Occupation: Rainfall (2020) – Movie Review
3rd July 2021 Written by Peter Walkden
The sequel focuses on a returning group of survivors, who are all from Sydney. Continuing on from the previous instalment of Occupation (2018), the aliens that landed on Earth two years ago are still attempting to take ownership of Australia! This time, while trying to fight against the aliens, our heroes make a massive discovery about an upcoming threat that will destroy everything in its path. This new threat is called “Rainfall”, and whatever it is, it’s coming quicker than the remaining survivors hoped for.
Now it is once again up to Matt (Dan Ewing) and his new alien teammate, dubbed Gary (Lawrence Makoare), to leave Sydney and find out more about Rainfall, doing everything they can to stop it. But Matt’s journey will not be a simple one, filled with surprises and many enemies who attempt to slow them. Meanwhile, the remaining characters from the previous instalment- Amelia (Jet Tranter), Dennis (Zac Garred), Captain Wessex (Mark Coles Smith) & Abraham (David Roberts)- are evacuating the remaining survivors from Sydney as it comes under heavy attack. While they escape successfully, Sydney is destroyed.
Director Luke Sparke once again delivers a film that is an improvement on his past work. From Red Billabong to Occupation and now Occupation: Rainfall, it is great to see the director is making bigger and better steps in quality with each new project. This is an Australian director I generally get excited about with every new project he tackles. Occupation: Rainfall is easily his best-completed film to date.
Personally, I was not a massive fan of the original feature film from 2018. But as a sequel, I am excited to say this is a significant improvement in all areas, including performances, general direction, and visual effects. The visuals are stunning to look at, and the audio track most certainly compliments it. Fans who love all things relating to sci-fi will enjoy what is on display here for the entire duration. Performances are also a significant improvement and certainly more convincing. Cheesy moments or jokes between leading characters did not quite work for me, but I appreciated the film’s attempt of showing classic Aussie humour.
While I enjoyed many aspects of this film, there is one area that still concerns me, and I struggled with- the film’s plot. There are many moments on the screen where I honestly was not sure what was going on. Granted, it is still fun to look at, but some moments are unclear. The film’s opening was also slightly confusing to me as there is no recap of the previous movie. This makes it challenging if someone were to watch this film and be unaware of the plot and outcomes of the previous instalment.
Overall, this is a significant improvement on the previous instalment and Occupation: Rainfall includes some excellent visual effects. Director Luke Sparke again goes to the next level in his directional career as he delivers something more extraordinary than ever before. While several elements of this sequel are positive, I still struggle with the plot, which at times felt somewhat confusing or left me with no idea of what was occurring on screen. Attempted humour is also highly cringe-worthy, but it’s still highly brainless and visually pleasing to watch no matter the film’s flaws.
4.5/10
Occupation: Rainfall (2020) is Now Available on Blu-ray!
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