Bullet Points: Extinction

Netflix has changed the way that movies are watched in this day and age. You no longer have to walk the aisles of your local movie store, pouring over the shelves full of shit movies to find one suitable enough to take home. I miss those days. I used to use the video store as my “time killer” when I had nothing better to do. I spent way too much time looking at the same collection of movies in the action section and I found all the right spots in the store where it appeared I was looking at something only to be squinting my hardest to see the videos in the “adult” section.

Netflix is a big part of the reason those stores no longer exist, but I’m not all mad at them. They’ve replaced those trips with countless hours of me scrolling through their list of movies that seems to never change. One thing about their selection that I have to respect is that they have taken a big role in bringing those movies that were doomed to fail in theaters to their platform. Going straight to Netflix is almost like the new direct to video. Some are winners….and some are utter crap.

Synopsis: A father has a recurring dream of losing his family. His nightmare turns into reality when the planet is invaded by a force bent on destruction. Fighting for their lives, he comes to realize an unknown strength to keep them safe from harm.

• Need Sleep: Michael Peña really needs to get some sleep. He plays Peter, who lives with his wife and two daughters in a nice building in the middle of some futuristic city. It’s not futuristic in that there are flying cars or anything but it definitely doesn’t look like Chicago. Peter has been having nightmares of an invasion. Is it aliens? Who knows. All you know is that Peter and his wife Alice (Lizzy Caplan) are square in the center of it. The nightmares have gotten worse too. It’s almost as if it’s a warning….

• Close Encounters: It turns out that Peter was right, of course. An invasion is exactly what happens and flying ships start shooting up the city like it’s Independence Day 3! The first thing I noticed was that the invasion force just had somewhat normal weapons. They flew there on some space ship thingys but they must have blown their money on them cause they couldn’t afford to buy the laser guns.
• Let there be light: The pace of the movie picks up pretty good. Once the invasion happens then Peter, Alice, and the remaining survivors are on the run for most of the film. My biggest problem with the action in the movie was how dark it all looked. It was difficult to see what was happening and as much as I wanted to make out what exactly was invading the city, it was nearly impossible to tell what they were.
• They took our jobs:In a twist that was almost Shyamalan-ion, we find out who the genocidal bastards invading this cool city are. Why are they trying to kill Lizzy Caplan? Didn’t they see her in Party Down? Did they not know she is totally willing to get naked on camera? What’s their deal and why are they wearing those weird 1930’s scuba suits? So many questions…if only I could see better.

• Cool suits, man: The invading force looks like rejected suits from the new Aquaman movie. A couple of the scenes remind me of the stormtrooper scenes from the original Star Wars. They just rush into rooms blasting all over the place. There doesn’t seem to be any skill or strategy in their invasion. That gives Peter, Alice, and the rest of the survivors a chance to group up and come up with a plan of their own.
• “Live” to fight another day: It’s not the most exciting way to end your movie, no doubt. If you’re looking at a movie like Extinction to become the new Aliens or Starship Troopers then you are sadly mistaken. The movie isn’t too heavy on the action but it does have a strong message in it that I won’t share with you  because SPOILERS! It felt closer to a War of the Worlds type movie than it did to Independence Day or something in that vein. I like Michael Peña and Lizzy Caplan. I’ve seen them both so many times but not necessarily in something like this.

The Verdict: Extinction wasn’t what I was expecting…in a good way. I like Peña a lot. Even though he’s much different in this movie than in the films that I enjoy him most in, he’s still good and pairing him with the delightful Caplan was a plus. The film is too dark, though. It was hard to see what was going on and some subtle changes to the suits of the invaders could have created a cool visual on screen. I can’t imagine the movie being released in theaters. Maybe that is why it ended up on Netflix. As far as sci-fi movies go, it’s entertaining and short enough to not have to invest too much time into. Will I ever watch it again? Probably not. But it was an enjoyable movie and I would check out a follow up to Extinction if it ever happens.