The post-apocalyptic story is based on creatures who, along with survivors, fought against each other. Director George Nolfi pays attention to detail, and his dramatic lunging also looks great. It’s fair to say it is directed in the same vein, but more professionally. Most science fiction movies get moronic when attempting to direct with more of a fistful of genre ingredients, but George Nolfi surely avoids that pattern. It’s not unsophistication, but rather a deep comprehension of the fundamentals that push motion pictures like this forward: speedy world-building. Everything about the movie mixes perfectly, Moving around the real world while staying outside.
This one is set exactly how I like it, centered around the settings of the breathtaking Rocky Mountains, while also encasing a character by the name of “Will” who lives there alongside his son “Hunter” You’ll be pleased to know that Nolfi remains true to the original as he fights bulletproof monsters while living in these mountains alongside 4 other survivors after human/death reapers take out 95% of the human population.
For reasons that remain a mystery, the reapers have so far ignored humans located at eight thousand feet, which is good news for the hilly, mountainous areas (RIP Midwest) of the States. Although the end of the world has occurred, Will and Hunter are mostly okay. But they are always on the verge of losing their peace because of Hunter’s medical issues concerning breathing. Will decides to go below the safety line to find adequate resources that can aid him and is accompanied by Nina (Morena Baccarin), a physicist trying to devise a way to defeat the reapers, and Katie (Maddie Hasson), a family friend of Will.
From here on out, “Elevation” begins to feel a bit more like a video game sidequest, as the three go to distinct locations to collect items required for the trip, only to run into (and just barely escape) the reapers. Its construction provides few big shocks: Will considers the quest of seeking out the necessary medical supplies for Hunter’s relatively low-appealing odyssey that will have a high payout. However, we are aware such journeys are never straightforward. We know that there shouldn’t be any credits and that some of the characters would not survive the end and even there should be a third point about them that would explain their cruelty.
In terms of the reapers’ design, there’s nothing new to the war of the worlds. A little creativity has been shown with the edges of tomorrow and the tomorrow war’s deviant white spikes.
The one bright spot of the film though is through cinematographer Shelly Johnson. Johnson tends to fill the frames nicely but when he turns his camera to Colorado with its Alpines and foliage, it provides a massive contrast to the beauty that is on display. The great natural stunning scenes prepare the viewers for the shrieking and terrorizing beauty of an apocalypse that Johnson has realized. Johnson recalls the moment Will, Nina, and Katie run (animationally) from the reapers and Johnson captures that moment with long and wide drone shots that highlight the vastness and how small humans are compared to the reapers and their surroundings. The scene is genuinely tense as I felt we were the three of them and we were rushing into gulags, or when an ambulance was on the way. Johnson and Johnson alike are achieving a sense of chaos that is what an addiction feels like.
This is a commendable performance for Baccarin and Mackie, the characters are based on people who’ve gone through the loss of family which results in turmoil and the portrayal they have of the endless exposition and frustration of the general movies is well put.
This year’s “Bone Lake” has seen quite a lot of talent but Hasson stands out the most. She breathes a combination of rebellion and passion that combines with her suppressed sorrow giving her a multi-dimensional approach. Unfortunately, Hasson is forced to narrate long sequences instead of engaging in conversation when the context screams for the opposite, such as at the beginning of the sequence where deep context is being established for ‘the reaper’. (And when does the time come to talk about the terrifying episode to which this backstory belongs? It would be very sad indeed if the fate of the character, which can win sympathy by promising to lose it, did not require it).
The main character of the film is very well aware that ‘just living’ is not enough. One of the first scenes of the movie shows Hunter being stalked by a grim reaper. In such a scenario where he is bound to be attacked, one can easily judge him for crossing the line, but his approach is quite the opposite. To make matters worse, he more often than not resorts to black-and-white statements such as ‘all I wanted was to meet new people for once’.
He and Katie belong to a newer generation that knows that the world they fight to make better has been used by their ancestors. Such a struggle reduces existence to merely subsisting for another year or four with no hopes of ever thinking that the present reality could shift for the better. They acknowledge that perpetual damage control is an existence. While Will and Nina may engage in physical combat against the reapers, Hunter and Katie view themselves as those who strive to grapple with the world’s ugly side while seeking to approach its beauty; theirs is a spiritual struggle not to crack under the weight of cynicism and despair. So, while Elevation may forever remain squarely in its specific genre and bear the brunt of its inspirations, it is not that dull. It does not sink to being that dull. While it is enjoyable with a simple execution, clocking in at ninety minutes, I find it to be some of the best screenings I have seen It’s the perfect escape, with risks posed at a safe distance from the screen.
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