Encounter (III) (2021) User Reviews

Not a bad psychological thriller. NOT Science fiction.

[avery_yates · 7/10 · 12 December 2021]

A tale of unhandled schizophrenia and it's complications.

Why this movie got the science fiction tag is beyond me. People who aren't into science fiction will skip it and people who are will be disappointed.

Misleading tags

[Perdoado · 6/10 · 11 December 2021]

It's a good movie, but because of the milseading tags it begs for bad reviews from those who went to watch expecting a sci-fi movie. I'm one of those. If I were looking for a PTSD, drama movie, I would definetly have liked it more, but instead I felt.deceived and disappointed.

Another bait and switch...why?

[ztigr · 6/10 · 11 December 2021]

I never understand movies that tease one premise but deliver another. Didnt Amazon just do this with the Owen Wilson film? Is wrapping mental illness in a trojan horse costume supposed to enlighten us somehow? You order a cheeseburger and get an orange. Well maybe you should just target orange lovers instead rather tricking the cheeseburger customers. Its not clever, its not enlightening and its not engaging.

No Sci-fi but the harsh reality of PTSD

[frank-liesenborgs · 7/10 · 11 December 2021]

"Encounter" tells the story of a former marine, Malik Khan (Ahmed) who is watching for signs of an alien invasion. One he thinks that is quietly overtaking the country following a meteor shower that brought a parasitic creature. The biggest mistake of the movie is the trailer. After seeing the trailer, you will expect aliens and a real Sci-fi movie. Nope. This movie deals with the harsh reality of soldiers coming back from a war and suffering mental problems. I have nothing but respect for these soldiers and this movie shows this aspect. Outstanding acting from Riz Ahmed (Malik Khan) and his two sons in the movie, Lucian-River Chauhan (Jay) and Aditya Geddada (Bobby). You will hear from these boys in the future. This is an excellent movie, well shot and nice scenery. Forget the trailer and enjoy this movie.

Beautifully acted

[mysouloffire · 7/10 · 10 December 2021]

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.

Not a sci fi movie or a thriller

[whsergent · 3/10 · 10 December 2021]

Its mediocre melodrama redeemed only by Mr. Ahmeds stellar performance. He pretty much single handedly pulled this run of the mill, lifetime movie quality hunk of schmaltz out of the fire and even then its just watchable.

If you were looking for science fiction, keep moving.

After thinking about it i took off another star for deceptive labeling.

Pleasant surprise

[kgrv2000 · 7/10 · 13 December 2021]

Along with a lot of other people, I too went into this thinking it's a sci-fi film. I have to fault Amazon for false marketing. Even the beautiful opening scenes presented that. Anyways, I couldn't get angry because the whole film was superbly made. The acting by Riz and the older boy was so good. It kept me guessing right up near the end. I kept expecting there really are alien parasites.

This is an excellent movie. The low ratings here are from people who expected a sci-fi film and got disappointed. You should look past that.

Click bait for sci-fi fans. Amazon stoops low on this one.

[frankblack-79961 · 3/10 · 19 December 2021]

This was a huge disappointment for me. If you are relying on the Amazon synopsis for the film, you will be too. I should have looked at the reviews, but I didn't. Wasted an hour before i realized this wasnt a sci-fi.

An Alien Movie with No Aliens...OK

[skip-98756 · 7/10 · 13 December 2021]

Well anyone expecting an Invasion movie is gonna be sorely dissapointed.. Good acting from highly rated actors in a movie whose title And description is totally misleading...Looks more like a drama about a veteran who has PTSD.

A waste of a good premise

[jaimemedina-36288 · 3/10 · 10 December 2021]

There's no sci fi in this movie which would make it more of a psychological thriller if there was any real tension or suspense at all in this total miss of a production. But there isn't. Instead what we have is a completely formulaic absurdity. All the clichés appear: the paranoia, is it real or imagined, the annoying kid that keeps getting the group in trouble, the one dimensional point A to point B plot progression, etc etc. It's a shame because the implied premise is quite good. But It's just bait and switch. You never really believe that anyone is really going to be hurt so there is zero suspense. And there's no courage in the story to go anywhere that we haven't seen 100 times before. And there's absolutely no 3 act so there's no intelligence to the story in the end. There's no processing of tension because there's nothing there to process. As the credits role you're left with "meh". Which is a crime given the talent in the cast.

Skip it.

NOT a Sci-Fi! It's a DRAMA!!!

[tsroque · 9/10 · 12 December 2021]

If you're watching this film thinking it's about aliens, you're in the wrong place! It's about a father struggling with mental health issues who kidnaps his sons thinking he's saving them from an alien invasion. Riz Ahmed's performance was OUTSTANDING!!! Those who rated this film low were rating the miscategorization of this movie. I was surprised too but I ended up loving this movie!

Haha you tricked me

[gemfesty · 7/10 · 11 December 2021]

We make genre choices by mood, maybe we had a hard day and just wanted to chill out to a sci fi thriller.

Instead we get tricked into watching yet another ptsd movie, not that I don't appreciate and support the mental health issue.

Half way through the movie you realise you weren't in the mood at all for this drama.

Left me frustrated

[and_shove_it_up_your_butt · 4/10 · 12 December 2021]

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.

Pleasant Surprise

[atractiveeyes · 7/10 · 17 December 2021]

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.

Not Sci-Fi!

[nufc_geordie · 4/10 · 10 December 2021]

This is not science fiction, nor a thriller. This is a movie about PTSD and family. However, the cast and acting are excellent and make it watchable. The few action scenes are adequately done but completely unnecessary.

Don't listen to the bad reviews great movie

[coreytegley · 7/10 · 12 December 2021]

All these bad reviews because people thought it was a Sci fi movie. It's not. It's about a troubled father with pstd. The story is excellent the acting is top notch. Watch it for yourself and you will like it. Don't read any reviews. Best movie I've seen in awhile.

Wrong genre

[grakky · 3/10 · 12 December 2021]

This is definitely not a sci fi if as the genre mentions, just another movie about a guy with possible PTSD.

Actor is good but thus click bait genrenis very disappointing.

this one bugged me

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 2 December 2021]

Greetings again from the darkness. It's all in the terminology you opt to use. Secret rescue mission or kidnapping. Protective or paranoid. Alien invasion or mental illness. By opening on a meteor flashing across the night, and following that with National Geographic-style shots of bugs in nature, parasites attacking hosts, and news clips of violent rioters, we can't help but assume that writer-director Michael Pearce (BEAST, 2017) and co-writer Joe Barton want us to believe the end is near.

Riz Ahmed (SOUND OF METAL, 2019) stars as Malik Khan, a former Marine and paroled ex-convict who is on a mission to rescue his boys from the "non-terrestrial micro-organisms" infecting the human race and taking over the planet. His oldest, Jay (Lucian-River Chauhan) is observant and smart, while the younger Bobby (Aditya Geddada) is a bit quick with his outbursts. Since the boys live with Malik's ex-wife, his midnight visit awakens them for a "surprise" vacation trip.

The bulk of the movie is the father-sons road trip. Most of the best scenes - those that generate the most tension - are between these three. One exception is a terrific sequence featuring a confrontation between Malik and a cop during a 3:00am traffic stop. It's well-staged and plays right into our initial thoughts on the alien invasion, while simultaneously being our biggest clue. Soon, Malik is in touch with Hattie (Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, THE HELP, 2011), his sympathetic Parole Officer, who then involves the FBI - including kidnapping expert "Shep" (Rory Cochrane), who heads the manhunt and categorizes Malik as a "family annihilator" (exactly what it sounds like).

Cinematographer Benjamin Kracum makes the film looks top end, and Riz Ahmed shows again what a powerful actor he is. The frustrating thing here is that the first half of the film is a terrific set-up for a story that doesn't happen. Instead this train changes tracks and devolves into something we've seen too many times before. If not for the included Townes Van Zandt song, this would have really "bugged" me.

In theaters Friday December 3, 2021.

Misleading.....

[stlagan · 2/10 · 10 December 2021]

Regardless of the performances, drama, etc, this film made me mad because I don't like feeling deceived.

Note: this is not a scifi movie, and it's sold as one. If you want to do a nice drama about PTSD, war veterans, broken families and the like, then cool. If you want to add a plot twist then it's all good, but keep it on the down low and let it unfold. If this movie was billed as a drama initially without the science fiction "baity" title then it wouldn't be so bad. Personally, I would still think it was badly written and boring but I wouldn't be annoyed.

To sum up: watching "Encounter" is like watching Aliens only to find out they didn't actually exist and Riply was just suffering psychosis from stasis sleep. But that's all okay because the writer did some nice things with the relationship between Ripley and Newt.

A really good film that's not all that it seems.

[valleyjohn · 8/10 · 17 December 2021]

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 .

Great performance by Riz

[radgavric · 7/10 · 12 December 2021]

Riz is slowly becoming one of my favourite actors, I am yet to see a performance from him that didn't impress me.

The movie starts with the great premise and its accompanied by another great performance by Riz and solid performance from boys, especially the older one.

The road trip interaction between father and its two sons is the one thing that holds this movie to be better than average for me.

What let's it down from being great is change of direction of the movie from about half way point.

From building brilliant suspense, to quickly resolving it, and disregarding it, towards the ending, that we have seen many times before.

Would be an 8 rating if not for the bait and switch

[willandcharlenebrown · 4/10 · 20 December 2021]

What a Debbie downer. I need to be mentally prepared for PTSD movies. Don't bring me in for senseless cool sci-fi then drag me into mental depression and kids witnessing a fathers breakdown.

really good

[zombie84-1 · 7/10 · 17 December 2021]

Its not what people expected and thats why everyone is hating on it. Its a mental health movie - and something we dont get a lot of. Riz is an amazing actor, and the kids were fantastic too. Well worth your time - but dont go into it expecting an all out action film. Its a family drama through and through.

Solid drama!

[allankaaber · 7/10 · 12 December 2021]

Only reason this movie gets sich low ratings is because people expected it to be a sci-fi thriller and not a drama. This movie is a solid drama with some thrills at the end.

Not a Scifi film

[Henry7227 · 2/10 · 10 December 2021]

Is is really science fiction if there is no science in it?

I admit that I gave up halfway through, probably gave it halfway too much. A crazy dad kidnaps his kids because he thinks the world is being taken over by an alien parasite being transmitted by mosquitoes.

Even as a drama about a crazy dad kidnapping his kids it isn't very good.