Chicago Hopeless

Since the original 1953 movie adaptation of H.G. Wells' ‘War of the Worlds,’ alien invasion movies have been one of those sci-fi subgenres that’s so “been there, done that” and exhausted over the decades that it’s hard to imagine anyone could come up with anything new or interesting to add, so I wasn’t expecting much when I walked into Hollywood’s latest attempt to put a new twist or spin to it, the alien invaders-have-won thriller ‘Captive State’ starring veteran actor John Goodman and nobody else you’ve heard of (well, except for Vera Farmiga perhaps).

 

Set in Chicago in a seemingly not-too-distant-future, ‘Captive State’ proffers the bleak premise that aliens have successfully invaded and conquered us, the poor puny earthlings.  Those who survive eke out a bleak and hopeless existence, helplessly enslaved by their superior Alien Overlords (porcupine-like aliens resembling “The Shrike” in Dan Simmons’ ‘Hyperion’ novels, some say) to extract whatever meager resources our planet has to offer. To ensure that earthlings remain submissive and tame, provincial governments akin to the Vichy regime (Nazi collaborators) in France were set up regionally to control the population.  CS centers on the Chicago metropolitan area and the pitiful (and ultimately futile) attempts of one “terrorist” (or “freedom fighter”) resistance cell to strike back at their oppressors.

 

With its myopic and sometimes scattered focus on a handful of characters including an African‑American teenager, his elusive big brother resistance hero and the head of the anti-insurgency department of the Chicago police played by Goodman, CS has a realism and immediacy that’s undoubtedly riveting at times.  But the movie as a whole ultimately rings hollow as the audience had little time to establish a connection or empathize with any of its poorly developed characters.  While its hellish urban landscape brings to mind Neil Blomkamp’s 2009 film ‘District 9’ and its quieter moments remind us of Denis Villeneuve's 2016 movie 'Arrival,' all of it is merely window dressing because this exercise is so dreary and depressing that I gave up and stopped caring around halfway through. 

Grade: C-