Encounter

A ton of sizzle but no steak. The ending left me feeling disappointed and let down. I did enjoy the performances of the three main characters (Riz, Lucian-River and Aditya) however, as compelling as they were they couldn't save this movie.

Riz Ahmed is one of those actors who rarely makes a bad movie . At the moment he is on a hot streak of really good films and Encounter is no different although I'd argue that Riz probably isn't the star of this film , it's the two actors who play his sons .

The two lads play brothers who embark on a journey with their father, who is trying to protect them from an alien threat and at first it feels like a run of the mill alien/Sci Fi movie but you soon realise it's much , much , more than that.

It's a film about desperation , survival and mental Heath but most of all it's a film about family .

I love the interaction between the father and his sons . Forget what's going on around them , these boys desperately love their dad and visa versa and being a father of two boys myself , this resonated with me .

A special mention has to go to Lucian-River Chauhan and Aditya Geddada. Both are fantastic. Lucian is brilliant and I predict big things for him and Aditya is so funny .

Listen out for some unusual use of some Phil Collins music . A strange choice but it worked perfectly.

Encounter is much better than I could have hoped for and might surprise quite a few people who are probably expecting a completely different type of film .

I didn't read any reviews for this movie before watching, and I'm glad I didn't. Although it might not be your classic si-fi, I believe it was marketed like this for a reason to keep you guessing.

The acting was brilliant by the boys. Their performances are genuinely one of the most realistic for children I have seen.

It clearly isn't for people who are after a shoot-em-up alien flick (see the 1 star reviews), but much more a commentary on mental health, treatment of ex-soldiers, and the lack of empathy from the general system.

This movie is not a no-brainer.

Army brat here. Military kids are only allowed to cry on two occasions - the day Daddy leaves to go to war and the day the two soldiers show up to tell you he isn't coming home. If Daddy comes home crazy (or Mom goes crazy while he's gone), the kids take the beatings for it. But they don't cry.

Meanwhile, it's life as usual and the kids hope the beatings don't become "family annihilation." Then some one they know (in our case, it was the Army psychologist down the street) comes home and kills everyone because, in the way war has taught him to think, killing his wife and kids is a kindness. He's just protecting them from the psychic pain he feels every minute of every day.

No, this isn't "Cowboys and Aliens." (And it isn't "woke" Hollywood. The American military is multi colored and so are the people who work as parole officers). Give the whining a rest. Embrace the reality of how we leave our heroes after Halliburton gets the oil contract.

This is about what happens when a man is used up by war, and the same people who wanted him to die for his country want to kill him. To be fragile and lost is to be dangerous. It's easier to throw him away than fix him.

PTSD - it kills people every day.

Do you know the feeling you have after you have been in a car wreck? Every stop at a light feels like you will be rear ended. Every car looks a little too close. Driving too fast becomes terrifying.

Now imagine that feeling building every day for ten trips to war. Imagine that anxiety building every day until it becomes more normal to you than a trip to the store.

Malik wants his boys back. He goes to get them. He takes them to the American desert, but his mind is still in the desert of war. And now his boys are with him.

We do this to soldiers every day. We do this to the children of soldiers every day.

The thing is that the children of soldiers know that PTSD isn't Daddy. It's what the war did to Daddy.

It's the real horror here, not the alien invasion. And it hurts my heart that most of the viewers can't see it,

But, guess what? Love wins.

I actually saw it because of its interesting cast and had low expectations because it seemed just like not my cup of tea but it turned out to be a fun ride. The story is interesting, it flows beautifully and unexpectedly, and tackles a beautiful topic. It has some nicely shot thrilling action scenes, it also gets emotional sometimes. All in all, it's very good and highly enjoyable but don't see it if you're looking for a typical sci-fi movie.