Evolution

By TODD MCCARTHY

David Duchovny, Orlando Jones and Seann William Scott battle an alien lizard in 'Evolution,' from director Ivan Reitman.

A DreamWorks Pictures (in U.S.)/Columbia Pictures (international) release and presentation of a Montecito Picture Co. production. Produced by Ivan Reitman, Daniel Goldberg, Joe Medjuck. Executive producers, Tom Pollock, Jeff Apple, David Rodgers. Co-producer, Paul Deason. Directed by Ivan Reitman. Screenplay, David Diamond, David Weissman, Don Jakoby, story by Jakoby.
 
Dr. Ira Krane - David Duchovny
Harry Block - Orlando Jones
Wayne - Seann William Scott
Allison - Julianne Moore
Gen. Woodman - Ted Levine
Deke - Ethan Suplee
Nadine - Katharine Towne
Danny - Michael Ray Bower
Officer Johnson - Pat Kilbane
Flemming - Ty Burrell
Cartwright - Gregory Itzin
Governor Lewis - Dan Aykroyd

 

It may not be "Ghostbusters," but Ivan Reitman's return to the arena of otherworldly crime fighting is a consistently amusing action romp that easily passes muster as a summertime diversion. Smoothly injecting a welcome strain of knowing humor into the overworked invading aliens sci-fi/horror genre, "Evolution" also benefits from the agreeably supple interplay of its leading players, a modesty in the scale of production and some exceedingly vivid and credible visual effects that blend seamlessly with the action. While not looking to be a record buster, this DreamWorks release should surmount a questionable print campaign and benefit from upbeat word-of-mouth to evolve into a fine long-range moneymaker in all markets.

Originally written as a dramatic piece by Don Jakoby, script was wisely taken in a comic direction by Reitman and subsequent scenarists David Diamond and David Weissman ("The Family Man"). The picture has the requisite quotient of crude anatomical humor, some of it quite funny, in fact, but the prevailing tone is one of underplayed absurdism, an approach nicely achieved and maintained by practiced hands who know exactly what they're doing. During the "Meatballs" era, one would never have thought that Ivan Reitman would ever be accused of sophistication, but in the current comedy climate, it's just about come to that.

If "Evolution" had been done straight, the opening would have been a real groaner, so many times now have we witnessed the sight of a flaming meteor hurtling toward Earth. This one lands in the desert amid the spectacular buttes and rock formations around Arizona's Lake Powell, and practically on top of Wayne (Seann William Scott), a young doofus and aspiring firefighter who's practically incinerated while practicing his life-saving skills on a full-sized blow-up doll.

First to check out the site and become aware that something is awry are Dr. Ira Kane (David Duchovny), a former government scientist now laying low teaching biology at a community college, and Harry Block (Orlando Jones), Ira's geology instructor colleague whose more avid campus pursuit is coaching the women's volleyball team. Discovering that the meteor is "a rock that bleeds," Ira takes some samples back to his lab, where he observes that the single-cell organisms carried in from outer space are splitting and quickly growing into complex multicell creatures such as flatworms. The astounded scientist realizes that he's just witnessed two billion years of evolution in a single day.

But just because Ira can project what the terrifying logical end result of this process might be doesn't mean he can do much to stop it. When the U.S. Army takes control of the crash site, Ira and Harry are declared persona non grata by presiding Gen. Woodman (Ted Levine) and disease control official Allison (Julianne Moore), who reveals Ira's unfortunate military record as the creator of a failed anthrax vaccine.

Unable to restrain themselves, however, the unauthorized locals soon sneak into the sealed-off site, which has now become a veritable indoor rain forest, complete with a host of weird creatures, one of which literally gets under Harry's skin. Fans -- teens and otherwise -- of below-the-belt humor will find comic nirvana in the resulting episode, in which doctors deduce that the alien insect can only be removed through back door entry, to the painful consternation of the squirming Harry.

From here, the stakes are raised considerably, as a dragon rises from a golf course water trap for a human snack and a field full of dead and dying dinosaur-like reptiles is found right in town. But while the first batch of alien monsters appears to expire when exposed to pure oxygen, the next generation has no such limitation, as seen when a ravenous beast flies into a shopping mall (not without a comic mishap or two) and snatches a teenage girl aloft, only to be shot down by Ira.

Although the emphasis is on humor, Phil Tippett ("Jurassic Park," "Starship Troopers") was in charge of the visual effects -- pretty much guaranteeing some scare value as well. The creatures here are varied, detailed and fearsome, and while what they do isn't gory or shocking, it's often startling enough to produce screams, winces or covered eyes, depending upon viewer tolerance. The effects blend with notable naturalness into the physical texture of the film proper, an asset furthered by the sly, low-key way in which the players interact with "characters" you know weren't there during the actual shooting.

The action accelerates rapidly from mid-point on, as the team of Ira, Harry, new recruit Wayne and, eventually, Allison fight both the military and the monsters to avert what promises to be a complete alien takeover of the U.S. within two months' time. Many of the standard disaster film situations are present -- the panic of local officials, the evacuation of a small town, the misguidedly confident bluster of military officials, the stealthy efforts of marginal misfits to save the day -- but all skewed to breezy comic effect. Semi-gross-out ending, in which the mother of all aliens is combated with Head and Shoulders shampoo, messily but adroitly sends up the heroics associated with the entire genre, particularly "Independence Day."

Strong chemistry among the leads enhances the unusually easy-going and enjoyable mood. Alertly working in a vein of wry, understated wit, Duchovny has found here a much-needed commercial vehicle to jump-start his bigscreen career, but also one which, with its extraterrestrials and mysterious quasi-scientific overtones, possesses amusing echoes of "The X-Files."

Jones proves to be an offbeat, impudent comic foil; with his lanky frame, glasses and often quizzical look, he's something of a black Jeff Goldblum. But the bond established by these two thesps isn't so exclusive that it can't expand to include the more antic Scott ("American Pie," "Road Trip") once he asserts himself, or even Moore, who plays a brainy klutz who falls for Ira.

Production values are tops but appealingly unassuming, with Michael Chapman's lensing making good use of the bright Arizona light, editing by Sheldon Kahn and Wendy Greene Bricmont nudging things along at a spry clip and John Powell's score further enlivening the proceedings.

Camera (Technicolor), Michael Chapman; editors, Sheldon Kahn, Wendy Greene Bricmont; music, John Powell; production designer, J. Michael Riva; supervising art director, David F. Klassen; art director, Richard F. Mays; lead set designer, Noelle King; set designers, Eric Sundahl, Masako Masuda, Matthew G. Bekoff; set decorator, Lauri Gaffin; costume designer, Aggie Guerard Rodgers; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS/SDDS), William B. Kaplan; supervising sound editors, Per Hallberg, Karen M. Baker; visual effects supervisor, Phil Tippett; special visual effects and animation, Tippett Studio; associate producers, Kahn, Kenneth Schwenker, Ronell Venter; assistant director, Michael Neumann; casting, Margery Simkin. Reviewed at the Galaxy Theater, L.A., June 1, 2001. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 102 MIN.