Cast: Michelle Jenner, Carlos Areces, Miguel Nogerra
MPAA Rating: Unrated
It seems lately with the big budget films of "Battleship", "Marvel's The Avengers", and television shows such as "Falling Skies" that alien invasions are the big thing in hollywood at the moment and while "Extraterrestrial is a fresh take on a genre that is becoming worn out, it feels like their was a missed potential in this film. I also had never even heard of this film until a couple of days ago when it was recommened to me on the internet.
The first thing I have to say is that this is a foreign film which means if you don't speak the language of the film that you'll have to read subtitles which isn't always ideal. With that little tidbit out of the way, its time to talk about what the story is about. The main plot of this film is Julio (Julian Villagran) wakes up one morning with a terrible hangover in a perfect apartment, next to a stunning girl, unable to remember what happened the night before. Instantly falls in July, she did not. She is Julia (Michelle Jenner), and all he wants is to go in July, but the alien invasion has just begun to excuse him to stay. Julia's husband appears and the alien threat is becoming more terrible, but Julio has one thing clear: just as the aliens have traveled across the universe to destroy mankind, is here to stay.
What I liked about the story compared to films like "Battleship" is that the director allowed the characters to take center stage instead of the action which was a big change of pace from most alien invasion films. The thing that made this film good was the character interactions. This really felt like what would have happen if an alien spacecraft appeared above the city. It also portrays the philosphy that no matter what is happening, that people can always make situations about us. In almost every scene the characters played very well off eachotehr and made the film better for it, portraying the different emotions from happy to angry that the film had. The film only faltered when they pushed the alien invasion, especially in the third act it feels like a completely different movie. The final twist of the movie didn't surprise me and made me feel like even if you would have went back and watched the film that this isn't something they hinted at during the entire film. If the film would have stuck with what made it work, it would have gotten a much higher grade from me.
With a few pacing and story problems with the film, I did enjoy it and if you are into art house or foreign film than this is a film that is definitely worth a watch even if you are left with that nagging feeling that this film was on the brink of being something much better.
Final Grade: B
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