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the Last Word in
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the Last Word in
Science Fiction magazines online |
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Evolution (2001) Director: Ivan Reitman 
review by Gary Couzens Investigating a meteorite strike in Arizona, Dr Ira Kane (David Duchovny) and his colleague Harry Block (Orlando Jones) find out that it’s brought to earth more than just rock. Hitching a ride are single-cell organisms that rapidly evolve into complex multi-cellular beings that like their new home rather too well. The Center for Disease Control, in the persons of General Woodman (Ted Levine) and Allison Reed (Julianne Moore) get wind of Ira and Harry’s find, but the space beings are spreading through the state at a rapid pace... Evolution began life as a serious SF script by Don Jakoby but was much rewritten (David Diamond and David Weissman are also credited). Now it’s played for laughs, in an attempt to repeat the success of Men In Black and Reitman’s own Ghostbusters. Unfortunately it plays exactly as it sounds: a serious SF film punctuated with lame jokes and one of the most blatant product placements in history. Yes, the placed product gets to save the Earth! David Duchovny is as personable as ever, but Julianne Moore can do much better than this. (It’s not as bad as her cameo in The Ladies Man, though, so maybe that’s something.) Evolution passes the time, but it’s a half-hearted movie: diluted SF and half-baked comedy. |
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