We’re presented with a familiar set-up: aliens have invaded Earth leading to destruction, division and plenty of dust. But unlike the majority of similar films that have come before, we’re then presented with an idea of what comes after. What if aliens stuck around? What if an uneasy arrangement was made with Earth’s governing bodies? And what if the invaders were now seen as the main legislative force whose presence had actually led to a statistically safer society? It’s a fascinating conceit and one that raises a string of intriguing questions, some of which the film answers with skill. (The Guardian)
Hard as it is for me to stay away from SF movies, I often get let down by pseudo dystopias of the most stereotyped kind. Indeed Captive State presents a familiar set-up, but the aliens’ agreement with the governing bodies, which gives birth to a repressive society, is quite new and intriguing. Metaphorical too, of course: control and repression create a fake safer society, a kind of A. Huxley’s Brave New World, in which social stability erases freedom and free will (see my post here). The subsequent rebellion and the ambiguous ending belong to a traditional plotline, but the raised questions are intriguing, I do agree with the reviewer.