'Elevation' (2024) Movie Review

Elevation, the new sci-fi adventure from The Adjustment Bureau director and Bourne Ultimatum writer George Nolfi, is fine. That’s the most accurate way to put it. It’s a solidly executed creature feature with an intriguing if underdeveloped hook, charismatic leads, moderate tension, and a crisp visual style. It gets right in, does its business, and wraps things up in less than 90 minutes. Is it thought provoking, innovative, or particularly memorable? No. But it’s entertaining and compelling enough if that’s all you’re after.

 

The story picks up three years after the Reapers, a type of giant unkillable cockroach-scorpion-looking bug, emerge from sinkholes and kill 95% of the human population. The trick is, they can’t go above 8000 feet in elevation, so small enclaves of humanity persist on mountaintops. We learn right out of the gate that the 8000 feet thing is a very hard and fast rule. They will run right up to that boundary and stop dead in their tracks, even if their quarry is only a few inches beyond. Curious, right? No one knows where they really come from, what they want, or how to stop them. 

 

[Related Reading: 'The Adjustment Bureau' Movie Review]

The crux of the narrative hinges on Will (Anthony Mackie, Synchronic). He’s got a dead wife and a sick son who needs medical supplies only found below 8000 feet. So, he must risk life and limb to save the day. Accompanying Will on his journey are his spunky BFF Katie (Maddie Hasson, We Summon the Darkness) and Nina (Morena Baccarin, Deadpool), an alcoholic former physicist dead set on finding a way to kill the Reapers. 

 

There’s little in the way of subtlety, nuance, or depth to Elevation—it’s all text, no subtext. Will is the perfect father, wholly devoted to his child, which forms the bulk of his personality. The core trio has capital H History with each other that they will tell you about, as well as secrets that come out at carefully timed intervals. These facets function as they’re designed to, but it’s all surface level. The relationships, characters, and interpersonal drama are never fully fleshed out or developed in any meaningful capacity. For example, Katie says, “I don’t like you, Nina, never have.” That’s the level of bluntness we’re dealing with. Even the main concept plays half-baked, like they had an interesting premise but no idea how or interest in exploring further. The actors do their jobs well and keep your attention, but there’s not much for them to dig into.

 

[Related Reading: 'We Summon the Darkness' Movie Review]

On a technical level, this is a sturdy offering. Nolfi and cinematographer Shelly Johnson (Captain America: The First Avenger) make excellent use of the spectacular Colorado mountains and forests. They capture the scope and grandeur without being intrusive or overly showy. Some of the digital effects show the limitations of their resources, especially as it relates to the creatures. But Nolfi has the sense to keep them as an oblique threat, at a distance, rather than front and center and in your face until absolutely necessary. 

 

Elevation offers a nice momentary distraction, though not much more. Then again, it’s not really trying to be anything too grand. (Though the end attempts to set up future installments you have to imagine will never see the light of day.) This plays like a mid-tier ‘90s genre programmer, a movie you see, fill a couple hours with, and never think of again. [Grade: B-]