As the first of the Summer sci-fi blockbusters Evolution was always going to fare badly, at least in terms of publicity, with the likes of Final Fantasy and Planet of the Apes. Comparisons, just ones I believe, have been made between this and director Ivan Reitman's earlier work Ghost Busters. The story about scientists discovering something unworldy and dangerous, and having to overcome bureaucratic ambivalence in order to defeat it, is so similar it's eerie. Replace the ghosts with evolving creatures, and Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd (who cameos in this coincidentally... or not) et al with David Duchovny, Orlando Jones and Julianne Moore and you have an almost perfect match. How strange...
But anyway, Evolution is it's own film and what a flawed one at that. While hardly a poor film it has enough dubious moments in its acting, direction, scripting etc to make most cinema-goers a little critical. Reitman's direction alone is bizarre, cutting some scenes short before we can appreciate jokes, while letting others linger on the facial expressions of the characters alone. While I could see what he was getting at it wasn't done in a way thats best suits this kind of comedy. The strength of Ghost Busters was in its ability to restrain the comic genius of Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis while letting them make a totally whacked-out idea believable through the power of their presence alone.
No one could say Duchovny and Jones are this decade's equivalents. While both very funny in their own way, (Duchovny especially so in Return to Me) their parts are so badly scripted that for every funny line they have two equally unfunny lines/expressions to pull. Moore, surely one of the most respected actresses around, has little to do but fall over or walk into things. That she does this so well is a tribute to her ability. Seann William Scott on the other hand is terrible and completely unnecessary to the plot. Bar a reasonably amusing opening scene he has little to do and just seems wedged in, and not really part of the whole cast dynamic.
As for the plot the idea is actually quite funl, especially in the overcrowded and under-original sci-fi genre. A meteor crashes down to Earth where it is discovered and examined by scientists Ira Kane (Duchovny) and Harry Block (Jones). When they return the next day they find an unprecedented growth in the environment around the rock and within a matter of days organisms that took millions of years to evolve on Earth have appeared and are thriving. Soon the government gets wind of it and takes over, freezing out the naturally pissed-off Kane and Block and studying the ever-evolving new creatures. Unsurprisingly only our heroes realise the dangers presented by a new and superior life-form and have to rush to save the world before it's too late.
I can't go against it completely and suggest you not watch, it's just too nice and pleasant, but I would urge caution. If you don't like the kind of bizarre and all-encompassing character expressionism championed by the likes of Friends then you might find it not to your tastes. A straight comedy it is not, though the scene where Duchovny comforts a recently operated-on Jones is nearly worth the admission price alone. |
