Rating: PG-13
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Where most alien-invasion films start off with the attack, Captive State - after a very brief attack sequence in a tunnel - opens on a gray, desolate Chicago ten years after the aliens have landed, where now the "Legislators" are in control, pretty much letting humans have their normal lives back in exchange for understanding who is in charge - even as they suck whatever resources they can from our planet to help themselves. The Legislators aren't playing - just one rebellion could bring about the planet's destruction - which makes the job of law enforcement officer William Mulligan (John Goodman) that much harder, as he's sure such a "terrorist attack" on the Legislators is coming fast, led by a revolutionary named Rafe (Jonathan Majors) - the one man who could possibly pull it off - supposedly killed during a previous uprising but whom Mulligan believes is still alive. So much so, he's gone to the effort to bully Rafe's younger brother Gabriel (Ashton Sanders) into helping him keep the neighborhoods in check, in exchange for limited protection, hoping Gabriel will eventually lead him to his older brother. Though Captive State starts off a slow burn, with heavy foreshadowing that, after awhile, becomes a little annoying, it doesn't take too long before the film transforms into a suspenseful political thriller, as viewers are privy to the upcoming plot and attack on the Legislators in nail-biting Mission: Impossible-like detail (by far, the best sequence in the film). And while the film, overall, remains as cold and detached as John Goodman's character and the aliens he's protecting, Ashton Sanders (Moonlighting), as Gabriel, injects some much-needed humanity into the story, shedding some light into all this darkness as Gabriel himself is drawn into the revolution, as well. The quiet "You go, boy" ending, which should leave a smirk of satisfaction on the faces of most viewers invested in the film by then, is worth watching Captive State for alone. 7/10 stars
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