Evolution

Evolution is a step up from most gross-out comedies. With a nice idea for a plot, it starts off quite serious before the stars show their comic talents off. David Duchovny has good comic timing that hasn't really been tapped before, Orlando Jones is far better here than in Double Take and Say It Isn't So and Seann William Scott is a damn fine comic actor who uses his goofy charm to his advantage. Julianne Moore's constant falling over isn't funny, but you can't have everything. It's a shame that it flopped in the US, because it's really good. The special effects are decent, the turns are likeable and the script is loaded with sharp wit. OK, maybe some jokes go dead but seeing Orlando Jones getting lubricated after a bug enters his body and Scott singing to a flying monster in a mall is reason enough to go see this excellent summer blockbuster.

This is a simply good fun creature movie the acting was good the creatures were good the plot line good the comedy good in essence 90 minutes well spent.

When I first read about Evolution, the latest sci-fi scheme to come from DreamWorks, I was interested. A story about aliens with humor, not bad. Then when I read that Ivan Reitman, the BEST comedic director of the 80's and one of the best of all time was at the helm, I was thrilled. I mean, come on, after he was given duds like `Father's Day' and `Six Days, Seven Nights' to work with, isn't it about time that Hollywood gave him a project worth while (I won't even mention the bombastic disaster of `Junior'…oh, I just did)?

It begins with the introduction of Scott's character, Wayne Green, a wannabe fireman practicing for his fireman final (questionable at first, hilarious in the end). Then he gets an unexpected visitor - a meteor, carrying alien organisms hits the heart of the Arizona desert. After a community college science professor, Ira Kane Duchovny, working with one screwed up screen name)and his eccentric geologist buddy, Harry Block (Jones) discover the meteor, they find that the `bleeding' rock starts to create these weird alien creatures and soon they begin to multiply. Kane's nemeses, Gen. Woodman (Levine) and the military get involved, things get too out-of-control, so it's up to the teaming of Kane, Block, Green and government scientist Allison Reed (Moore) to stop the evolution.

If you're a Reitman fan, the plot of this could make you go in expecting some kind of tribute to both `Ghostbusters'. In a way it is, and is that a bad thing? Hell no! If you liked, or even loved (like me) `Ghostbusters', I can bet my clean pair of boxers that you'll get a hoot out of `Evolution'. But of course any film must maintain some distance from the films its being compared too, and `Evolution' does that. The characters and situations are different, atmospherically. Duchovny turns in a `cool' performance, by that meaning he wasn't Mr. Badass or Mr. Laugh-a-Minute, he was just, well, Duchovny and that itself is always pleasing to watch. Jones is his usual funny self, delivering some funny lines. Moore's ability to do just about anything comes in handy here, playing the hottie-yet-clumsy love interest. Scott's acting resembles the other roles he's done in the past, and I've come to appreciate that (that thing he does w/ his eyebrow is getting funnier every time). Can't say the same for Levine; his cliché performance as the bad-guy-who-doesn't-listen character gets annoying fast.

A lot of the film makes me question what it is, and really what it could have been. The script, penned by three writers, was originally written as a sci-fi THRILLER, not a sci-fi comedy. There were a lot of laughs, but because of the script's origin, there could have been more. But considering the script was originally a sci-fi thriller, the filmmakers, including Reitman, did a great job. Can't say much for the ending, though: the ending looks and feels like a meshed-up result of what-could-have-been, and from that mushiness, the filmmakers poked at and took at least some of the good elements. Thank god the film is a comedy; if it was its original idea, the ending would have been disastrous.

`Evolution' is a overall crowd-pleaser with nice special effects and makeup (those dead aliens looked great). It's a few laughs and comedic situations short of comedic greatness, but look on the bright side-Reitman is back in his lovable kick-ass form. He's tapped into the present and how most comedies are made, but he didn't dare forget his roots: there is a sequence in the film where Duchovny, Jones and Scott chase down a flying creature in a mall. The three, equipped with shotguns, dispose of it in true Ghostbusters style. And with me being a big Ghostbusters fan, I fell in love with the it, plus its the best scene in the film. (The trio singing after their battle; nice touch).

GRADE: B+

The first thing to say is that this review is written by a non-American. This is to say that a different set of principals are brought to bear on the subject matter. I'm sure that other in the U.S and around the world will(and have)expressed opinions, but this one comes from "a whole other country". Evolution is a very enjoyable film. It has been made in a summer of super event movies, and film/game conversions and I feel stands alone as the only comedy with an original source material (in sci-fi anyway).

It is highly enjoyable. If you're paying 5 pounds (or $8.50) you need to find a film that refreshes your sentiments with regards to just what a big "money" film should be. As I sit here smoking a cigarette and drinking a 7up, I figure this film to be a winner. The principals act in a manner appropriate to the subject material, and although Mr. Duchovny is not a comedy actor, I feel he acquits himself admirably in an unfamiliar field. Mr. Jones is a relative newcomer to the cinema, and I reckon that over time he may very well ascend to the the same esteemed level as Eddie Murphy, or his latterday composite (of sorts) Will Smith.

The plot is most sound, and although it draws some comparisons to "Ghostbusters" as other critics have noted, it stands alone as Summer 2001's most original comedy event movie. Mr Reitman, a veteran knows how to make films play easily, is one of the few directors who knows how to use good comedy actors. With this in mind, no one is underused, perhaps with the one exception of Mr. Dan Aykroyd, nowadays underrated for some insane reason, but who is extremely talented. It's a shame that Aykroyd's presence as a "big" man is more valued then his acting talent, because he's always a delight to watch.

To cut in some sourness, there's not a lot of involvement with the central characters, and you do find yourself watching people being cheated into a state of reaction at the expense of the colourful effects, but that's the way it was made, and we can't change that.

In all I would recommend this film to the less morose viewer, as it's cheerful, colourful, and does not require an over-critical view. Watch it, and the hell with the printed criticism - you'll enjoy it.

A duo of small town college professors stumble upon a meteor with alien life present. This is great news for them, at least until they find out that the alien evolves and reproduces at a rapid rate, so much that the earth may be devoured in a matter of days.

This film's strong point? David Duchovny. While the jokes are so-so and the plot is a pleasant variation of "The Blob", it is Duchovny that makes this film watchable. Without him, it would be easily forgettable and probably wouldn't have the underground geek following that it does. I also appreciated the brief appearance from Sarah Silverman.

A few years later, the film "Slither" came out which once again tackles the idea of an evolving, blob-like life form. I think "Slither" is the better film: better effects, much more horror-oriented and still with a healthy dose of comedy. Though I wouldn't say it made "Evolution" entirely obsolete -- they are two distinct films with distinct charms that may appeal to different audiences.