Hey guys, apologies on being a day late, but here we are! I sat down and watched Evolution a couple of days ago, a film I tracked down for three reasons: 1) I remember the cartoon. 2)It has Julianne Moore in it. 3) I knew it would come cheap and I had £2 on a CEX voucher.

The film was pretty much exactly how I imagined it, only with more jokes about the rectums of various creatures. I knew it was going to be sub-ghostbusters and not really that good, but expected some cheesy fun. And yeah, that’s what I got. I actually enjoyed this film more than I expected to though, with it’s four leads being engaging and enjoyable to watch (if written somewhat one- dimensionally) and the CGI aliens are actually pretty creative! So without further ado let’s get this bonus blog under way!

Evolution initially follows two school science teachers in Arizona who stumble upon Alien life. Said life quickly grows exponentially out of control and the pesky ol’ government step in- leading to a team of the two teachers, one federal scientist and a teenage wannabe firefighter coming together to stop the still-growing aliens through hijinks and spunk.

These four leads are Ira (David Duchovny, Biology teacher and former leading light of American science who screwed up); Harry (Geology teacher whose real love is coaching the school Women’s Volleyball Team, played by Orlando Jones); Allison (Federal Scientist in charge of containing the Aliens, oddly prone to pratfalls and played by Julianne Moore); and Wayne (Wannabe Fireman and cocksure teen played by Sean William Scott).

Let’s start with what’s good:

The film genuinely did engage me and I was never bored. I think this should, at least in part, be attributed to the way that the Alien threat is framed as being ever-growing and spiraling way out of control. There’s a sense that the characters don’t have a lot of time to work with and there are no wasted scenes; the plot moves along quickly, without feeling rushed. So even though this is pretty by the numbers action-comedy for a firmly audience, its never allowed to sag and so its flaws don’t have time to bother you all that much.

Next up, the leads are all good. I understand now why David Duchovny was, like, THE leading man for a while. He’s handsome and funny in a kind of lethargic, effortless way. Orland Jones lands a lot of actual laughs in this film- even if is character is oddly creepy and playing to stereotypes. Sean William Scott plays a version of the same character he always plays- cocksure, crass but significantly more likeable than his character Stiffler from the American Pie series. And finally Julianne Moore is great, lifting a nothing role of ‘sexy scientist who pratfalls all the time in case the male viewers get intimidated by her intelligence’ into feeling like an actual human being.

Finally, there is a moment where Harry tackles a girl out of the clutches of a shrieking, flying alien which is easily the best and also most ridiculous stunt in the whole film that I enjoyed a lot. Can’t find a gif of it so here’s the next best thing:

Now, onto the not so good stuff:

The film is family-friendly action/ comedy popcorn stuff. Nothing wrong with that, but its also only really a middling example of said archetype. It doesn’t teach any interesting lessons, have any real emotional weight or even excite on the level of a really good example. The CGI is good but a lot of the actual action is pretty pedestrian. There are some good jokes, but there are just as many bad ones and none of them are belly-busters. I can’t imagine many people seeing this film and going back to it again very often. It’s okay, but everything it does is done better elsewhere. If you’re an adult you’re probably better off watching Ghostbusters, which the film apes, and if you’re a child/ watching with a child, you’d be better off with something like E.T.

The other major issue I have with it is how dated a lot of the humour is. This is not entirely the film’s fault- I can hardly blame it for the passage of time and the fact that things change. But even allowing for this there is some gross stuff in here about Harry showering with his Women’s (Girls, more accurately) Volleyball Team and how he thinks Allison probably just needs a ‘good humping’ to unwind a bit. Indeed most of this bollocks is foisted on Orlando Jones’s shoulders- the fact that Harry is still basically likeable is a testament to his charisma (to be fair he does get to say ‘Rub some Funk on it’ in relation to Wayne’s singing, which is hilarious). Additionally, there are a straight-up Freudian number of arse/ rectum jokes in this film; to the point that even the climax revolves around one. It’s not the end of the world, but it is lazy.

All in all this film is alright. A surprisingly enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half, but not one you’ll be recommending to your mates.

2 stars!

-Tom