The other night my husband rented the movie “Alien Hunter”. Isn’t he a good hubby? He knows what I like. Anyway… Alien Hunter.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a movie review. Probably because everything has been “so so” and I couldn’t think of anything I learned from the movies I’ve seen.
This one was a bit different… because I didn’t like it. So, let’s discuss why…
Warning: I usually don’t do this, but there will be mild spoilers in this review. Don’t worry. I am not going to ask you to watch the movie anyway. It wasn’t worth it.
Alien Hunter: This is far to grand a title for this sleepy little movie. Even my husband pointed out that there was no “Alien Hunting” in it.
Was there an alien? Yes. Was there an explosion? Yes. Was there death and mayhem? Yes. If you know anything about me, this sounds like a perfect combination to keep me entertained. So why wasn’t I entertained?
Admittedly, about half an hour into the movie I fell asleep. (Not a good sign) When I woke up, I asked my husband what I missed and he said, “Nothing. They are still trying to get the stupid thing open.” I checked the clock. I’d been asleep for twenty minutes.
Now, when they got “The thing” opened, and people started to die, I just didn’t care. (Oooo, she’s callous) I am willing to admit that I did fall asleep for part of it, but I realized that I had no emotional attachment to any of the characters. They were in dire peril. So what? Even if I fell asleep, I did see enough that I should have cared. I didn’t.
Poor presentation and poor characterization. That was the crux of this movie’s problem.
Problem #2: The plot. These people have to die. It is made perfectly clear. Most of them are okay with this (with almost no emotional response… okay, really? Don’t you want to try to call your mother or something before they drop a nuclear bomb on you?)
As soon as you realize this, you think… okay, so why am I watching? Who am I rooting for? It’s not like they are going to try to escape.
Then, the “Bad guys” decide they are going to try to escape. Now, if they do escape, every living thing on Earth will die within two days. Wiped clean. Disappear. Done.
My husband and I thought the same thing. No one would try to escape, especially when they saw what would happen with their own eyes. It was just not believable.
What was even more unbelievable is the pseudo-happy ending that was really not even explained.
It was one of those times where you click off your television at midnight and wish you hadn’t wasted that precious sleeping time.
Characterization: We need to care about your characters. Make them real. Make them respond realistically. Even if they decide to do the right thing, and make the ultimate sacrifice, show some emotion.
Plot: Please… I mean, come on. Think it through. You can have a great idea (and yes, it was a great idea) but you need to follow it through to the end. You need to root for your characters. How can you root for characters when you know they are going to die? And they have to die?
And that ending? Even my husband shook his head.
I’ve actually found an “Alien-spaceship-explosion” flick that was worse than the second Transformers movie. I never thought I’d see the day.
Think through your plotlines, and don’t ruin a brilliant idea with a really weak finish.
Jennifer M Eaton 