Every year, we get dozens of uninspired action thrillers. Take a former big name, throw them a gun, and watch them run wild. It’s a simple formula that doesn’t lead to much great stuff. Elevation doesn’t exactly break away from that pack, but with decent leading performances from Anthony Mackie and Morena Baccarin, alongside some nicely crafted action, George Nolfi’s thriller is a serviceable time at the theater.
Elevation Review
In the world of Elevation, monsters have taken over the planet. However, they have a weakness: elevation. Above 8000 feet, the creatures can’t seem to attack anybody, forcing humanity to move up into the mountains to survive. This isn’t good enough for some of the people living there. They want to take back their lives.
Mackie plays a father forced to venture below the line to get medicine for his dying son. He’s joined alongside a scientist whom he bitterly despises (Baccarin) and another woman (Maddie Hasson), leading him onto an action-filled journey to save his child and potentially the rest of the world.
Along the way, the stakes you’d expect from most of these action/thrillers happen. The monsters have some unexpected weaknesses, and a race to find a way to kill these previously unkillable monsters ensues. Since this is set in the mountains, some interesting mountain-related set pieces paint the scene for some of the more exciting scenes.
Elevation‘s script, written by Kenny Ryan, Jacob Roman, and John Glenn, is fine. It’s not particularly inspired, but has some nice emotional beats to hold everything together. It helps that Mackie and Baccarin are pretty darn good together. The dialogue between the two isn’t always on its A-game, but the two at least deliver everything well enough to seem believable.
Director George Nolfi’s filmography isn’t particularly inspiring, but he does a decent job of showcasing the action here. The monster design is nothing too special, but the gunfights look and sound pretty realistic, so the film is pretty engrossing at points. Again, it’s not the best action flick, but it’s a pretty exciting piece of work.
I wish the visual effects were better. Sometimes — especially on a particular set piece on one of those ski lifts — the green screen is so noticeable that it totally takes you outside of the film. There’s an overreliance on CGI to make this work, which is never good. Some of the monster design looks pretty practical, so that’s worth something.
As far as the rest of the technical stuff goes, this is pretty serviceable. The editing is a bit frenetic but keeps the pace going nicely. The cinematography is pretty decent but bogged behind the aforementioned green screen issues. H. Scott Salinas’s score isn’t particularly original, but is also nice for the most part.
Is Elevation worth watching?
By the film’s end, so many of the expected beats are hit, and I wish a bigger swing would’ve been taken. I don’t have to explicitly tell you how it ends for you to know that it goes about the route you’d expect. Sometimes, it’s easy to have a film that you can predict, but since so many action thrillers get made every year, this one should stand out a bit better.
At the end of the day, Elevation mainly works because it’s a good time, with some nice thrills and a good leading duo. Its premise brings an interesting twist to the genre, but since that part isn’t explored enough, it all comes down to the exciting part. This is a film that relies on its action set pieces to keep your heart pumping, and at only 90 minutes long, it succeeds in that endeavor. If action is your thing, this is certainly worth checking out. If not, it’s not a huge miss to skip out.
Elevation is in theaters starting November 8.
Elevation Review — Action Thriller Isn’t Quite Elevated Entertainment
Elevation takes from the playbook of most other generic action flicks. With two good leading performances and some nicely crafted thrills, though, this is a fine time at the movies.
