Captive State Review

Captive State
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Cast Headliners: John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, not much others
Original Release Date: March 15, 2019

        One's gotta appreciate an original idea and sci-fi can often be that. It can be an allegory,  metaphor, and a “what-if”. Captive State has some fascinating ideas but its execution is mixed. However buried within its long, dire plod are moments of genuine enjoyment , through provoking, and tension amidst the cheese.
Some time in our near future(as glimpsed in an all too short opening) our world is taken over by  an alien empire. These creatures and their creations are only ever referred to as “Legislators” and quickly set up control over the human populace with closed underground zones, strict control, tracking implants, and fascist human loyalists to run things.  The film proper narrows the focus onto controlled Chicago(as being from there it makes it that much more of interest) where a resistance's failed strike has caused destruction and stricter control. Various perspectives are shown of the sides of citizens midst the world, possible resistance survivors, and the police force tracking down them down.
This is not a film for a plethora of big name actors. There's for the most part relative unknowns who's mileage may vary. However a bit of a highlight comes from the a high up government / Chicago Police Department (one and the same in this world) Pilsen district Commander Willliam Mulligan(John Goodman). One finds themselves both hating and cheering for him as he works to stop the resistance members. It's not a career defining role but he brings a mix of creepy paranoia and dedicated fierceness to him with just a bit of heartfelt sincerity depending on who he's dealing with.  The vile Commisioner Eugene Igoe(Kevin Dunn), prostitute Jane(Vera Farmigia), everyman Jurgis(Machine Gun Kelly) , and newspaper author Charles Rittenhouse(Alan Ruck) are also played by some recognizable faces although they have parts that vary from minorly supporting to even less so.
For characters it's really about these newcomers which in a way makes the story more about the action than the backstory which is a bit of a loss. The main empathetic perspective is Gabriel Drummond(Ashton Sanders) a young man who works in a data stripping center by day (just one look at an interesting world that's never quite explained as many things are) but finds himself tied to and entangled with the resistance. This is since his brother Rafe(Jonathan Majors) is someone high up in it.  This makes for some ok, if heavily heavily cheesy, drama between them. Amidst many generic no-name characters are a main resistance squad of Daniel(Ben Daniels), Levitt(D.B Sweeney), Kermode(Kevin J O'Connor), Anita(Caitlan Ewald), and Patrick Ellison(James Ransone) who never quite get more than to do some cool things in various suspenseful montages.
That's what the film ends up being most effective at: suspense. It never quite uses the setting that closely regarding the fact that it's an alien-controlled world aside some sparse ideas and background elements. However that may speak to its strength as its very much a guerilla war / activist plot which is setting-neutral yet still, mostly, effective. Some incredibly cool uses of many people passing messages / signals to each other are use. This is ratcheted up tenfold when these are make or break moments where a single slip up could leave humanity shackled forever (and one may imagine things don't always go perfectly).  Some occasionally amazing electronic music by composer Rob Simonsen helps this as well. It's never quite “action” but it does leave one on the edge of their seats...between some slow downtime.
The movie has a very dark, oppressive tone which is purposeful although the mentioned cheese can take it out at times. Director Rupert Wyatt is a name of note as he previously did the rebooted Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes which too was a dark tale of a slowly rising resistance. However his directorial touch here varies. It at times can have some beautiful shots of Chicago's dusty streets but also can feel a bit budget tier. The setting of Chicago never ends up meaning that much aside the mention or display of sites like Wicker Park , Pilsen, Soldier Field, and Lake Michigan. Like its espionage shtick it really could have taken place anywhere.
  Once again on those aliens.... one really wishes there was more of them. They manifest in different forms whether themselves or via robotic creations. The actual species are a cool morphing, spiky crustacean type approach. There's armored combat suit versions as well ranging from human size(in a particularly memorable but shortest of all sequence), giant walkers, and unfortunately never used background titanic sized ones. There' floating beelike swarms and hovering drones-with-tentacles  aiding too. All of these are aesthetically cool but like many of the ideas are in just a couple of sequences and don't do as much as they theoretically could which is disappointing. Also here some of the CGI visuals can be cheesy but not all the time.
As a whole Captive State is decent for what it does do right. Its flaws and long, slow spy approach may not give one what they were expecting (it's Battle Los Angeles with less “Battle” but more literal intelligence). However it's some moderately intriguing sci-fi for something to do on a free afternoon. 7.6 out of 10