Film Review: Knowing

Ok, so it's got Nicolas Cage in it. Not a good start, im biased against it before I see it, but whatever lets give it a go.

Then I watched it, and I was right, it let me down; but not in the way I thought it would. The plot was actually quite interesting to start with, and develops quite well over the first hour or so. It helps that Cage seems like he's at home in this blockbuster pic too, and I found him surprisingly tolerable; much more so than usual. Then again, most people don't share my sentiments on the actor, and this could easily be seen as him being as good as always is.

(I will note though that it's probably the crap movies he always seems to be in, rather than his acting itself, that puts me off him.)

No, it's actually how the narrative ends that lets me down. After building up tension with a solid (albiet predictable) story, things begin to unravel when the film tries to answer the questions that it brought up earlier. The ending then is not one that doesn't explain the mystery, but one that fails to do so with shock and awe. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say this: there are spaceships.

I know.

Well it seems silly to judge a film based on the last 30 minutes, it's the emotional return that you get for investing in the characters that makes these kind of films work, and sadly this movie seriously lacks that. Key characters die without any real sorrow, felt either by the viewers or the other characters in the film. What is sad is that a movie with the potential to really impact viewers could veer off so badly into an unsatisfying turn of events, turning from a cold and suspenseful thriller into a bad sci-fi (a really bad sci-fi).

Final Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)