This movie had the potential to be a good alien invasion film: Set several years after aliens conquer Earth, this film focuses on a Chicago neighborhood where a resistance cell is planning to fight back.
The problem is that the film is too grim and cheerless for its own good. Admittedly, there are a lot of excellent sci-fi films that have a similar tone (see Blade Runner). However, those movies also had strong character beats and great performances.
Meanwhile, this film can't even decide who the main characters are. The film begins by following John Goodman and Ashton Sanders' respective characters. There is a ten minute long sequence introducing a mostly new cast of characters over a half hour into the film. We don't spend enough time with any one character to get emotionally invested in them and, as a result, there's no emotional investment in the final product. This makes the film a rather dreary affair, no matter who lives or dies, the audience doesn't care.
The problem is that the film is too grim and cheerless for its own good. Admittedly, there are a lot of excellent sci-fi films that have a similar tone (see Blade Runner). However, those movies also had strong character beats and great performances.
Meanwhile, this film can't even decide who the main characters are. The film begins by following John Goodman and Ashton Sanders' respective characters. There is a ten minute long sequence introducing a mostly new cast of characters over a half hour into the film. We don't spend enough time with any one character to get emotionally invested in them and, as a result, there's no emotional investment in the final product. This makes the film a rather dreary affair, no matter who lives or dies, the audience doesn't care.