Alien invaders have taken over the world and are controlling things as a government system called the "Legislature." While some humans are rabidly supporting their presence because of the perceived technological advances the aliens provide, there are those underground movements organized to resist their continued presence on earth. This film followed one such resistance organization in the city of Chicago called the Phoenix, and the efforts of officer William Mulligan to led police operations against them.
When you read this synopsis, you get a clearer picture of what the story was. However, when I watched this film, I had no prior idea of what it was about. Unfortunately, the disorganized way the setup of the story was being presented in Act 1 almost made me want to give it up altogether. Aside from John Goodman whom I knew, there were so many other lesser known actors playing characters whom I could not connect with immediately because I could not understand what they were doing.
It was a struggle to get through these introductory parts and get the identities of the multiple characters straight. There would be one big important scene in Act 2 of a big event set in a sports arena which will clear up the plot more clearly. After that, you can follow the action better right up to that detailed scene in Act 3 explaining about the whole operation of the Phoenix which certainly helped in making me appreciate the whole story better. The final scenes revealing more character motivations and their subsequent actions made for a most unexpectedly good ending.
There was an opening sequence set nine years before recounting the first few days of the alien invasion, involving two children -- brothers who survived an alien attack on their car that killed their parents. Later we see these two brothers again as young men, Gabriel and Rafe Drummond, played by Ashton Sanders (best known as one of the leads in "Moonlight") and Jonathan Majors respectively.
Veteran actor John Goodman was of course being his usual ever-efficient character actor as Mulligan. Vera Farmiga was the only other familiar face in the cast and she played Jane Doe, this amorous lady friend whom Mulligan visited. It was never clear what the true nature of their characters were, which I first thought was annoying. However, upon reaching Act 3 though, I realized on retrospect how skillfully director Rupert Wyatt had told his story. He took a big risk with an unengaging Act 1, but his Act 3 was a satisfying payoff. 6/10.
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