Taglines: The phoenix will rise!.
In 2019, Chicago is placed under martial law after a global extraterrestrial invasion. As the Drummond family attempts to flee the city, they break through a barricade but are confronted by the aliens, who vaporize the parents but leave their sons Gabriel and Rafe alive.
By 2027, the world has capitulated to the alien “Legislators”, submitting to their governance. Humans are conscripted to build “Closed Zones”, underground habitats for the aliens with access only granted by high government officials.
Gabriel Drummond (Ashton Sanders), living in the impoverished Pilsen neighborhood, is confronted by Chicago Police Special Branch Commander William Mulligan (John Goodman), who was partnered with Gabriel’s father before the invasion. Mulligan is convinced that the Phoenix resistance group has not been neutralized, contrary to what the public has been told, but Gabriel offers him no information.
Gabriel meets with a member of Phoenix to sell a hand-rolled cigarette containing secret information received from a coworker. The man takes him to Wicker Park, where he meets his brother Rafe (Majors), the leader of the resistance. Rafe takes the coded cigarette and directs Gabriel to leave as Phoenix is planning to attack the upcoming Unity Rally at Soldier Field. Rushing to his apartment and hastily packing, Gabriel is again confronted by Mulligan, who had him under surveillance. Gabriel evades Mulligan and hides underground.
The cigarette’s code allows Rafe’s team to access Chicago’s surveillance system and the deployment patterns of law enforcement units. Rafe and other Phoenix members attack the Unity Rally, using an invisible alien explosive device against the aliens when they arrive. The attack initially appears successful, but the city is subsequently locked down and swarmed by security forces in response. Angered by the attack, the aliens bring in hunters from off-world to seek out the perpetrators, finding Rafe and his accomplices Anita (Caitlin Ewald) and Daniel (Ben Daniels). Anita is vaporized and Daniel ingests a cyanide pill to avoid capture, but Rafe is shot and arrested by Mulligan before he can take cyanide.
Gabriel emerges from hiding but is taken into custody during a police raid. Mulligan shows him his brother being tortured for information and convinces him to send a message through the Phoenix network in hopes of meeting the supposed ringleader, Number One. Gabriel is eventually led to Jane Doe, a prostitute running a brothel in Pilsen, who acknowledges him by name, confusing Gabriel. Police raid the house, and Doe is killed.
Captive State is a 2019 American science fiction crime thriller film directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Wyatt and Erica Beeney. The film stars John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Machine Gun Kelly, and Vera Farmiga, and follows a young man who participates in a conspiracy to rebel against an alien race that has invaded Earth and forced strict martial law on all humans. It was released in the United States on March 15, 2019 by Focus Features. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing just $8 million against its $25 million budget.
Captive State (2019)
Directed by: Rupert Wyatt
Starring: Vera Farmiga, John Goodman, Madeline Brewer, Machine Gun Kelly, KiKi Layne, Alan Ruck, Kevin J. O’Connor, Ashton Sanders, James Ransone, Jonathan Majors, Lizzy Leigh
Screenplay by: Erica Beeney, Rupert Wyatt
Production Design by: Keith P. Cunningham
Cinematography by: Alex Disenhof
Film Editing by: Andrew Groves
Costume Design by: Abby O’Sullivan
Set Decoration by: Douglas A. Mowat
Art Direction by: Dawn Swiderski
Music by: Rob Simonsen
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief language and drug material.
Distributed by: Focus Features
Release Date: March 15, 2019
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