Evolution

[nc]

As this film got bad reviews and poor box office, I didn't bother to see it at the cinema and saw the likes of POTA, Pearl Harbor and Mummy Returns, and disliked them all very much.
Last night I watched Evolution. I enjoyed it immensely, and for me, it was one of the best summer films of recent years.
Another reason why I am no longer going to pay attention to film critics or box office.

[Vinyl-Pants]

I'd agree with you - it was very funny in parts, perhaps a little OTT in others. All in all its a DVD i'll be definately buying but im patiently waiting for the R1 release :)

[artgar]

I rented it the other night on the strength of the general story, I had not seen any previous reviews. I was very disappointed. There were maybe three short jokes which were amusing and the rest was very tired and re-hashed. The ghostbusters connection came through in the film and simply showed up the shortcomings of this movie. On the plus side I thought the actors did remarkably well with such a thin script and the transfer was good.

[john316]

I thought it was very, very poor. Duchovny was his normal boring self alongside a very thin plot and wafer thin jokes. Will probably end up buying the R1 DTS release because I am totally sad DVD collector!

[Tony Keats]

I think it's certainly worth watching, but it didn't make me laugh very often either. Part of the problem is that there have been so many adverts and clips from the film on T.V, that I'd seen most of the main gags already (and I knew the majority of Orlando Jones' lines off by heart!).

Also, when Dan Aykroyd appears he kind of alters the tone a little and gives the viewer a glimpse of the sort of film Evolution could (should?) have been:- A fantastically tongue-in-cheek parody of all these kinds of films, with exagerrated performances and wall-to-wall irreverence (would have been great!). What we actually do get is a smattering of prat-falls and some relatively uninspired humour. There's nothing terrible about the film you understand, but it does seem a waste of such a talented cast (and such a big budget).

I still enjoyed the movie for what it is really. It's basically a fairly interesting sci-fi tale with above-average production values. Okay, the comedic elements aren't as memorable as they should be, but they do at least serve to keep the story light-hearted (which is a good thing). It's an evening's worth of entertainment IMO, no more, no less.

[Sonick]

I like it
Orlando Jones is the star:clap:

[nc]

Here are the reasons I liked it
- a tight 95 mins (it didn't drag on like most of today's borebusters)
- very tongue in cheek
- unique story
- effects were impressive (unlike many films this year)
- humour was good (only a few bits made me laugh out loud, but it made me smile most of the way through)

The only negative bit for me was the final 15 minutes.

[Tony Keats]

nc- I agree with you about the run-time because the film never outstays its welcome.

The comedy doesn't go far enough IMO though and that's why so many people were disappointed by it (whatever good-points it may have, it's certainly no laugh-riot). It's always marketed as a zany comedy when in fact it's more of a concept-led Men In Black style affair. Like you say, there's plenty of 'smile humour' in it, but anyone expecting more than that could view the movie as a let-down.

The overall tone is a bit too conventional for my liking though and the formulaic aspects of the story make the physical humour seem quite inappropriate at times (whether it's funny or not). If you choose to buy-in to the narrative, then it works quite well as a quirky sci-fi movie (if nothing else).

[richy77]

average to say the least. Didnt laugh many times during the film which was disappointing.

[TimJBart]

i could raise a smile if i tried, but if i wasnt in a particulary good mood i could have gone through the whole film expressionless. it was quite entertaining but it didnt tickle my funny bone