R E V I E W S
Evolution (2001)
Starring: David
Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Sean W. Scott, Julianne Moore Studio: DreamWorks Review Posted: 6.7.01 Rating: 2.5/4
By Sara M. Fetters.
"Funny? Yes. Original? No."
It
has been said many times that there are no new ideas in
Hollywood. As true as that statement usually is, every now and then a film
comes along that puts a new spin on an old tale, brings fire to
a tired genre or simply changes the way people look at cinema. Citizen Kane did that, so
did Psycho, Jaws, Star
Wars, Blade Runner, Pulp Fiction,
The
Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
What
does any of this have to do with Ivan Reitman, David Duchovny
and Julianne Moore? They’ve
all been in projects that have changed things; Reitman with Ghostbusters,
Duchovny on television with The
X-Files, Moore with the independent classic Safe;
the prospect of the three of them getting together is decidedly
mouthwatering. The
result? Safe to say, cinema as we know it is not going to change
with the release of Evolution. That said, if you’re going to do something mostly unoriginal you
might as well use a classic as your blueprint, and what better
blueprint than Reitman’s own 1984 ghost hunting classic.
The
plot, what there is of one, is laid out pretty straightforward
in the movie’s trailer. Duchovny
and Orlando Jones are science teachers at an Arizona community
college who stumble upon an otherworldly meteorite embedded in a
local cavern. Seann
William Scott is a local slacker who ends up intimately involved
with the havoc created by this cosmic intruder and Moore is a
government scientist who’s clumsy demeanor masks a straitlaced
by-the-book attitude.
The
meteorite has come to Earth seeped in microscopic organisms that
evolve at a lightening fast pace, covering a few hundred million
years of evolution in a few short days.
This Darwinian explosion produces nasty alien creatures
of various shapes and sizes and it is up to our four intrepid
heroes to save the Earth from eventual extinction. They’re an alien-busting, joke telling tour-de-force and nothing,
not winged serpents, giant amoebas or infested shopping malls
will stand in their way.
Truth be told, Evolution can be very funny. While never particularly original, the film is constantly amusing and at times downright gut busting. Duchovny in particular appears to be having a blast lampooning his own self serious X-Files image and his Mutt and Jeff rapport with Jones is quite good. In fact, Jones has his best screen outing to date, almost making the foul stench of Double Take dissipate from memory. Both Moore and Scott acquit themselves nicely, although neither is asked to do much more than perform a few pratfalls or act like an idiot.
Phil Tippett’s (the mastermind behind ED209 in Robocop) visual effects are quite imaginative, the aliens evolutionary process especially so, but there are moments when the film has an unfinished sheen to it that can be distracting. But, with a film as high concept as Evolution, calling attention to itself is sometimes the whole idea.
There
is nothing new in Evolution
and the similarities to Ghostbusters
are a bit disconcerting at times – Ted Levine’s general
is such a carbon copy of William Atherton’s EPA agent that
you’d swear it’s the same character just dressed in fatigues
– you have to wonder if the similarities were imbedded in Don
Jakoby’s original story or were added when Reitman came on
board to direct. The director himself seems to be running on fumes, the creative
juices that helped create classics like Dave
apparently vanished, but he’s got enough in the tank to keep Evolution
bouncing along amiably enough.
In the end, that’s more than enough. While it won’t win any awards or break any new ground, Evolution is perfectly acceptable matinee fodder that’s good enough to leave a smile, even if a week later you might not remember exactly why it left you with one.
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