Gina Rodrigues, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh star in Alex Garland's Annihilation. Photo / YouTube
Gina Rodrigues, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh star in Alex Garland's Annihilation. Photo / YouTube
Alex Garland's highly anticipated sci-fi thriller Annihilation has started screening for critics overseas, and early reviews are hailing the film as a winner.
The film has had a rocky road to release. Paramount Pictures sold the international distribution to Netflix after a producer was concerned the film was target="_blank">"too intellectual".
The deal means the Natalie Portman film will skip a cinema release in New Zealand and go straight to the streaming service.
But according to the reactions of critics, that's no comment on the film's quality. One reviewer hailed it as a "masterpiece".
"Annihilation is, in wholly inelegant terms, one hell of a mindf***," wrote IndieWire Film Editor Kate Erbland. "Most of the time, I didn't want it to end; occasionally, I was so unsettled I thought I might keel over."
"Make no mistake, #Annihilation is a new sci-fi classic," wrote journalist Drew Taylor. "Brilliant, thrilling, and provocative, it has as much metaphoric depth as it does narrative tension. I'm floored."
Slashfilm writer Ben Pearson agreed: "This is the type of sci-if we always say we want to see. Bold, challenging, singular, visually dazzling. Would not be the least bit surprised to see it hailed as a masterpiece (and it might actually be one)."
#Annihilation is big budget Alex Garland with all the head-spinning intelligence of "Ex Machina." It's violent and patient and then suddenly so transfixing you're pinned to your seat.
It'll take time to process. Another auteur studio gamble from Paramoint after "mother!"
Alex Garland’s #Annihilation is another example of the kind of brainy sci-fi we don’t see enough of. Badass female cast and a story that’s both beautiful and wickedly disturbing, and an ending you will talk about for days. Dug it so much pic.twitter.com/fW77z6xX4v
Alex Garland's #Annihilation is absolutely phenomenal. It's gorgeous and mesmerizing, with brilliant performances from the entire ensemble. It's a remarkable vision, and has a sequence so thrilling that I was left literally dizzy. It will be on my Top 10 of 2018 without question. pic.twitter.com/zGmDGlyh0M
Just saw #Annihilation, and damn, it’s gorgeous. Beautifully done, riveting and smart. Going to need to process this one for a while, and I want to see it again! pic.twitter.com/rFl5cnacon
