I'm a huge fan of writer/director Alex Garland. Annihilation is one of my all-time favorite movies. And I love Sunshine, Ex Machina, Dredd, Devs and 28 Days Later. I saw this movie on opening night on his name alone. I did not watch a single trailer or read any reviews. I didn't even know what it's about. (This is the best way to watch a movie) To my dismay, this movie doesn't work for me at all. It's extremely slow with very little happening for most of the movie. I spent the majority of the time trying to figure out what was happening or what kind of story was unfolding. I impatiently made it to the end, hoping the movie could be salvaged. Instead I was given some of the weirdest stuff I've ever witnessed in a movie, and not in a good way. The best word to describe my feeling was befuddled. The movie overall is competently made with good directing and performances. But there isn't enough story or substance to balance out the abstract and metaphorical. I compare it to Annihilation which was juicy with metaphors and symbolism, but was also filled with story and substance. And while both movies have scenes and images that I've never seen or even imagined, the ones in Annihilation mesmerized and terrified me, while the ones in Men made me raise an eyebrow and say what I wrote in the headline. Alex Garland is now 3 for 4 in the director's chair. I should stop hoping that every new director prodigy will be the next Christopher Nolan with almost every movie being amazing. It's not reasonable. I should expect misses like Men. And I still look forward to seeing more from Garland. But I can't like a movie if after I've watched it, I have no idea what I just witnessed. (1 viewing, opening Thursday 5/19/2022)

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