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.
227 Reviews
Beautifully acted
mysouloffire10 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.
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
whsergent10 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.
If you were looking for science fiction, keep moving.
After thinking about it i took off another star for deceptive labeling.
Click bait for sci-fi fans. Amazon stoops low on this one.
frankblack-7996119 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.
Left me frustrated
and_shove_it_up_your_butt12 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
atractiveeyes17 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.
Wrong genre
grakky12 December 2021
A really good film that's not all that it seems.
valleyjohn17 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 .
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
radgavric12 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.
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.
really good
zombie84-117 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!
allankaaber12 December 2021
It's not a 5 star movie
gloriattkok11 December 2021
I know some of you are disappointed, But please, be a little more objective when rating a movie. This is a good story, decent Acting and Direction. Not seeing what you expected doesn't make it a 2 star. There is a lot of bad movies out, this is not so bad. For me it's between a 6 and 7.
An interesting encounter....
brockfal16 December 2021
All is not what it seems. What appears to be an alien encounter escape drama soon transforms into something quite different, and it really is quite good, although also quite different. This might even be a modern day parable or a comment on where we are these days in all our confusions and conflicts. In any case, Riz Ahmed once again shines, as do the two child actors playing his sons who are quite remarkable. It's all strongly directed, beautifully shot, and there's an excellent score too. In the end, I found Encounter absorbing and intriguing, and it's we'll worth a watch.
Keeps you guessing for awhile, cleverly done.
deloudelouvain17 January 2022
Nothing surprises me anymore. Another good movie that a lot of people hate. If this one isn't entertaining enough for some people I wonder what they find entertaining? Encounter keeps you guessing for a long time, what I found very cleverly done. Maybe the haters are not pleased with the outcome, because they were expecting something else, but it doesn't really matter. If you like a slightly mysterious story, with some good acting you can't really go wrong with Encounter. Riz Ahmed, playing the main character, was very convincing in his role, and the two kids also looked very natural in their roles. It's not easy to find good child actors but these two did a good job. I thought the story was pleasant to follow so I really don't get why this movie gets so many negative reviews. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the low scores and give it a shot, you might like it like a lot of other people did.
"FAMILIES TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER"
PANDIAN12062110 December 2021
Michael Pearce has brilliantly scripted to leave us in between a sci-fi thriller or a emotional drama,so chose ur scenic route to and ride to and fro and with some breath taking visuals and splendid editing it's a must watch for every typical movie buffs or a intelligent movie lovers if u are??? VERDICT: we need to take care of this movie.
The genre is misleading - This is a drama
msesen11 December 2021
This is a quality drama about more than meets the eye
emceeanz11 December 2021
Sci fi and thriller are probably not accurate terms to describe this film, it's certainly about more than meets the eye and it does have elements of both - but I would actually call this a drama/thriller, I can't say what it's really about without giving it away, nevertheless this is quality and powerful story telling, I think those that are giving bad reviews were thrown because they expected something else, I didn't because I read their reviews before watching and expected a slow paced drama- which is mostly what I got and I never felt bored or uninterested, it conveyed powerful emotion and highlighted a particularly problematic issue within society- the ending was immensely powerful, probably one of the most Powerful endings I've seen in quite a while and had me on the verge of tears.
Anyone that can appreciate slow paced , intelligent & meaningful dramas will undoubtedly enjoy this - I mean do we really expect anything less from the extremely talented riz Ahmet at this point?
Anyone that can appreciate slow paced , intelligent & meaningful dramas will undoubtedly enjoy this - I mean do we really expect anything less from the extremely talented riz Ahmet at this point?
Not A SciFi Thriller
anevius11 December 2021
Strong central performance
jon_pratt1234517 December 2021
This isn't sci-fi
markymids11 December 2021
I very rarely leave reviews on here but I felt compelled to having wasted two hours of my life on this.
It was a well-acted and well-shot film, but as a science fiction fan and with the title of the film being "Encounter" drawing me in, I was so disappointed with this. I felt cheated.
I won't spoil anything - but if, like me, you are drawn to this because it's got a sci-fi genre tag on it... walk away, do not watch. It is not sci-fi.
It was a well-acted and well-shot film, but as a science fiction fan and with the title of the film being "Encounter" drawing me in, I was so disappointed with this. I felt cheated.
I won't spoil anything - but if, like me, you are drawn to this because it's got a sci-fi genre tag on it... walk away, do not watch. It is not sci-fi.
Riz Ahmed
robdrummond19 December 2021
I like this guy and although his politics is rather nieave - I still like him!
This is a wonderful (if unbelievable) journey of a father and his sons and I didnt at any point feel that this film was teaching me anything about how "bad white people have been" to non whites
The main case was non white And I (as a white person) felt "its not my fault" as so many other films tey and portray. This film was non judgemental - believable and very heartwarming from a child/dad point of view - rather than shove "the race card" down my throat.
The boys were wonderful - and believable!
Thank you!
This is a wonderful (if unbelievable) journey of a father and his sons and I didnt at any point feel that this film was teaching me anything about how "bad white people have been" to non whites
The main case was non white And I (as a white person) felt "its not my fault" as so many other films tey and portray. This film was non judgemental - believable and very heartwarming from a child/dad point of view - rather than shove "the race card" down my throat.
The boys were wonderful - and believable!
Thank you!
Transcendent
aarpcats12 December 2021
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.
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.
Very good movie!
Starman-1022723 December 2021
Provides some insight into PTSD brought on by war. The character and story did bring me to a few tears at the end. War is a horrible thing countries should avoid unless it's a last resort because the impact of it is felt far and wide.
Excellent DRAMA. Some parts thriller/action
mrsladybug-794-30752313 December 2021
Its a shame its advertised as sci-fi. Its a good story and Riz Ahmed and the young boy are terrific. I too was expecting sci fi and felt like it was a bait/switch. But Mr. Ahmed was so good in The Night Of, that I stuck with it. It has a sci fi premise but..... I took away 2stars for the producers who thought advertising as sci/fi would get people to watch. I took another away because I have to write a review to undue what producers should not have done.
AVOID IF YOU EXPECT AN ALIEN SCI FI MOVIE!
shanelong11 December 2021
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