I will admit that Anthony Mackie films are a guilty pleasure of mine and this is because I do not think he is a good actor but feel as though he is pushed in films because of some sort of diversity quota that exists in Hollywood. I watch his films but would never pay to see one because I want to see what sort of trite and predictable storyline they go for this time.
In Elevation, we get basically just a rehash of films about the "almost end of the world" situation involving some sort of evil creature. Yeah, you've seen them before but have you seen one with the horrible acting prowess of Anthony Mackie?
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So as is summarized by frantic voices over the radio in the first 30 seconds of the film followed by a 1-minute narration, the world has had 95% of the population wiped out by some creatures that just appeared one day. They seem to be completely impervious to weaponry attacks but for some reason, they cannot go to positions that are higher than 8000 feet in elevation. The reason why this is the case is never explained and is used merely as a plot device so that kids can be out "exploring" and run away from the monsters at the last second.
Because we need a reason to leave our little safe haven commune in the mountains of Colorado I think it was, Will's (Mackie) son has a breathing disorder and his medication has run out. We are meant to forget that Will's son in the previous scene was just moments ago running like a world-class sprinter as he was testing the boundaries of the commune and running full-steam away from one of these gigantic monsters.
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The nearby city of Boulder has a research facility that contains these very specific breathing apparatuses in droves and Will knows this because he was previously there and this begs the question as to why TF didn't you take more of them then? Also, why is it necessary for 3 of you to go? Well, that is actually spelled out in a very quick and seriously predictable way. One person who is a bit of a rogue lunatic in the village just so happens to be a researcher who worked at that very same laboratory in the past and the 3rd person, well, she's the person who shows up as they are leaving and refuses to be left behind.
Care to venture a guess as to which one of these people dies in what is meant to be glorious fashion about 8 minutes later?
They need to stay above 8000 meters as much as possible so Will has a grand idea to take them into a mine as a shortcut. Awesome, because if there is one thing that mines are known for, it is how elevated they are.
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So we charge through the mines and a ski resort occasionally encountering monsters so that we can see the bewildered and surprised look on Mackie's face over and over again because he has only ever seen these things hundreds of times before now and is considered a bit of an expert on them by his peers. Such surprise!
Obviously they make it to the laboratory and obviously one of the monsters is hot on their trail at the same time and obviously they get away by the skin of their teeth. None of this is gripping or eventful to the viewer because of course this is what happens. Literally everything in this movie is dreadfully predictable and feels like something that the screenwriters didn't even work on very hard.
This movie cost around $18 million to make and if I was going to say anything good about it, it is that the monsters, which are called "reapers", are introduced slowly in a sort of mysterious way. It isn't until we are well into the movie that we see them fully. Unfortunately that is basically the only good thing about this movie. The rest of it attempts to set up suspense or some sort of horror, but it just isn't scary because it seems as though they were just trying to mimic A Quiet Place but instead of sound it is how high you are in the air that is the one weakness of the enemy.
Should I watch it?
Look at that YT preview pane. Is Mackie capable of any other facial expression? Jesus, why do we give this guy money?
Believe it or not I feel as though this film actually serves a purpose of dumb entertainment, especially if you are like me and you want to see how awful someone like Anthony Mackie can possibly be. The story is useless but there are some unintentionally funny moments in there that I kind of enjoyed. Go into this expecting it to be terrible (it is) and you may actually have some fun watching it. It is not at all necessary to pay attention to the story because it's so poorly written that understanding the plot changes nothing.
The "big reveal" at the end will probably have you LOL'ing IRL like it did me.
This movie can be legally watched in theaters as well as on AppleTv, Fandango, MS, and Amazon Prime with a subscription