Evolution (film)

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Movie
German title evolution
Original title evolution
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2001
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 10
Rod
Director Ivan Reitman
script Don Jakoby ,
David Diamond ,
David Weissman
production Daniel Goldberg ,
Joe Medjuck ,
Ivan Reitman
music John Powell
camera Michael Chapman
cut Wendy Greene Bricmont ,
Sheldon Kahn
occupation

Evolution is a 2001 science fiction comedy directed by Ivan Reitman , who also co-produced the film. The main roles were played by David Duchovny , Orlando Jones , Seann William Scott and Julianne Moore .

action

A meteorite crashes onto the earth. At a remote location in the Arizona desert, it breaks through the surface of the earth and comes to a standstill in an underground cave. Wayne Gray, a junior firefighter who wanted to study for the entrance exam right there, can just get to safety.

Two scientists from the University of Glen Canyon -  biologist Ira Kane and geologist Harry Block, who is also a local representative of the US Geological Commission ( USGS ) - discover unknown forms of life on the meteorite. The microorganisms multiply and develop quickly, the single-celled cells mutate into multicellular organisms after just a few hours. Kane analyzes the DNA and finds that the organisms have ten base pairs , but earthly life has only four pairs. Block and Kane are already dreaming of the Nobel Prize. However, when they want to drive to the meteorite, they notice that the entire area has been cordoned off by the military in the meantime. There is now a laboratory around the point of impact. In charge of the US Army Research Department, General Woodman - a former colleague of Kane when he worked in the Department of Defense Research . Kane has released there because of his development of a vaccine against anthrax showed massive side effects. The military learned about the meteorite because they had been monitoring Kane's computer. In addition to the general, epidemiologist Allison Reed of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also responsible for the case - the two discoverers of the meteorite are booted out and have to leave the premises. An application in court to obtain further access to the site is not granted due to Kane's past. After Kane and Block return to their university laboratory, they discover that all of the samples and records have been stolen.

The following night, Kane and Block, disguised as officer and soldier, gain access to the meteorite. In their absence, the extraterrestrial creatures have evolved extremely quickly. First oxygen-converting fungi emerged , then flatworms , arthropods and vertebrates . They are stopped from proceeding by Allison Reed, who discovered them via the surveillance cameras. Meanwhile, one of the insects penetrates Block's body, which has to be removed rectally in a painful way for him.

The living beings, which go through the evolution in rapid transit, now reach the nearby city via an underground cave system and former mine shafts. A reptile-like being pulls a man into the water on a golf course and kills him, a little later it dies itself. It is discovered that the creatures cannot cope with the oxygen in the earth's atmosphere and can only breathe in their microclimate . However, rapid evolution soon produces specimens that can also tolerate oxygen. A flying creature resembling a pterosaur raids a mall and grabs a woman. Kane, Block and Wayne Gray (who has since joined the group) shoot the animal and save the woman.

Meanwhile, the extraterrestrial organisms in the cave system are already developing into primates . The military is now proposing the massive use of napalm , since at the current rate of spread, the alien beings would have populated the entire United States within just two months. Governor Lewis is initially against, but agrees after several primates from the caves raid the laboratory. Reed now joins Block, Kane and Gray. In their laboratory they find out that fire does not destroy the organism, but actually accelerates its growth . Reed tries to warn General Woodman, but he refuses to take her call.

Kane puts forward the scientifically questionable theory that selenium is just as toxic to nitrogen- based aliens as arsenic is to carbon- based humans. He justifies this with the fact that the poisonous elements in the periodic table are only a knight's jump away from the basic element. Kane and Block also face the problem of how to get the 2500 liters of selenium they need in the middle of the night. Deke and Danny, two otherwise less knowledgeable students, point out that Head & Shoulders , the anti-dandruff shampoo they use, contains selenium sulfide . You fill a fire truck full of shampoo and set off.

After the napalm use, a single, gigantic amoeba emerges , which breaks through the surface of the earth from the underground caves and destroys its other, more highly developed forms of life. When the amoeba is about to multiply through mitosis , they manage to pump the shampoo into the amoeba, which causes it to burst. The four are hailed as the saviors of the world, and Kane begins a relationship with Reed.

Finally, Block, Kane and Gray advertise Head & Shoulders shampoo in a commercial (see product placement ).

background

  • For the portrayal of the city ​​named Glen Canyon in the film , the recordings were shot in the village of Page (Arizona) in the desert. Additional locations were in various locations in California , including California State University, Fullerton , for the local university portrayal. The studio recordings were shot in Los Angeles .
  • The shooting took place from October 19, 2000 to February 7, 2001. Production costs were estimated at around $ 80 million. The film grossed around 98 million US dollars in cinemas worldwide, including around 38 million US dollars in the USA and around seven million US dollars in Germany.
  • It was released on June 8, 2001 in the USA and on July 19, 2001 in Germany.
  • The screenplay was originally written by Don Jakoby for a serious science fiction thriller; Ivan Reitman then had it rewritten as a comedy.
  • Based on the feature film, an animated series was produced for the Fox Kids Network television station entitled Alienators: Evolution Continues .

Reviews

“... an entertaining SF comedy whose tricks can take your breath away from time to time, but whose strengths lie in a well thought-out script. This does not betray its own logic for the sake of a cheap effect and at first allows rather ridiculous minor characters a convincing development. "

- The science fiction year 2002
  • On Rotten Tomatoes , the film was rated an average of 43% out of 128 counted reviews. The overall consensus is: "Director Reitman is trying to remake Ghostbusters , but his efforts are largely unsuccessful because the film has too many comedic misfires."
  • The lexicon of international films judged that the film was a “technically conventional science fiction action comedy” that was entertaining due to “convincing main characters and their actors, some of whom play against their reputation, as well as the imaginatively designed aliens”.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Age designation for evolution . Youth Media Commission .
  2. ↑ locations. Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Budget - gross profit. Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Budget - Boxofficemojo.com gross profit
  5. ↑ IMDb: theatrical releases
  6. ↑ Audio commentary on the DVD
  7. ↑ Wolfgang Jeschke, Sascha Mamczak (Ed.): The Science Fiction Year 2002. ISBN 3-453-19674-0 , p. 342.
  8. ↑ Evolution at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
  9. ↑ evolution. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used