After kicking off one of the truly great modern trilogies with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, director Rupert Wyatt left the realm of science fiction to make the crime drama The Gambler with Mark Wahlberg. Now he's back in the sci-fi realm, this time with an alien invasion, for Captive State. The latest trailer for Captive State has debuted and it teases a thrilling and tense dystopian story. Check it out below:
What's compelling about this trailer is that it is really teasing a film about a dystopian future, set 10 years after an alien invasion, but it looks very different from what we usually see from dystopian movies or those about alien invasions. What we see here is a street-level fight that tells the story of what happens long after the war has been lost.
This isn't about government forces and leaders of nations fighting to protect the planet, this is about ordinary citizens becoming soldiers in order to resist an occupation. Captive State is dealing with the realities of the common person living in a world where extra-terrestrials have taken over and where collaborators are viewed as traitors and dissidents are viewed as terrorists.
That is a story that has many real world parallels, both historical and modern, and that adds a feeling of realism to what we are seeing here. The fact that the extra-terrestrials are largely absent from the trailer only enhances that, as the totalitarian regime wearing a friendly smile and saving us from ourselves doesn't feel like science fiction, but something that can actually happen.
There is a grittiness to this trailer too. It isn't a glossy look at fancy alien technology, nor does it have the feel of a YA dystopian blockbuster. This feels very grounded and everything looks homemade. We hear "You gotta pick a side," but it's clear that nothing is black and white, and the murky gray morality associated with either choice is reflected in the drab color palette this film employs.
The trailer for Captive State is also quite thrilling and intense as citizen soldiers attempt to carry out some crucial mission against the occupiers. Ashton Sanders' and John Goodman's characters look like they may be playing both sides in a very dangerous game that could have us on the edge of our seats when this hits theaters.
While Captive State does look somewhat unique on the cinematic landscape, it bears mentioning that the story of an alien occupation and the collaborator/dissident dynamic is very similar to what the TV show Colony did on USA for three seasons. Nevertheless, that show touched on some difficult and interesting topics and I expect Captive State to do the same.
In addition to John Goodman and Ashton Sanders, Captive State stars Madeline Brewer, Vera Farmiga, Machine Gun Kelly and James Ransone. The script for the film comes from director Rupert Wyatt and his wife Erica Beeney.
Captive State was originally set to come out this past summer, but it flew so under-the-radar that it is now scheduled to arrive on March 29, 2019. For all of next year's biggest movies, check out our 2019 release schedule.
