People are expecting Independence Day or some action packed show. That's not how it would happen in real life. And I love the deep look into people.
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38 Reviews
A realistic look at how humans would act
aandb200113 December 2021
Well acted but moving at a Glacial pace
skip-9875612 December 2021
This Is a quality production and is well acted but it seems to forget What it Is quite often..this is Supposed to be scifi and an alien invasion movie,yet it constantly meanders into being a family drama utterly devoid of aliens or even the premise of them. While the wandering directions Are well acted ,especially the scenes with the Asian and Iranian girl, I would have like to see more progress of the alien agenda and less time spent on family relationship melodrama...Im sure the director wanted to try and create a Different alien movie since most invasion ones are Utterly devoid of any humanity and are just aliens attacking with no rhyme or reason..Well here, we have human relations explored deeply, well acted for the most part and yet again we also have the few scenes of alien contact to be wild ,meaningless violence so yet again falls into the pattern of past movie making...Its also Not clear how such violence oriented aliens, without hands or fingers and thumbs, could possible ever Make let alone pilot any kind of spacecraft at all...since they are Not humanoid in design, how were they able to construct Anything? Hopefully in season 2 we can learn of the Reason they appeared
so it can be more than the usual invasion with zero contact ,nor motive explained...One things for sure, the writing needs to be More on point,this is scifi not the family channel and it needs to Move more quickly..Not everyone will have the patience to see this snail paced but cool series play out...we will see.
A convoluted, lazily written, poorly directed and underwhelming season finale.
Top_Dawg_Critic24 August 2023
This was mostly a useless episode, in that the maybe 5% of any actual necessary and relevant plot it had, could've been just added to the previous episode. The perspective pov of each actor throughout this fist season was well established, but in this finale, it's just a bunch of melodramatic filler nonsense that takes away from what was built up by those characters. This finale left more questions than answers, and more plot holes than sub-plot clarity. And then they just throw in a nice sci-fi visual by the third act that comes out of thin air and shown for a few seconds that's supposed to wow the audience, then close off the season with another sci-fi stunning visual that again, pops out of thin air without any explanation or lead-up. Season 2 better start upping the ante.
Meandering & Unfocused
AmplifiedLife10 December 2021
Hopefully season 2 answers some questions. Or process some concrete questions to be answered. For the audience and writers both.
Hopefully a Season 2 means they can't take the apple "money & run" and will have to deliver an actual story. Not just the promise of a story to come.
Season 1 felt like a pitch or an outline. Because all we got this season was the skeleton of a show. Broad brushstrokes and texture etc.
People will want to feel smart and label it cerebral, but they'd be overlooking all that what was absent. As for what we got, it was beautiful, but bewildering (and at least for me, not in a good way). I like thinking peoples' television. But instead of "filling me up", this one just left me feeling empty & frustrated.
I won't be recommending this show to friends & family like I did for Foundation. For Invasion, it's probably going to be one of those series where you're better off waiting for the entire series to end/and or for the story to REALLY hit its stride, before diving in, or recommending it to others. Oh well.
Hopefully a Season 2 means they can't take the apple "money & run" and will have to deliver an actual story. Not just the promise of a story to come.
Season 1 felt like a pitch or an outline. Because all we got this season was the skeleton of a show. Broad brushstrokes and texture etc.
People will want to feel smart and label it cerebral, but they'd be overlooking all that what was absent. As for what we got, it was beautiful, but bewildering (and at least for me, not in a good way). I like thinking peoples' television. But instead of "filling me up", this one just left me feeling empty & frustrated.
I won't be recommending this show to friends & family like I did for Foundation. For Invasion, it's probably going to be one of those series where you're better off waiting for the entire series to end/and or for the story to REALLY hit its stride, before diving in, or recommending it to others. Oh well.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
kowas_210 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
58 minutes of nothing! Then a predictable cliffhanger. Terrible. I feel bad for the actors. I guess they can only do with what they are given but wow. I don't understand what's the point of a show when nothing makes sense or happens. It's lazy and stupid. Don't pretend this is arty. This is just terrible. I can't believe I watched all 10 eps in a hope something would happens. Spoiler alert. NOTHING happens. EVER! Period.
Can Apple pay me for watching all 10
ddio-2609212 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
My word what a mess of show. Not really sure why Apple paid for this miserably written piss poor show. So many errors. So much pure boredom. So much as a viewer of asking what happened? But in this episode could the Army not give the guy a clean shirt? Then they go on a picnic? ?
Not your usual alien invasion
tjennings6808811 December 2021
It's a shame that people are panning this season finale. I think they just don't get it. They want aliens that can be blasted out of the sky, crazy action sequences, and the story told for them so they don't have to think.
Apple gave us a beautiful meditation on what would really happen if our world was invaded. How people would really react, really feel, and really deal with the sudden realization that we are not alone in the universe.
There were heartbreaking sequences of loved ones lost, sacrifices made, and what humans become in the face of something they cannot comprehend. People rising up and fighting back, others being selfish and murderous to the core.
Cinematography was a crucial character giving us the mood we needed, and amplifying the emotion, the triumph, and the pain.
Bravo AppleTv. I will be renewing my subscription for Season 2.
Apple gave us a beautiful meditation on what would really happen if our world was invaded. How people would really react, really feel, and really deal with the sudden realization that we are not alone in the universe.
There were heartbreaking sequences of loved ones lost, sacrifices made, and what humans become in the face of something they cannot comprehend. People rising up and fighting back, others being selfish and murderous to the core.
Cinematography was a crucial character giving us the mood we needed, and amplifying the emotion, the triumph, and the pain.
Bravo AppleTv. I will be renewing my subscription for Season 2.
Pathetic nonsense
doorsscorpywag10 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The majority of this episode is taken up by celebrations of our victory over the aliens who were unable to withstand our patriotic missiles or the schoolkid telling them to stop.
American Shouty does the impossible and manages to find a second red telephone box in London and staring off into space Japanese Lesbian tears down her girlfriends Bowie poster.
Caspar may well be a 'friendly' ghost and the woman and her family do some stuff in the woods.
The alien craft is visited by humans in Brazil and seems more alive than they'd hoped. This seems to be preparing us for the climax as something is not right here.
Shouty gets home and takes his family to the beach.
Then horror of horror we discover an even bigger alien craft is hovering over the Earth that nobody had noticed until the end credits.
That's it 58 minutes of complete crap and about 30 seconds of sci fi.
So we will have to wait until series 2 to discover what happened to Sam Neill.
I think I'll give it a miss. At least The Expanse is back.
American Shouty does the impossible and manages to find a second red telephone box in London and staring off into space Japanese Lesbian tears down her girlfriends Bowie poster.
Caspar may well be a 'friendly' ghost and the woman and her family do some stuff in the woods.
The alien craft is visited by humans in Brazil and seems more alive than they'd hoped. This seems to be preparing us for the climax as something is not right here.
Shouty gets home and takes his family to the beach.
Then horror of horror we discover an even bigger alien craft is hovering over the Earth that nobody had noticed until the end credits.
That's it 58 minutes of complete crap and about 30 seconds of sci fi.
So we will have to wait until series 2 to discover what happened to Sam Neill.
I think I'll give it a miss. At least The Expanse is back.
Nothing happened
zachcreaghcoen10 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
That's it. Nothing actually happened in this show. Non of the plot threads feel like they mattered it's clear that they planned for this show to be two seasons but you can't just leave all but one thread completely upended. It only feels like the Japanese story line mattered at all if you don't look past this. And that's was incredibly boring. No one cares about this girls obsession because we don't know hitana past what we are told. There is a rule in good films and tv called show don't tell. Clearly they have never heard of that because we don't see anything we are just told about it. As for the ending loved the ship design but it just felt so unfinished. Nothing mattered I don't like having my leg pulled for 10 episodes believing that the next one might actually have something happen in it.
What a celebration of boredom
johnnychicago-7528510 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Nothing really happens in over 50 minutes....really, there is nothing to spoil. But what the heck, I still put a warning.
The characters are looking meaningfully in to camera for minutes but I can't really find out what they are actually trying to tell us. I mean, it was clear that shooting down the alien spaceship was not the end. Who really believes that an extraterrestrial species can be defeated so easily. So the appearance of the spaceship at the end was only logical. (two points for the interesting spaceship design....)
The characters are looking meaningfully in to camera for minutes but I can't really find out what they are actually trying to tell us. I mean, it was clear that shooting down the alien spaceship was not the end. Who really believes that an extraterrestrial species can be defeated so easily. So the appearance of the spaceship at the end was only logical. (two points for the interesting spaceship design....)
Not trolling, it's just bad.
specialbobby10 December 2021
Didn't even realise this was the last episode. It started with me thinking 'did I miss an episode???' But quickly remembered if something interesting happens on this show, we'll you ain't seeing it!
Lots of moping, cheering, dreadful acting (especially the American family and the 'cockney geezer' ghost voices. I can't believe it concluded on so little, it pains me I stayed with it until the end. Shame on me, don't think I can bear the thought of more to come.
Lots of moping, cheering, dreadful acting (especially the American family and the 'cockney geezer' ghost voices. I can't believe it concluded on so little, it pains me I stayed with it until the end. Shame on me, don't think I can bear the thought of more to come.
Great ending to season 1.
Verfdie11 December 2021
Love the slow pace of this series. The idea of not knowing how things will unfold and the human emotions in an alien invasion, Can't wait for season 2.
It's sad to see so many people downvoting this show on IMDb just because it's slow/ lack sci/ aliens... if you were expecting ep10 to be about fighting the aliens or big sci stuff, I don't think you were paying attention to what the creators wanted the story to be about.
Personally, I would recommend something from marvel or something like a Quite place, arrival, The tomorrow war, Oblivion, the day the earth stood still to satisfy the need for fast storytelling and flashy pew pew space alien sci-fi stuff
Or the negative comments are about it being apple tv + production. It's the internet you never know..
It's sad to see so many people downvoting this show on IMDb just because it's slow/ lack sci/ aliens... if you were expecting ep10 to be about fighting the aliens or big sci stuff, I don't think you were paying attention to what the creators wanted the story to be about.
Personally, I would recommend something from marvel or something like a Quite place, arrival, The tomorrow war, Oblivion, the day the earth stood still to satisfy the need for fast storytelling and flashy pew pew space alien sci-fi stuff
Or the negative comments are about it being apple tv + production. It's the internet you never know..
Great final episode
Chromaki10 December 2021
This really is a thinking series, which is fantastic. I can't wait for season 2! The journey of all our characters and I am still hoping to see Sam Neil again but is seeming very unlikely as we haven't seen him since episode 1 and in caspers flashes. Very dramatic show and I can't wait to find out more. I do feel season 2 will have to push harder for those who want things to happen at a faster pace but I really hope this show lasts for a long time. What an ending!!
A finale episode that shows how to save money on special effects
fatewemake10 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
To save a ton of money the show skips the entire alien battle involving nuclear missiles. Instead it gives us characters that give boring speeches along with incredibly long pauses. The big "surprise" is that it appears the aliens are still alive based on the final seconds of the episode. The bad news, get ready for more boring speeches, long pauses and minimal special effects as the producers discover new ways to save money and screw the viewer.
Slow burn
heatherspurrier18 July 2023
I am not quite sure why all the negative reviews for this. I actually held off watching for some time because of them. I am glad I finally gave it a shot.
Yes it's slow in the first few episodes but because they are story building. You get to know and grow to like ( or dislike) the characters before you even see the aliens. I appreciate that and they did it in a way that held my attention. The acting was very good and so was the cinematography.
By episode 6 it starts to really pick up more in the action. It felt at times like The Quiet Place.. in others it reminded me of War of the Worlds. But I wouldn't say it was boring by any means.
If you like character and world building in your shows then this is for you. If you want all the answers right up front with non stop action then maybe skip it.
Myself it kept me engaged and very excited for season 2.
Yes it's slow in the first few episodes but because they are story building. You get to know and grow to like ( or dislike) the characters before you even see the aliens. I appreciate that and they did it in a way that held my attention. The acting was very good and so was the cinematography.
By episode 6 it starts to really pick up more in the action. It felt at times like The Quiet Place.. in others it reminded me of War of the Worlds. But I wouldn't say it was boring by any means.
If you like character and world building in your shows then this is for you. If you want all the answers right up front with non stop action then maybe skip it.
Myself it kept me engaged and very excited for season 2.
Back to life not to reality
sdavey-3170310 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Where to start. Firstly would all the technology come back straight away? I'm English and haven't seen a working pay phone in years. Maybe the Alien's real mission was to re-establish telephone booths.
The whole episode marks a trend in some of Apple's TV shows, like the morning show second season. Basically self indulgent tripe. It's like no one overseas the writing.
It's the Nukes or Casper the friendly host, but we're not told who. Conveniently anyone who's relatives help progress the story are fine and waiting for them. Then the Normandy parks in the middle of the sea at the end of it. The reapers couldn't finish them off, but this boring series could. All it's missing is directed by Ridley not.
The rest of the episode is yet more slow, boring meandering plots. Dalek's have moved upstairs quicker than the plot moves
The only plot hole that did make sense was Sam Neil was bait and switch. Or they couldn't pay him enough to stay the whole series.
Overall to quote a former king and the x-files "nothing important happened today" or in fact the whole series.
The whole episode marks a trend in some of Apple's TV shows, like the morning show second season. Basically self indulgent tripe. It's like no one overseas the writing.
It's the Nukes or Casper the friendly host, but we're not told who. Conveniently anyone who's relatives help progress the story are fine and waiting for them. Then the Normandy parks in the middle of the sea at the end of it. The reapers couldn't finish them off, but this boring series could. All it's missing is directed by Ridley not.
The rest of the episode is yet more slow, boring meandering plots. Dalek's have moved upstairs quicker than the plot moves
The only plot hole that did make sense was Sam Neil was bait and switch. Or they couldn't pay him enough to stay the whole series.
Overall to quote a former king and the x-files "nothing important happened today" or in fact the whole series.
Garbage. Complete. And utter. Trash.
Pimilli13 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This was written by a 5th grader.
Dismally bad writing. Criminally bad. I have never. Never. In all my years watching telefilm, genre shows, foreign films, old Hollywood films, and the range of cinema and television from high art to pulp, have I ever seen anything as disastrously put together as this show.
"TOYS!" Is that child brain dead? "TOYS!" Soldier runs around pointlessly for 10 episodes Family keeps the same vacant expression for 10 episodes aliens? What are those again? We don't care.
The woman in Japanese.....crying for 10 episodes. Moping. Yelling at authority. Crying. In dark rooms. With close ups of computer screens. 10 episodes of people typing on computer screens.
We care about nobody in this show. Not one person. How is that possible?
Won't watch season 2.
Unbelievable. I've seen movies by Roger Corman that are more compelling.
This is a dull and badly written 2hr movie stretched to 10 hours. Have you read the reviews Apple?
If you do season 2: replace ALL the writers and showrunners. ALL. Clean house.
That's the beginning.
Dismally bad writing. Criminally bad. I have never. Never. In all my years watching telefilm, genre shows, foreign films, old Hollywood films, and the range of cinema and television from high art to pulp, have I ever seen anything as disastrously put together as this show.
"TOYS!" Is that child brain dead? "TOYS!" Soldier runs around pointlessly for 10 episodes Family keeps the same vacant expression for 10 episodes aliens? What are those again? We don't care.
The woman in Japanese.....crying for 10 episodes. Moping. Yelling at authority. Crying. In dark rooms. With close ups of computer screens. 10 episodes of people typing on computer screens.
We care about nobody in this show. Not one person. How is that possible?
Won't watch season 2.
Unbelievable. I've seen movies by Roger Corman that are more compelling.
This is a dull and badly written 2hr movie stretched to 10 hours. Have you read the reviews Apple?
If you do season 2: replace ALL the writers and showrunners. ALL. Clean house.
That's the beginning.
You ain't seeing Sam Neil again
chuckkcash11 December 2021
Stop, please just stop - Sam Neil was the bait and switch of this show to reel you in with a AAA name. He is not appearing again.
As for the show, I finally realise why it's so halting, slow and drawn out: it's the script. Truly, truly awful and uttley simplistic, as there is no actual content within it. The pauses accentuate this but they also feed off each other. I get they want a slow build up and character led development, but for the love of God you also have to write it...
Yet another show where as long as it looks cool, moody and edgy, then that's all that matters. No actual substance needed.
As for the show, I finally realise why it's so halting, slow and drawn out: it's the script. Truly, truly awful and uttley simplistic, as there is no actual content within it. The pauses accentuate this but they also feed off each other. I get they want a slow build up and character led development, but for the love of God you also have to write it...
Yet another show where as long as it looks cool, moody and edgy, then that's all that matters. No actual substance needed.
The best show
TheReview22century10 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Invasion has become my favorite TV series. Apple TV + is the best streaming service, quality >>>> quantity! I loved products like Foundation ($ 450 million budget) and Invasion ($ 200 million budget) big Apple continues like this and I'm looking forward to celebrating its 3 trillion capitalization with my family! Focusing on the series I think it is the most realistic ever made so far, the chaos that would be created in our society, everything is out of control. We know almost nothing about them, we can hardly communicate! For those who say that "they had to investigate the aliens better" should know that the project is 3 seasons, the aliens (said by the same producer) will be deepened in the next season. Given the various comments, moreover, surely the second season will have a faster pace, the fact remains that this series is really really beautiful. Thanks Apple! Congratulations to the whole crew and cast.
Slow start but gets better
lesmayhead26 December 2022
I left this show a poor review after episode 4 as it was soooo slow and there plenty of others that did the same. However it does pick up the pace and becomes much better, it's worth watching until the end and although I still wouldn't say to was gripping it kept your attention. Overall the quality of production and acting was extremely high - hence the high mark on the review. There are some inconsistencies which are annoying and the plot is still weak - so not perfect. I am not sure if there enough for a second season - this could have been wrapped up in 4 episodes really. Good acting though.
Slow doesn't mean good
DrMarazanvose10 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The real shock of this show is the announcement that there will be a second season. Wow - just WOW.
This was probably the slowest, most bizarre episode of the whole season with a prime directive of leaving unanswerable questions as set up for a second season.
To some, a scene of a supposed dead kid in a kind of dream state meeting someone he doesn't know to be given a gift of a compass that he gave to his daughter may seem like good tv. Personally, I'm asking myself is this Twin Peaks or a story about an alien invasion?
If the glimpse of a downed space craft and the reveal of a much bigger, fully operational battlestation (Emperor's voice) is all that some people need to be wowed then there's no hope.
So much contrivance and forced narrative it beggars belief. Someone burned 200 million budget to produce this?!?!?
Will I watch season 2?
As one of the investors on Dragon's Den would say - I'm out.
This was probably the slowest, most bizarre episode of the whole season with a prime directive of leaving unanswerable questions as set up for a second season.
To some, a scene of a supposed dead kid in a kind of dream state meeting someone he doesn't know to be given a gift of a compass that he gave to his daughter may seem like good tv. Personally, I'm asking myself is this Twin Peaks or a story about an alien invasion?
If the glimpse of a downed space craft and the reveal of a much bigger, fully operational battlestation (Emperor's voice) is all that some people need to be wowed then there's no hope.
So much contrivance and forced narrative it beggars belief. Someone burned 200 million budget to produce this?!?!?
Will I watch season 2?
As one of the investors on Dragon's Den would say - I'm out.
The end of the beginning. Let's leave it there then.
PlutoZoo10 December 2021
I had a mouthful of coffee when it dawned on me the irony of the title of the final episode: "First Day" and promptly proceeded to snort inhale that mouthful. Not a pleasant experience, and neither was Invasion.
Build-up, they said; slow burn; character focused rather than exciting plot. Yes, many of the positive reviews urged patience, incapable of understanding the frustration many voiced at the inexorably tedious, dull, monotonous, repetitive build-up throughout 10 episodes to what? Well ... a build up to the beginning it seems. A new dawn it says, problem is that a new dawn is what was lacking throughout; it was what we had hoped for in these ten slow ... slow ... episodes only to be left hanging at the very end of the series, after another time-filler episode which ends with a moment so cynical in it's conception that it made me wonder if the whole thing had been a cruel joke or an experiment in audience testing, to see how much drip feeding we can take. Well, they will have to decide if the goodwill is there to support a second series. Doubtful.
Build-up, they said; slow burn; character focused rather than exciting plot. Yes, many of the positive reviews urged patience, incapable of understanding the frustration many voiced at the inexorably tedious, dull, monotonous, repetitive build-up throughout 10 episodes to what? Well ... a build up to the beginning it seems. A new dawn it says, problem is that a new dawn is what was lacking throughout; it was what we had hoped for in these ten slow ... slow ... episodes only to be left hanging at the very end of the series, after another time-filler episode which ends with a moment so cynical in it's conception that it made me wonder if the whole thing had been a cruel joke or an experiment in audience testing, to see how much drip feeding we can take. Well, they will have to decide if the goodwill is there to support a second series. Doubtful.
One hour of my life
stiian11 December 2021
Absolutely nothing happened in this episode. It feels as if they thought they only had to make 9 episodes, and were told last minute to make a 10th episode. Literally 58 minutes of slow motion walking, and two minutes of setting up a cliffhanger. These two minutes should've been at the end of the 9th episode, and then just delete this useless last episode.
Slow burns are great but this show stinks...
ecsecs-9122512 December 2021
I can appreciate a show with a very slow burn but you still have to have substance, meaningful dialog, likable characters, and an interesting plot that's easy to follow. This series lacks all of this and the worst of it is something else entirely... CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS are all over the place and lack even the smallest amount of common sense or basic logic. Every fiber of my being leads me to believe the writing staff for this show were greatly under qualified and most likely flunked out of film school. Yes this show is that bad.
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