Captive State - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Captive State



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Captive State is film that’s less in love with the aliens in an alien invasion, but rather focuses in on the human’s reaction to alien rule, and the inevitable resistance. After viewing the film I’m reminded of a Timothy Zahn book called “The Blackcollar”, where an alien race named the Ryqril invade human space, dominate them completely, and then have human beings who are loyalty conditioned rule as benevolent rulers in their stead. The same type of scenario plays out in Captive State, with the film focusing in on the brooding conflict between the resistance forces who want to repel their alien masters, and the authoritative humans who rule in the aliens stead. The film shows us the porcupine like aliens right at the beginning of the movie, but that little tidbit vanishes quickly as the show takes over with a much more subtle and humanitarian based plot where the aliens are just the inciting incidence, vs. the faced enemy of the story.

We start into the film after a worldwide invasion of the alien race, who have decimated us so badly that humanity surrendered in order to stave off utter annihilation. The alien overlords have set themselves up as the highest authority and law to keep order, and have stationed certain human beings to act as the basic extension of their legislation. Known as the “legislators”, these aliens are the end all, be all of the law and the buck stops with them. Humanity struggles along under the alien rule, with the richest of the humans (the collaborators) helping the aliens in their goal to absorbing Earth’s natural resources while the rest of humanity struggles in abject poverty. The digital communication systems that we once had are completely cut off, and while the alien race puts on a facade of being benevolent dictators, their iron rule of law and complete control of all communication shows them for what they really are.

It’s been almost 10 years since the aliens have taken control of the world, and a human resistance organization known as “Phoenix” has long since been put to rest. Or, at least most people believe that they were put down. Chicago Police Commissioner William Mulligan (John Goodman) believes otherwise, and he is intent on making sure that the long sleeping resistance cell doesn’t make any trouble for the rest of humanity. Unfortunately (for him), his assumption is correct, and Phoenix is planning an attack on a “Unity Rally” that is being held in Chicago. Run by a man named Rafe Drummond (Jonathon Majors), Phoenix is ready to live up to its namesake and rise from the ashes, but soon his younger brother Gabriel (Ashton Sanders), who is a non combatant, is brought up into his brother’s game and pulled into a war that he never wanted, and is ill prepared to fight.

Director Rupert Wyatt never seems to really connect the film with his audience, despite having an engaging premise. His story is a bit too cluttered, and I felt like an outsider looking in, instead of an active participant in the story. The story really feels like a rushed miniseries instead of a movie, and very well may have done better on the TV screen with more time allotted to flesh out the plot. The movie paints in broad strokes of black and white, but never really engages the audience with the plight of their heroes. Things unfold and happen on screen, but there’s a strange disconnect in the emotional resonance of the story. At times I really was pulled into the resistance and their plight, but most of the time I spent the movie looking in wondering why I was supposed to care.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief language and drug material




Video:

The digitally shot film is quite the pleaser though, with a near perfect looking image that is intimately detailed, with very few problems. The opening scene is bright and shiny, with that digital glossy look that just exudes details at every pore. Even when the film deals with the underground resistance and the dimly lit areas that they hide in to make their plans we get to see tons of details. Grimy clothing looks appropriately nuanced, as does facial lines and up close details. The shot with at the Unity Rally with Very Farmiga in front of the microphone is jaw dropping, showing off stunning primary colors ranging from the green grass behind her to the bright blue dress she’s wearing. Environmental backdrops are just as well detailed, showing us the textures on stone walls, the brown wood grain textures of a desk, or the lace and detail of lingerie in a bedroom. All in all it’s a very good looking film with just a few instances of black crush and some mild color banding.








Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is just as pleasing as the video is, giving us a nice blending of high octane moments as well as quiet ambiance as well. The surround channels can be quiet and reserved at times, yet also burst with energy and excitement at others. The train sequence with the rumbling and hubbub part way through the film is a standout, as is the speech in the field wit the echoing reverberation of the amplified voices. When the aliens burst out of from all angles in the first act we get a whirl of tentacles, craziness and screeching that slams the listener back, and the general use of the LFE channel is quite appealing. It’s never overpowering or too intense, but it doesn’t just sit back and let the film be a dialog fest as well. Said dialog is always crisp, clean, and well located in the center channel, and evenly balanced with the rest of the track. The 5.1 mix really doesn’t try to compete with big action tracks, but it is well nuanced and very clean listening from all channels.






Extras:

• Audio Commentary with Director/Producer/Co-Writer Rupert Wyatt and Producer David Crockett
• Igniting a War - Featurette
• Building the World of Captive State - Featurette

Final Score: ​

Captive State is a slow burn alien movie that is much more intimate and humanity based than your average shoot em up. Director Rupert Wyatt introduces some solid ideas with the plot, but gets his film a bit too overstuffed for its own good, and the film suffers from a strange disconnect from the viewer. While it’s a fun enough watch for a decent rental, the movie isn’t going to be a classic alien movie and really is not much more than a decent slow burn popcorn movie. Universal’s Blu-ray is stunning to look at and listen to, but suffers the typical weak extras of non blockbuster films that is prevalent in today’s home video market. Solid watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: John Goodman, Vera Farmiga, Ashton Sanders, Alan Ruck, James Ransone, Kevin Dunn, Jonathan Majors, Madeline Brewers
Directed by: Rupert Wyatt
Written by: Erica Beeney, Rupert Wyatt
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 110 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 11th, 2019

Recommendation: Decent Watch

 

[Asere]

Thanks for the review. I will rent this one.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review, I will also check it out once available on amazon prime/Netflix