Subject: Review: Evolution (2001)

From: Shannon Patrick Sullivan <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 18:54:58 -0000

EVOLUTION (2001) / * 1/2

Directed by Ivan Reitman. Screenplay by David Diamond, David Weissman and
Don Jakoby, based on a story by Jakoby. Starring David Duchovny, Orlando
Jones, Julianne Moore. Running time: 104 minutes. Rated PG for frightening
scenes by the MFCB. Reviewed on August 27th, 2001.

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

Synopsis: When a meteorite crashlands in the Arizona desert, community 
college professors Ira Kane (Duchovny) and Harry Block (Jones) are first 
on the scene. They discover that an alien lifeform has arisen from the 
rock and is evolving at an amazing rate. Soon the army, advised by Dr 
Allison Reed (Moore), moves in and forces Kane and Block out. But when the 
aliens begin to menace society, it may take the scientists' combined 
efforts to stop them before they terminate the evolution of another 
lifeform: humanity.

Review: "Evolution" certainly has the ingredients for a decent comedy. 
It's directed by Reitman, clearly trying to parlay his "Ghostbusters" 
success into a twenty-first-century counterpart. It stars Duchovny, and 
although one might question his judgment in lampooning his "X-Files" 
character so soon after leaving the TV series, it should certainly provide 
him with plenty of ammunition. And then there's Moore, who may not have 
much prior experience in comedy, but who has certainly proven her ability 
as an actress. A shame, then, that it all deteriorates into such a 
hopelessly unfunny morass. "Evolution" is a movie more concerned with its 
special effects (which are quite good) than anything resembling a 
consistently funny script. It has its moments (a scene in which Jones' 
body is invaded by an alien is particularly entertaining), but there are 
embarrassingly long stretches that are utterly devoid of humour. Moore is 
totally wasted, her clumsy shtick getting very old, very fast. Duchovny 
has stunningly little in the way of material to work with. And the story 
is so formulaic, it could have been written by monkeys. Part of what made 
"Ghostbusters" so wonderful was a combination of a great script and 
characters the audience could root for. "Evolution" is so mind-numbingly 
tedious that it's difficult not to start cheering for the aliens.

Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
Archived at The Popcorn Gallery,
  http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html

  |     Shannon Patrick Sullivan    |         [email-masked]          |       
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X-RT-RatingText: 1.5/4