The 5 Best Alex Garland Movies
The prolific writer and filmmaker just released his fifth movie.
'Ex Machina'
Alex Garland has established himself as one of contemporary cinema's most distinctive voices.
The guy was an acclaimed novelist and screenwriter (The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine) and is now pioneering his way as a director who crafts thought-provoking and often unsettling genre films.
Today, I was pumped to sit down and rank the five movies he's directed.
Let's dive in.
1. Ex Machina
This is one of those movies I recommend to everyone. And one that seems to get more and more relevant as we see the rise in AI.
This sci-fi thriller follows a programmer testing the consciousness of a sophisticated AI (played by Alicia Vikander), with really strong performances from Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson.
It earned Garland an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and won for Best Visual Effects. It holds high critic (92% RT) and audience scores (86% RT).
And it has an ending that feels so ominous.
2. Warfare
Garland's most recent directorial effort, Warfare, which he co-directed with Ray Mendoza, this film reconstructs a real combat incident involving Navy SEALs in Iraq.
I found it to be quite powerful. The story forces you to feel and puts you in these heroes' shoes as they try to return home alive. We really should do more for these guys, and this should be a movie that is mandatory viewing for all Americans.
It has debuted to exceptionally strong critical (95% RT) and audience (93% RT) scores on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest for any Garland-directed film currently.
3. Civil War
A really creative look at a dystopia that could tear Americans apart and start chaos. In it, we follow journalists traveling across a fractured United States during a modern civil war.
Humanity is at its center as we dissect how these things happened and the inevitable way they'll end, with a corpse in the White House.
It became a commercial success and received generally positive reviews (81% RT) for its intense action sequences, technical craft, and performances, particularly from Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons' sunglasses.
4. Annihilation
This is a weird one that you can revisit again and again to explore its depths. It's an atmospheric cosmic horror film based on Jeff VanderMeer's novel.
We follow a biologist (Natalie Portman) entering a mysterious, mutating environmental zone. While critically acclaimed (88% RT), its abstract and I'd say often experimental themems led to a more moderate audience reception (67% RT).
5. Men
Folk horror in rural England has never been creepier. The movie stars Jessie Buckley as a woman haunted by various men (all played by Rory Kinnear) during a countryside retreat.
I liked the overall idea and metaphors at play, but this one kind of felt like it kept me at bay more than the other movies welcome you in,. It holds the lowest critical (69% RT) and audience scores among his features, but is still worth watching because it's art and I like to watch this filmmaker work.
Summing Up the Best Alex Garland Movies
Alex Garland is someone whose work demands you go to the theaters to see it on the big screen. I've been a fan of his writing for a long time, and seeing him come into his own as a director has been a pleasure.
I'm excited for the next chapters in his career and to see anything he works on.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
