R | 1h 30m | Drama, Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | 2024

With his newest feature “Elevation” now released, director and writer (“Ocean’s Twelve,” “The Bourne Ultimatum”) George Nolfi needs to seriously consider referring to actor Anthony Mackie as his good luck charm. “Elevation” is the third of Nolfi’s four movies to include Mackie (“The Adjustment Bureau,” “The Banker”). Whenever these two men work together, each fully delivers the goods.

The only Nolfi flick where Mackie wasn’t cast, the alarmingly awful 2016 martial arts action-adventure “Birth of the Dragon,” was clearly Nolfi’s sophomore slump.

Pinching a lot from “Jurassic Park,” “War of the Worlds,” and “A Quiet Place,” “Elevation” is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller set in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in the not-too-distant future. For reasons addressed many times, but never explained (on purpose), deadly creatures that look like steam punk cockroaches the size of pick-up trucks emerged from the earth’s core; surprisingly, the creatures wiped out 95 percent of the human race, but leave four-legged animals alone.

Also never explained, but in a good way, is that, as long as humans live and remain in areas 8,000 feet or more above sea level, they’ll remain safe.

Cabin Fever

It’s been three years since the first attacks. The survivors are barely getting by and are more than a little antsy. Former Boulder, Colorado physics researcher Nina (Morena Baccarin, “Firefly,” “Homeland,” “Gotham,” the “Deadpool” franchise) is an angry alcoholic. Fed up with being a prisoner in her own home, Katie (Maddie Hasson, “Twisted,” “Impulse”) isn’t quite as mad as Nina. She has a hard time concealing her crush on Will (Mackie), a widower and the single father of preteen son Hunter (Danny Boyd Jr.).

As much as he’d rather not, Will must venture beyond the 8,000 foot “safety line” to Boulder to fetch replacement filter cartridges for Hunter’s life-sustaining breathing machine. He goads Nina into joining him to see if her hypothesis on how to kill “the reapers” is viable. Not wanting to be separated from Will, Katie essentially demands to be included, much to Nina’s chagrin.

In most instances, movies written by committee tend to be uneven and all over the place thematically. However, the screenplay for “Elevation” by John Glenn, Jacob Roman, and Kenny Ryan (all contributors to TV’s “SEAL Team”) is remarkably focused.

Stripped Down and Lean

With the obvious exclusion of the “A Quiet Place” trilogy, action movies are almost always top-heavy with pyrotechnics, hyper-stylized visuals, outlandish CGI, whiplash editing, and bone-crushing sound effects—attributes largely missing from “Elevation.”

The reaper creatures are visible only in around a dozen scenes, and most of these are purposefully blocked from a full view and fleeting. Following Steven Spielberg’s lead in “Jaws,” where less is certainly more, Nolfi makes the reapers scarier by relegating them to the margins.

Rather than presenting a typical plot-driven action story, the writers crafted the screenplay as pure character-centric. The dialogue between the three principals crackles, but always in a naturally organic way. The dynamic between the two women starts out with great animosity, culminating in a bona fide “catfight” that’s thankfully short and intentionally funny. By the film’s halfway point, Katie and Nina not only come to respect one another, but actually cross over into a trusting friendship.

Little to No Gore

The movie also has a surprisingly low amount of up-close gore and graphic violence. When violence is depicted, it’s shown from great distances. The movie received an R rating because of profanity. In retrospect, had there been a few tweaks in the screenplay, the language could have been brought down to a much more commercially favorable PG-13.

The writers also avoid using too many $10 words when technical or scientific situations arise. When talking about Hunter’s breathing machine, Will simply calls it “the machine.” When Nina starts explaining her theories on what combination of chemicals and elements could eventually be used to dispose of the reapers, it’s done on a level that a sixth grader could understand.

It’s beyond refreshing to watch a sci-fi action movie that doesn’t insult the audience with nonsensical gobbledygook jargon or assault their senses with overblown audio-visual overkill. Fans of Mackie can already get plenty of that via his role of Sam Wilson, Falcon and Captain America in multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings.

Speaking of Marvel …

If you decide to see the movie, be sure to stick around through the closing credits. Following the lead popularized by Marvel, the filmmakers included a short “stinger” (“credits cookie”) which more than hints that a sequel is possible.

As someone who detests sequels (I’ve liked maybe six of them ever), I relish the idea of someone making another “Elevation” movie.

The film is now playing in theaters.

‘Elevation’ Director: George Nolfi Stars: Anthony Mackie, Morena Baccarin, Maddie Hasson, Danny Boyd Jr. Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes MPAA Rating: R Release Date: Nov. 8, 2024 Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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