movies. However, on close inspection of this adventure, you’d come to love it, enjoy, and go with the mix flow of thrill, adventure, suspense, and surprises that comes with the movie.
After about 30-minutes, you’d experience the ultimate fun of a science fiction movie. At this point, you’d see spaceships making their way into the earth. And at the same time, significant damage was caused which resulted in a sporadic movement and chaos on earth.
Due to the sporadic shooting and the aura of confusion in the neighborhood, Peter and Alice used a barrier to stall off possible intrusion into their apartment. However, the barrier was not effective as a soldier in armor made his way into their apartment.
In a series of events, the soldier found Lucy hiding under a table. And as the alien soldier stopped to examine the little girl, Peter and Alice immobilized the soldier.
Fully armed with a good weapon from the soldier, Peter led his family out of the building. And this is the starting point of the never-ending journey of survival in the movie.
With the night visions still fresh in his mind, Peter was able to use it as a traveling compass to guide his family into a factory.
As you watch the movie, you’d see a mix of combat, science, flashback, and whole lots of exciting events to spice up the film. The journey to the factory is long and hard. And the family had to travel through a secure tunnel if they’re to reach their destination.
In the process, Alice is severely injured, her death is inevitable — until the alien soldier from his apartment reemerged. Surprisingly, the soldier removed his helmet to reveal his human-like appearance.
The creators may purposely introduce this twist to spice up the movie. Or it’s designed to keep the audience engaged.
En-route to the factory, Peter also met David, his boss. David explained that the invasion had been expected to take place for several years. Therefore, the recent chaos is not a surprise – they are pretty much aware that an invasion would take place.
What’s more, the captured alien soldier revealed that he could save Alice which further adds more spectacle to the movie. Peter remained with the soldier to save his wife while David left with his men and two daughters to an offshore site for safety.
Throughout the movie, the producers and directors tried to add a little twist here and there. And one way they did that it is by bringing in a bit of surprise to “wow” the audience.
This strategy is seen throughout the movie, and in this scene, they pulled the same trick by revealing the synthetic nature of Alice. To the surprise of the Peter, the captured alien soldier revealed that his wife was a synthetic (A.I).
Furthermore, more surprises were revealed when Peter discovered that he was also synthetic. And by a series of connections, the soldier connected Peter to his wife – that’s the only way they could save her life.
When connected to his wife, Peter passed out and during this period; he discovered that his nightmares (and visions) were not just dreams or illusion. Instead, it was memories of past wars and previous things that happened in his life.
Here’s the thing. Humans lived together with androids (synthetic beings), and things got pretty tensed up. Due to the fear of synthetics, the military attacked unarmed androids. This action led to a counterattack by the synthetics. Eventually, humans were forced out of the planet by the androids.
With such war and bloodshed, the androids wiped their memory – an action that helped them to deal with the guilt of their actions. However, wiping their memories meant that they wouldn’t be able to remember their past and history.
On recovery, the alien soldier Miles explained that humans have been living in Mars for 50 years — their rivals (humans) have families and are pretty much not evil monsters like he had imagined.
Peter and Alice part with Miles as they reunite with their daughters and his Boss. By this time, the humans had breached the factory roof. David explained that some androids had kept their memories in preparation for the invasion by humans. But Peter maintained that humans and androids would one day be at peace with one another.
Extinction — What You Need To Know
Extinction made its way to the public when it was released on Netflix on 27 July 2018. Netflix acquired the movie from Universal Pictures — the film was slated to be released earlier by the company on January 2018 but was pulled off from the schedule.
Although Extinction seems to be a good movie, it’s pretty much like any other science fiction movie you’d find out there. The lead characters did a fantastic job in executing excellent delivery for their role. Peter adjusted well as a distracted family man who was going through rough times.
Watching the lead character play this role is fun. And you would come to admire the ingenuity with which he delivered on a task that seems dull and uninteresting. Alice, on the other hand, delivered excellently as a supportive wife who was also passing through subtle challenges — if you’re not careful, you may not pick up on this.
Furthermore, their two daughters delivered well by showcasing the ideal family kids with varying personalities.
Before you could get really bored, the stacks got raised as the Peter character starts having visions. By watching the movie, you’d realize that the filmmakers did a perfect job of adding several twists in the film. This provides some bits of uncertainty and fun.
Slowly but surely, the true story of the movie emerged as Peter’s vision came true when human aliens invaded the earth. One thing that seems to be repeated is the maneuvering techniques used in the movie.
Almost every science fiction movie seem to have it — where some select characters keep running and hiding from the evil aliens. Extinction is not an exception to the typical hide and seeks adventure in the science fiction genre — if you’d want to experience suspense, thrill, and all forms of an adrenaline rush, then extinction is for you.
With the arrival of aliens and sporadic shooting, Peter led his family to escape from their apartment. Again, this reflects the typical hide and escape narrative obtainable in several science fiction movies.
The regular twist seen in the movie reflects the creativity and expertise of the filmmakers. They’ve got a unique approach used to change the narrative of the film which changes the entire story and everything you imagined beforehand.
In a nutshell
Extinction raises some thoughtful questions we may need to consider.
What if there are other intelligent species in the universe?
Although we may not have answers to these questions, it’s pretty much essential that we prepare for a possible alien invasion. Extinction does not just provide an exciting storyline with a twist of suspense and thrill, but it gives a platform for us all to re-imagine our stay on earth and possibly prepare for the unknown.
In an era of Artificial intelligence, technological evolution, and lots of development, the future is uncertain, and humans may be in for the unknown.
Extinction is arguably the only Netflix science fiction show you’d have to watch again and again without losing an iota of fun and enthusiasm.
This article reflects the opinion of the freelancer who wrote this.
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