Customer Ratings & Reviews

A good movie, with a predominantly female cast inspecting an alien invasion of mutating life that was introduced by a pod into a lighthouse on the Louisiana coast. The main character, an army veteran biologist professor, gets 'enlisted' to inspect the "shimmering" event, with a potpourri of engaging female characters. No one has ever come back from the "shimmering", except for one person, dazed and confused and certain to die. But they were all men. The movie posits that all life - all life - came from one cell, which mutated and divided endlessly. So, what if another mutating cell/lifeform were introduced. What becomes of us? It's a good movie, well done, with a good ending.

This was pretty good. A little strange at times, but makes you think. Looks great on 4K.

Story had its holes but visually decent. The concept was interesting. Overall a good film.

I brought the blu ray version and didn't like my blu ray copy. I brought to upgrade to 4K. I'm happy i got the 4K version.

Alex Garland is one of the most exciting science fiction filmmakers working today. Look at his resume, he wrote 28 DAYS LATER, SUNSHINE, SUNSHINE, and DREDD. He made the jump to writer/director with the smart and chilling EX MACHINA. His latest effort pulling double duty, ANNIHILATION, is an ultimately humanistic look at the alien first contact and alien invasion genres. With top-notch performances, effects, and music, it’s a must see for fans of brainy sci fi. Natalie Portman plays a damaged and lonely biology professor who’s also ex military. Her husband, played by Oscar Isaac in what amounts to an extended cameo, is a covert ops soldier that’s been missing in action for a year. When he appears back at their house out of the blue, it sets in motion a chain of events that will show us what happened to him and allow us insight into their relationship. See, a meteor crashed into a remote barren swamp, creating some sort of weird expanding field around the site from which no one has returned except him. To go into any more detail than that would be to ruin some of the pleasures the film has to offer. Based on the first novel of Jeff VanderMeer’s SOUTHERN REACH TRILOGY, the mystery of what’s going on within “the Shimmer” is one of the key elements that helps give momentum to the somewhat languid pacing. Additionally, the surprising musical choices and flashbacks break the creeping tension of the events occurring within the bizarre landscape while providing humanity to the otherworldly tone. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tessa Thompson deliver strong supporting performances as members of the exploratory team. The special effects, ranging from subtle to exuberant, are excellent. Sound design, something that many audiences take for granted, is outstanding. At times flirting with body horror, the picture delivers some shocking imagery in spots. Do you like smart sci fi? If so, don’t read anything about ANNIHILATION, just see it. The most immediate comparisons I can think of would be Denis Villeneuve’s ARRIVAL and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODDYSSEY in terms of tone and approach. Fair warning, the ending is very much open to interpretation. This isn’t a story that’s spoon fed to you. Though highly humanistic, it’s also very symbolic and introspective. Additionally, my favorite comic book writer Alan Moore is name checked in the special features. Keep an eye out and see if you can spot his influence on the picture. I watched this on 4K UHD and it looked and sounded excellent. I will continue to watch anything Alex Garland makes, as he is becoming a master of uncompromising and intellectual science fiction.

Upon it's initial home release, Annihilation appeared to only be released on 4K exclusively at Best Buy and while that might have changed since, I was grateful to see such a visually spectacular film receive the release it deserved. While some of the stylistic choices don't result in the kind of visuals one might expect to benefit greatly from the format, it's still worth watching the film with the highest fidelity possible. The movie is certainly not for everyone, but for those who enjoy hard science fiction and films that beg for repeat viewings to fully understand, this is something special. While you could certainly comprehend enough on an initial viewing to appreciate the experience, revisiting it helps to open up a lot of mysteries and provides an increasingly deeper experience overall. Writer/director Alex Garland is a singular talent and he balances a number of genre elements to create a film that is awe-inspiring, terrifying, and rather cerebral often all at the same moment. In many ways, this is the ideal type of film to have in a personal collection because of the value it provides with each viewing. You may want to check the film out before deciding it's worth the purchase given how divisive the responses have been, but there's no doubt this is the format to purchase if you decide you want a copy to own.

While I can understand why this film may not be very accessible to all viewers and I know many who dislike it strongly, I personally liked it quite a bit. To me, Annihilation is a good sci-fi film with a great cast. It has interesting sci-fi horror elements and certain aspects that remind me of other sci-fi films like "Arrival" and "The Thing". Visually, it is a pretty cool-looking movie. The 4K transfer is also good, though the picture does look soft in certain spots and I wish it was sharper. However, I think that was director Alex Garland's intent and I don't have a problem with it. If you have seen this film and liked it, then pick it up on 4K. If you haven't seen it and are considering a blind-buy but are unsure, then perhaps renting it first might be a better course of action first to make sure this is your cup of tea. Overall, this is a good film to me and a nice 4K package.

This is not a film for everyone. But if you like unusual and and original films, and aren't put off by the strange and the odd, you may like this film a lot. It certainly has the most "alien" alien I've seen in any movie to date! This is not some guy in a rubber suit, but something I've never seen before on film! I do recommend seeing it in 4K with HDR (the standard definition & standard dynamic range version looks dull and washed out by comparison, but the 4K HDR version does bring the visuals to life). In pacing, I'd compare this to "The Arrival". If you found that movie boring, you might not like this film. If you liked the arrival, you will probably take a liking to this one. Honestly, this movie has the weirdest alien ever! Kudos for coming up with a being (I don't even know if the word "creature" even applies) that is so utterly original.

Annihilation was a visually impressive and tonally accurate adaptation of the novel by the same name. Having read the book last year, I was surprised to learn that it was be adapted to film. It seemed unfilmable. Events and circumstances are largely presented first-person through the thoughts of an unreliable narrator. This is not the recipe for typical Hollywood fare. However, the producers managed to restructure it with a streamlined linear plot that still captures the essence and themes of the book. The visual effects are stunning and, for the most part, manage to capture the imagery from the book. Some depictions differed from my own interpretation, but that's a quibble about artistic expression. It's not for anyone expecting a summer blockbuster, but I definitely recommend the movie to fans of literate science fiction.

This is a good sci-fi film with an interesting ending. I was hoping Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh would have been better. It seemed like the entire cast was one-dimensional. The overall premise was good and the ending was a little mind-bending but not Interstellar mind-bending. In terms of the Dolby Vision presentation, it was excellent. I experienced no washed out blacks and no crushing. The climax in the lighthouse was intensely bright so much so I had to squint. The ending credit animation sequence was also stunning and colorful.

This movie starts out slow, but picks up after the leading character (Portman) and a crew of others set out to explore a phenomenon in the distance. Although what appears to be one take on the explorer's experience is replaced with a new take, the viewer has no clue as to what this phenomenon truly is. Certainly elements from former films exist; Mimic, passengers, Invasion of The Body Snatchers, etc., but this isn't as fresh as it is different. Very nice visuals.

I enjoyed this movie - loved the colors and different scenes. Never much cared for Natalie Portman but she was good in this.

but strange interpretation of the novel it's based on. If I didn't read the trilogy I wouldn't have understood what was going on. Too much is left out & too bad this movie flopped at the box office. This movie never even made it to my local theater. I must say that it was a great looking movie with spectacular special effects. Reminds me of "Under The Skin" which was also a strange interpretation of the novel it was based on.

Natalie Portman leads an all female cast in a science fiction adventure. A meteor crashes to earth and creates a shimmer effect that starts to envelop everything in its path. Portman’s husband a military officer re-emerges from the shimmer and returns home but doesn’t remember what happened to him. As her husband falls ill Portman decides she must find out what happened to him and must go into the Shimmer to do it.

Natalie Portman takes the lead in this SyFy adventure. The story depicts something is causing the duplication and evolution of the Eco system in a region. A team including Portman go into this zone to determine the cause. I bought it without having seen the movie, basically because it was 4K-HDR. I have to watch it again to see what I missed the first time. The 4K-HDR really enhances the new movie releases.

Saw theatrically and liked it so I thought I'd like to own the film. Film is strange but not in a bad way.

Science fiction is one of my favorite movie genres, but sometimes the writers can create a movie that is very hard to follow. Annihilation stops just short of being confusing, but does have a very unique and interesting premise that keeps you engaged. The special effects are well done and the acting is solid. I would only recommend this movie to sci-fi fans.

Really impressive movie. Captures a sense of otherworldly, existential terror unlike most anything else. Beautifully filmed, but also so thoroughly strange that I'm certain there's things about this movie I haven't gotten yet. Definitely deserves a few re-watches.

This movie creates some stunning set-pieces and introduces some thought-provoking ideas. It doesn't spoon-feed answers and leaves you to interpret many events on your own, which is refreshingly real. We don't get to know everything in life and the mysteries are what make the universe simultaneously magical and terrifying. This movie captures that perfectly.

This movie is a wonderful parallel universe type story. It uses the bond of a husband and wife to show the driving motivation behind the willingness to face all kinds of dangers to save the one you love and others as well. The movie has heart, stunning visuals, and interesting sci-fi elements that keep you engaged all the way until the end.