THE STORY – Alien invaders, in the form of a 1950’s biker gang, are sent on a mission to conquer Earth.
THE CAST – Cate Blanchett, Chris Pine, Dave Bautista, Léa Seydoux, Lily-Rose Depp, Adria Arjona & Doona Bae
THE TEAM – David Zellner (Director/Writer) & Nathan Zellner (Director)
THE RUNNING TIME – 109 Minutes
“Alpha Gang” is a mixed bag. It does, however, have the honor of being the best film I have seen about World War III as fought by Nazis, Polish resistance fighters, leather-daddy bikers, and space aliens, with submachine guns, 19th-century Gatling guns, bazookas, and pitchforks deployed in World War I-style trenches, all while ’50s doo-wop plays in the background.
The latest from directors David and Nathan Zellner (“Sasquatch Sunset,” “Damsel”) follows a gang of leather-clad extraterrestrials known as the “Alpha Gang,” sent to Earth to conquer the planet. How are they to do so? They can’t recall. The process that reconstituted them in human form robbed them of much of their intelligence. Worse, it has made them vulnerable to a mysterious human virus: “emotions.” All those who succumb to emotions must be quarantined, or worse. Fortunately for the invaders, humanity seems well on its way to exterminating itself without their help. The Alpha Gang arrives in a dystopian wasteland ravaged by civil war. While rival human factions do their best to exterminate one another, the Alpha Gang divides its time between riding throughout the war-scarred landscape, exploring abandoned medieval castles, experiencing newfound human sensations like explosive diarrhea, menstruation, and romantic attraction, and engaging in the odd full-scale massacre of humans and fire ants while strategizing about the best means for an intergalactic takeover. But when another Alpha (Chris Pine) arrives, the Alpha Gang learns that a more advanced team, the Beta Gang, led by an eyepatch-wearing, Australian-accented Cate Blanchett, has arrived on Earth and intends to exterminate both humanity and the Alphas. The Alpha Gang realizes that if they are to survive, they may have to embrace the dreaded “emotions” virus and learn what it means to be human.
If “Alpha Gang” sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. The Zellners are religious adherents to the concept of “committing to the bit.” On paper, the premise sounds like something two people would come up with while riffing on a comedy podcast. The Zellners have put considerable thought into their world, though, no matter how silly. Its wildly different historical periods and genres coexist as though separated by only a few miles, yet the details adhere to a consistent internal logic. The Alpha Gang carries portable record players that blast ’50s doo-wop, while the more advanced Beta Gang carries ’80s boomboxes blasting techno. The first reveal of the Betas writhing in pseudo-breakdancing form to techno music is played for laughs, but because they are more advanced, it makes perfect sense that they would be a few decades ahead in music technology and taste. The film similarly abides by Chekhov’s gun rule, even with its most juvenile gags. When a toilet is introduced into the frame, it must be used, first for a poop joke and later as a key element in a fight scene.
The thought and care put into fleshing out this world bleeds into the film’s sumptuous cinematography and production design. The Zellners drew inspiration from Brutalist architecture because it can appear ancient and futuristic at once. Filming in remote areas of Croatia, Hungary, and Bulgaria, they supplemented those locations with practical effects and detailed 1950s costumes to give the science-fiction setting a tactile quality. Although this is their largest production, the handmade eccentricity of their previous work remains apparent.
The Zellners also find ways to work visual gags into otherwise non-comedic scenes. One conversation at a dinner table, during which Chris Pine’s chair appears to shrink every time the film cuts back to him, is particularly giggle inducing. The frequent shootouts and fight scenes are well choreographed with each confrontation escalating the weaponry and spectacle until even Panzer tanks enter the equation. Whenever someone is struck by gunfire, they collapse in a convulsing, bloody heap like Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway at the end of “Bonnie and Clyde.” The Zellners employ exaggerated sound effects and jarring transitions to punctuate the comedic beats.
The absence of a conventional protagonist is deliberate. The Alpha Gang was conceived as a collection of incompatible personalities, brought to life by various performers from the industry. Just as the Zellners and their team are committed to creating thoughtful, well-crafted work within a ridiculous setting, the A-list cast is fully on board as well. Dave Bautista, Léa Seydoux, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Doona Bae, Riley Keough, and Lily-Rose Depp play most of their scenes with deadpan seriousness, which, as Leslie Nielsen long ago established, can be much funnier than overt shtick. That restraint makes the exaggerated performances Blanchett and Pine especially bring to the film even funnier.
If the Zellners commit to absurdist comedy, they also commit to the earnest messaging beneath it. Their ideas about love, collaboration, and the destructive power of technology aren’t anything new, and the film’s handling of them can be overly simplistic. Individual moments such as a tank rolling over a bike or characters overcoming their fear to embrace amid a hail of gunfire, can be genuinely moving. But as the film goes on, it becomes clear that the Zellners are less interested in direct political allegory than in loneliness, failed communication, and the desire to belong.
Nevertheless, the absurdity eventually grows grating. The silliness works better when seen in a crowded theater with a sleep-deprived audience willing to laugh at the film’s dumbest gags. One imagines that, seen alone, the movie wouldn’t land nearly as well. Still, one can’t help but admire the care and love the film’s cast and crew have poured into an objectively stupid concept. Will the film work for everyone? Absolutely not. Is it a better-realized film than many absurdist comedies? Absolutely.
