Following the success of A Quiet Place and Bird Box, alien invasion movies all sorta look the same. A desolate, post-apocalyptic planet, humanity reduced to a minimum, and monstrous invading creatures that thankfully come with a unique trait to exploit. These movies can be a lot of fun, but let’s be honest, they’re also pretty derivative. It helps if they’ve got great actors and a director who knows best how to use them. Elevation, an action-packed sci-fi thriller from director George Nolfi, is one such film. While it doesn’t break the mold in terms of story, Elevation has some riveting sequences and strong performances by a trio of stars who all look good carrying big guns.
Anthony Mackie stars in Elevation as Will, one of the few humans left after 95% were slaughtered by insectoid-like creatures. They sort of resemble the monsters from The Tomorrow War and A Quiet Place if they ever mated. These beasts are killing machines; they don’t eat the people they kill. And they can’t go above 8,000 feet, which is why humanity scavenged to survive in mountainous regions. Will, a man with a tragic backstory involving his dead wife, also has an adopted son to take care of. When he gets sick and needs a specific medical device, Will must venture out with his wife’s survivalist best friend Katie (Maddie Hasson) into the dangerous world to save him.
Mackie’s fellow Marvel vet Morena Baccarin plays Nina, a hard-drinking scientist with a connection to Will that makes them weary neighbors. She joins them on this mission because nobody knows these creatures better than her, plus Nina hopes to find a means of fighting back so that humanity can rally. She’s got a few experiments in mind, but Will is skeptical and Katie is ornery, so there’s some pretty good tension along the way.
Elevation‘s screenplay doesn’t dig too deep, but it finds some nice character moments for all of its characters. Nina’s a complicated figure carrying a ton of guilt, but she’s out there looking for a way to redeem herself. Katie is a lot of fun to watch as she has a huge chip on her shoulder with a dry wit to match. Will is probably the most understated character of the bunch, as he’s the most reliable and level-headed. He’s singly focused on saving his son and, at least initially, nothing else matters.
Nolfi and Mackie have worked together two times before this on The Adjustment Bureau and The Banker. Mackie, also a producer on Elevation, does some of his best work with Nolfi, and here he’s every bit the charismatic, charming action hero but he’s not just rehashing his Captain America role. Nobody would say Nolfi is the most dynamic filmmaker out there, but he uses the mountainous zones to tremendous effect. One riveting sequence involves a rundown ski lift, with our heroes trying to get to elevated safety while a creature is hot on their trail. We don’t see a lot of the hunters except in extreme close-ups or in long view, and even then they’re mostly kept out of sight probably due to budget constraints. Regardless, Elevation is smart to maximize the little time we do see them.
The best thing to come out of Elevation is the idea that there’s a lot more story that could be told. Nolfi and his screenwriters tease bigger questions that go unanswered, while we also must contemplate the fate of the rest of the world. Elevation is highly enjoyable without breaking the mold, and for action junkies or fans of Mackie and Baccarin, it’s worth seeking out.
Elevation opens in theaters on November 8th.
