‘Captive State’ is a sci-fi spy thriller

Posted on March 22, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

There have been plenty of alien invasion movies over the years, almost enough to become a genre of their own. One thing they tend to have in common is the fact that they deal with the invasion itself and humanity’s attempts to repel the invaders, not what would happen if the aliens were successful.

That is not the case with“Captive State,” directed and co-written by Rupert Wyatt (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”). Set nine years after an alien force successfully invaded and took over Earth, the film follows people living in a Chicago neighborhood, some of which have decided to work alongside the invaders and some who still struggle to rebel.

Although the film suffers from some pacing issues due mostly to the way it shifts focus from one group of characters to another as the story progresses, “Captive State” features a lot of compelling world building as we are thrust into this police-state version of America with aliens pulling the strings. As a child of the 80s, I tend to think of Soviet Russian when I think of police states, but you can substitute your own version as you see fit.

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