Netflix continues to make mass content acquisitions in its quest to rule the streaming realm.
The sci-fi movie “Extinction” is one such acquisition. The movie started streaming on July 27. Apparently, the movie was originally set to be distributed by Universal Pictures, but was sold to Netflix.
“Extinction” follows the story of Peter (Michael Pena) — an engineer having nightmares that seem to foreshadow an apocalyptic future (where he and his family are fighting a mysterious enemy of alien origin).
Not only do the dreams impact his sleep habits, they become a growing obsession. His wife Alice (Lizzy Caplan) and two daughters are growing frustrated with the distraction.
In addition to missing scheduled “family time,” the visions also effect his work. As a result, he agrees to visit a clinic to get help for his condition.
An encounter in the clinic’s waiting room with a fellow patient causes Peter to ditch the appointment. The man, who has had similar visions, tells Peter the doctors “don’t want us to know what’s coming.”
Later that evening, Peter and Alice are hosting a party at their high-rise apartment (celebrating Alice’s promotion at work) when the city is attacked.
Interesting setup, right?
In the early stages of “Extinction” you can’t tell if Peter’s visions are real, or if the whole thing is just the result of a man’s insomnia-induced delusions.
It’s heady drama that could have stepped off the pages of a Stephen King novel.
For the first hour things are intriguing as the narrative moves from a psychological thriller to a suspense-filled “survival of the fittest” tale as our protagonists battle mysterious beings.
Then everything changes at the 62-minute mark in the movie...a big twist is revealed.
And while the twist is interesting, the final 30 minutes of the movie fell apart after its revelation — losing some of the momentum built in the first hour.
“Extinction” is an odd mix of “War of the Worlds” and “Blade Runner” — never achieving the greatness of either.
I will say that I liked Michael Pena as the leading man in “Extinction,” and think he is one of the underrated character actors in film today. He did a solid job in the movie.
Unfortunately, the script for “Extinction” suffers from its own ambition. I’m not sure if it was a conceptual problem or a structural problem with the story. The final result is a film with potential that ultimately suffers from poor execution.
Regardless of the flaws, if you are a Netflix subscriber looking for a diversion on a Saturday night, you might want to check “Extinction” out..or not..
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