'Captive State': A prisoner of worn-out tropes

‘Come along … you’ll like my place. It’s a really comfy bunker with board games and everything, just nice to ride out an alien invasion.’ Photos: TGV Pictures

Those old enough to remember the 1980s TV miniseries V, or diligent enough to seek it out (and overlook the meandering remake of the 2000s), would be familiar with the ground covered in Captive State.

The new sci-fi thriller directed and co-written by Rupert Wyatt (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes – the first of the recent trilogy) is about life in one Chicago neighbourhood in a world that has been subjugated by alien invaders.