'Captive State' review: Plays like a cheap 'District 9' knockoff

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

The new film “Captive State” is an interesting mess of ideas. It tries to combine the alien invasion premise of “District 9” with the elements of a standard political thriller and the end result is a cold and confusing shoulder shrug. It also doesn’t help matters that a film with an alien invasion at its core demands for its special effects to be mildly believable and they are anything but. Whether it’s due to budget restrictions or poor planning, the visual work in “Captive State” does very little to distract you from its convoluted plot. In fact, it does the opposite. It adds another log to the fire of this film’s bad ideas.

The film begins in Chicago directly after an alien takeover has ravaged the city. Residents are running scared and the government is trying to maintain its grip on the little information they have on the unwelcome space invaders. This prologue also introduces us to the two brothers we’ll come to follow as soon as the opening credits roll. They are Gabriel and Rafe Drummond (Ashton Sanders and Jonathan Majors) and while their purpose in the film isn’t entirely clear at first, it only continues to be more questionable as the film progresses. The decision to focus the film on two dull characters meant to be audience surrogates is one of many that holds “Captive State” back from being at the very least a watchable movie.

It’s more surprising that “Captive State” was directed and co-written by Rupert Wyatt whose last three films (“The Escapist,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “The Gambler”) sold characters with genuine motivations and entertainment. The only good thing he’s been able to do here is surround the leads with dependable character actors like John Goodman, Vera Farmiga and James Ransome. They bring “Captive State” to life (Goodman in particular) but only in small flourishes and not enough to keep the film going for the long haul. When all is revealed and we see the civilian and political ramifications of the alien plot threatening society we’re left with more questions than answers. This is one big head-scratcher of a film with its heart in the right place but not enough visual skill and comprehension to tell an entertaining story.

Rating: C

“Captive State” is now playing in theaters nationwide.