Director: Alex Proyas
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, Lara Robinson
Running Time: 121 minutes (plus trailers)
Since I started writing these reviews some months ago, I really think I’ve come into my own. If you compare my earlier reviews to the reviews I am writing now, there is obvious improvement in my structure, insight and sophistication of language. And I’m always trying to improve my writing; I wish to be as informed and articulate as possible for both my readers (all three of you) and myself. And yet despite this, when I sat down to write this review of Knowing, the only word that came to mind was “retarded”. Knowing is retarded. The story: retarded. The dialogue: retarded. The effects: retarded. The acting: retarded. The direction: retarded. The ending: retarded on a level that I didn’t even know was physically possible. This. Movie. Is. Retarded! It belongs in a special needs school, as do I for going to see it in the first place.
I would describe the premise as…intriguingly retarded. When the children of William Dawes Elementary School dig up a time capsule buried fifty years ago, one boy discovers a sheet covered with numbers. When his father (Nicholas Cage) gets a hold of the list, he soon discovers (somehow) that the numbers correspond to the date and death toll of every major disaster in earth’s history over the last fifty years. Worse still, there are three disasters left. And so Nicholas Cage, a firm believer in the idea of free will over destiny (as is established in a painful scene early in the film) sets out to prevent these disasters from taking place. I think we can agree that this premise isn’t great, but it did sound to me as though the film could offer a few exciting actions sequences and sci-fi thrills. Instead, what we get is badly paced, clichéd and utterly predictable (except for the ending), and is so filled with biblical overtones that it would make St Peter blush.
Let’s get Nicholas Cage out of the way, so we can focus on other things. He’s terrible. And I don’t think anyone expected any different. Nicholas Cage is one of those actors who will churn out an amazing performance once every five or six years (see: Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation.) and will then use that cred to score high paying rolls like this one that he can just sleepwalk through. His fellow cast members are equally bad: Rose Byrne is a good actress, but her performance here is laughable, and the child actors are just abysmal. It doesn’t help that the things characters do in this film are completely illogical. Director Alex Proyas (Dark City, I Robot) shows the occasional flash of ingenuity, but it is lost under the barrage of awful dialogue and fake looking CGI. The action sequences are dreadful, and I also thought they were in extremely bad taste. The subway crash that was featured heavily in the trailer was extremely gratuitous (though not bloody), with innocent bystanders being crushed left and right. Likewise, a scene in which animals were being burnt alive in an extended forest fire sequence reminded me of the recent bushfires here in Victoria, and although it was very clear that only computer generated animals were harmed, it was still not the most pleasant thing to watch.
Knowing is a film which will have you rolling your eyes at least once a minute. A few examples: in an early seen, we see a spooky figure standing alone, staring straight ahead. And when we cut away and then cut back…she’s gone. And then the same thing happens five minutes later! The tragic back story in which we discover that Nicholas Cage’s wife was tragically killed in a tragic accident is just tragic. So very tragic. One thing I have to mention is Nicholas Cage’s strange penchant for talking to himself. Apparently, the filmmakers didn’t believe the audience could figure out what was going on on screen, and so Cage’s character describes everything he’s doing while he’s doing it. They probably should have given him a sidekick, so he wasn’t just talking to the air. He also felt the need to read everything he sees, even if the audience can see it as well. Yes Nicholas Cage, I can see that fifty people where killed last month. It says so right there. This film treats it viewers as though they are ten year olds…actually that’s not true, because ten year olds can read!
Knowing is a terrible movie, but it does have a few redeeming qualities, primarily that it is ambitious. This film isn’t satisfied being just another Hollywood disaster movie, and it puts forward some very interesting ideas about fate vs free will, about the nature of god and faith, and even though it fails every single time it tries to explore these ideas, at least they were trying. Alex Proyas also shows some ambition, most noticeably in the plane crash scene, which is filmed in one single hand held camera shot without any cuts. Now don’t get me wrong…it looked terrible. The shaking camera didn’t work at all, the special effects were awful, and Nicholas Cage’s behaviour in the sequence made no sense. But it was still a technically interesting piece of filmmaking. The other positive this movie has going is that it’s never boring. There is plenty of tension, and you always want to know what happens next, even if when it comes you can’t believe just how stupid it is.
The ending…after much thought I have decided not to reveal it here, because in a perverse way I actually enjoyed this film as a comedy. Everything is so laughable, and the final reveal is one of the biggest WTF’s I have ever witnessed. Go see this film with a large group of friends, and some alcohol. You can make a drinking game of it: every time Nic Cage stares off into the distance, you do a shot. Plus, this movie was shot in Melbourne, so we should all go and support it (you know, so Cage will come back and make another movie here.) Knowing is a hilarious experience that will have you screaming at the screen, and after you leave you may find yourself thinking about it. And on that, I am recommending it. But make no mistake. It’s really retarded.
Knowing is in cinemas now
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, Lara Robinson
Running Time: 121 minutes (plus trailers)
Since I started writing these reviews some months ago, I really think I’ve come into my own. If you compare my earlier reviews to the reviews I am writing now, there is obvious improvement in my structure, insight and sophistication of language. And I’m always trying to improve my writing; I wish to be as informed and articulate as possible for both my readers (all three of you) and myself. And yet despite this, when I sat down to write this review of Knowing, the only word that came to mind was “retarded”. Knowing is retarded. The story: retarded. The dialogue: retarded. The effects: retarded. The acting: retarded. The direction: retarded. The ending: retarded on a level that I didn’t even know was physically possible. This. Movie. Is. Retarded! It belongs in a special needs school, as do I for going to see it in the first place.I would describe the premise as…intriguingly retarded. When the children of William Dawes Elementary School dig up a time capsule buried fifty years ago, one boy discovers a sheet covered with numbers. When his father (Nicholas Cage) gets a hold of the list, he soon discovers (somehow) that the numbers correspond to the date and death toll of every major disaster in earth’s history over the last fifty years. Worse still, there are three disasters left. And so Nicholas Cage, a firm believer in the idea of free will over destiny (as is established in a painful scene early in the film) sets out to prevent these disasters from taking place. I think we can agree that this premise isn’t great, but it did sound to me as though the film could offer a few exciting actions sequences and sci-fi thrills. Instead, what we get is badly paced, clichéd and utterly predictable (except for the ending), and is so filled with biblical overtones that it would make St Peter blush.
Let’s get Nicholas Cage out of the way, so we can focus on other things. He’s terrible. And I don’t think anyone expected any different. Nicholas Cage is one of those actors who will churn out an amazing performance once every five or six years (see: Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation.) and will then use that cred to score high paying rolls like this one that he can just sleepwalk through. His fellow cast members are equally bad: Rose Byrne is a good actress, but her performance here is laughable, and the child actors are just abysmal. It doesn’t help that the things characters do in this film are completely illogical. Director Alex Proyas (Dark City, I Robot) shows the occasional flash of ingenuity, but it is lost under the barrage of awful dialogue and fake looking CGI. The action sequences are dreadful, and I also thought they were in extremely bad taste. The subway crash that was featured heavily in the trailer was extremely gratuitous (though not bloody), with innocent bystanders being crushed left and right. Likewise, a scene in which animals were being burnt alive in an extended forest fire sequence reminded me of the recent bushfires here in Victoria, and although it was very clear that only computer generated animals were harmed, it was still not the most pleasant thing to watch.Knowing is a film which will have you rolling your eyes at least once a minute. A few examples: in an early seen, we see a spooky figure standing alone, staring straight ahead. And when we cut away and then cut back…she’s gone. And then the same thing happens five minutes later! The tragic back story in which we discover that Nicholas Cage’s wife was tragically killed in a tragic accident is just tragic. So very tragic. One thing I have to mention is Nicholas Cage’s strange penchant for talking to himself. Apparently, the filmmakers didn’t believe the audience could figure out what was going on on screen, and so Cage’s character describes everything he’s doing while he’s doing it. They probably should have given him a sidekick, so he wasn’t just talking to the air. He also felt the need to read everything he sees, even if the audience can see it as well. Yes Nicholas Cage, I can see that fifty people where killed last month. It says so right there. This film treats it viewers as though they are ten year olds…actually that’s not true, because ten year olds can read!Knowing is a terrible movie, but it does have a few redeeming qualities, primarily that it is ambitious. This film isn’t satisfied being just another Hollywood disaster movie, and it puts forward some very interesting ideas about fate vs free will, about the nature of god and faith, and even though it fails every single time it tries to explore these ideas, at least they were trying. Alex Proyas also shows some ambition, most noticeably in the plane crash scene, which is filmed in one single hand held camera shot without any cuts. Now don’t get me wrong…it looked terrible. The shaking camera didn’t work at all, the special effects were awful, and Nicholas Cage’s behaviour in the sequence made no sense. But it was still a technically interesting piece of filmmaking. The other positive this movie has going is that it’s never boring. There is plenty of tension, and you always want to know what happens next, even if when it comes you can’t believe just how stupid it is.The ending…after much thought I have decided not to reveal it here, because in a perverse way I actually enjoyed this film as a comedy. Everything is so laughable, and the final reveal is one of the biggest WTF’s I have ever witnessed. Go see this film with a large group of friends, and some alcohol. You can make a drinking game of it: every time Nic Cage stares off into the distance, you do a shot. Plus, this movie was shot in Melbourne, so we should all go and support it (you know, so Cage will come back and make another movie here.) Knowing is a hilarious experience that will have you screaming at the screen, and after you leave you may find yourself thinking about it. And on that, I am recommending it. But make no mistake. It’s really retarded.
Knowing is in cinemas now
