Annihilation Movie Premiere and Review
Last week I experienced a first, which is kind of odd given my proximity to Hollywood. I attended the red carpet (black carpet, specifically) premiere of Annihilation, a new sci-fi movie starring Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, and Tessa Thompson. I’ve attended plenty of preview screenings of films before, but this was my first premiere. And it might be my last. Not that it was bad, it was just not what I expected. I received an invite to sign up for tickets the day before the premiere, and I almost deleted it, but then I noticed that Oscar and Tessa (we’re on a first name basis) were in the film and I couldn’t pass up my chance to see Poe and Valkyrie in person. So I signed up for passes, arranged a baby-sitter, and found a date (Matt had to work and Brianna is a chicken, so I took her husband instead). Brianna’s husband Mike actually read the book (I did not) and enjoyed it, so he kindly accompanied me.
The premiere was held at the Regency Village in Westwood, which is a gorgeous theater that hosts premieres on the reg. We had to get there early to guarantee spots (or so I thought) so I arrived about three hours before the showing to get in line. I was pretty close to the front, and from the looks of the theater, everyone got in and got a seat, so I definitely didn’t need to be there that early. We were handed our tickets around 6:15, and even though the movie didn’t start until 7:30, we were ushered straight to security and into the theater. And here’s the major downside of actually attending the premiere as a guest: we didn’t get to see anyone walk the carpet because we were already inside the theater and in our seats.
Once inside the lobby, we collected our free popcorn and sodas (score!) and headed to our assigned seats. In the front row. After chilling in our seats for a while, we decided that a) sitting in the front was not going to fly and b) we wanted to see some peeps. So Mike and I headed out to the lobby under the guise of using the bathroom. Security was attempting to keep the lobby clear of people so that the celebs could make their way in without being harassed. Of course while I was actually in the bathroom, Natalie Portman arrived. Mike got to see her, but I of course, missed it. We headed up to the balcony shortly after Natalie’s arrival, where there were plenty of open not-in-the-front-row seats. We couldn’t see anyone from our spots up there, but it was clear where the celebs were sitting because the entire orchestra section of the theater was turned around in their seats, staring and taking pictures.
The movie began about fifteen minutes after it’s scheduled start time. I knew to expect weird thanks to a briefing from Mike, but I guess I wasn’t prepared for the actual level of weird. The basic premise is that Lena (Portman) is some kind of doctor. Her husband (Isaac) disappears on a military mission, only to totally randomly reappear after a year. It’s clear when he returns that something is not right. Lena tries to save him, and in order to find out what is wrong with him in the first place, she goes with a small team of women into the Shimmer-which is kind of what it sounds like-a weird Area 51esque location that shimmers (imagine that). A bunch of weird shit happens inside the Shimmer, and Lena finds some super creepy videos from the husband and his team. It’s a little scary, and a little gory, but mostly it’s just a mindfuck.
The closest we got to the red carpet
Tessa Thompson and Gina Rodriguez both play members of the team Lena travels with and they are by far the highlight of the movie. Rodriguez is hilarious, and Thomposn is her usual badass, kickass self. Seriously, what I love about Tessa is the way she embodies these totally different characters (Valkyrie, the boardmember chick from Westworld, and now a geeky scientist) in a way that allows them all to be completely powerful females. She rules. Also, when I tweeted that she and Gina were the best part of the movie, she favorited my tweet. So we’re totes friends now.
I digress (shocker). Overall, the film left me…perplexed. Like at the end of it, I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not. There are some great moments. Visually, the movie is absolutely stunning, but I can’t say I would go see it again (and I could basically see it for free with Movie Pass…but I probably won’t). I love Oscar (obvs) but his whole character and storyline seemed completely disjointed from the rest of the movie. According to Mike, the husband is not a real character in the book and so they added him into the movie because, well, he’s Oscar. I could definitely feel that. This is also not my favorite kind of Natalie Portman role. I just don’t buy her as a fearless ex-military badass.
Upon reflection, I’ve come to a couple of conclusions. One, the next time I want to go to a premiere, I’m going to skip the movie and just hang out for the red carpet portion. That’s the part I really wanted to see, and I missed it so I could watch the film, which I wasn’t super into to begin with. Of course, if I ever got the chance to go to a Marvel or Star Wars premiere (call me, Disney) I’d be all over that in a heartbeat. But for anything else, I’m just going for the pre-show festivities. Along with that, I am going to do everything in my power to attend the red carpet portion of the Infinity War premiere. Which I’m sure will be crazy. My other conclusion is I would really only recommend this film to people are reeeeaaaallly into sci-fi and don’t mind the weird. And honestly, I don’t know enough about sci-fi to know whether or not it would pass the sci-fi nerd test. I just know that this movie is likely not going to appeal to the average movie-goer. Of course, that’s just my opinion, so take it as you will. If you do end up seeing Annihilation, tweet me your thoughts, hit me up @falonloveslife! I’m very interested to see what audiences and critics think!
