***1/2 Stars
Before I begin any sort of review or analysis on Knowing, the most important I can tell you is this: AVOID ANY SPOILERS BEFORE SEEING THE FILM. The best way to experience Knowing is not knowing anything beforehand. Let's try and point out the irony here shall we?
Alex Proyas's (Dark City, I, Robot) stylishly directed apocalyptic thriller is the first truly pleasant surprise of 2009. Nicholas Cage gives a solid Nicholas Cage like performance as John Koestler, a MIT professor who stumbles across a startlingly discovery...
In 1959, a student named Lucinda Embry of a Lexington, Massachusetts Elementary School, buried a sequence of numbers in the school's time capsule that could be a possible prediction of the future's cataclysmic events. Now, fifty years later (in the present day), John and his son Caleb are attending the ceremony to unveil that capsule. Caleb is handed the sequence in an envelope marked in his name. That following evening, John puts him to bed, pops open a liter of booze, and heads down to his study to analyze the sequence. He soon discovers that the order of the numbers match every global disaster of the past half century, in perfect sequence...
Too big to think about? Too preposterous to believe? Well, if you are judging the film on this premise and its mediocre theatrical trailer, then you are way off on where Knowing is going to take you. I am delighted to say that this film is a truly mind-blowing experience, one that pushes all the limits of the science-fiction genre.
I have discussed this film with several people, from elements regarding Cage's performance (alright, if you hate Cage as an actor than you might want to stay away) Proyas intense direction, and the controversial ending. Some enjoyed it, but most found it laughable due its overseriousness. While I admit that Knowing has some awkward moments and many under-written characters, the notion that it comes across as too serious doesn't sit well with me. When dealing with the potential horror of a global disaster and threats against your child's life, the term "overseriousness" should be deemed irrelevant. Are people mad that Knowing leaves audiences asking questions rather than receiving answers?
We live in a cause and effect society. People not only want answers to everything, people NEED answers to everything. Maybe that's why Knowing has been dubbed as a critical disappointment (although props to Roger Ebert for his usual honesty and personal beliefs in his four star review of the film). But ask John Koestler if receiving all the answers to the world was a good thing. He may tell you that knowing isn't everything...
Too big to think about? Too preposterous to believe? Well, if you are judging the film on this premise and its mediocre theatrical trailer, then you are way off on where Knowing is going to take you. I am delighted to say that this film is a truly mind-blowing experience, one that pushes all the limits of the science-fiction genre.
I have discussed this film with several people, from elements regarding Cage's performance (alright, if you hate Cage as an actor than you might want to stay away) Proyas intense direction, and the controversial ending. Some enjoyed it, but most found it laughable due its overseriousness. While I admit that Knowing has some awkward moments and many under-written characters, the notion that it comes across as too serious doesn't sit well with me. When dealing with the potential horror of a global disaster and threats against your child's life, the term "overseriousness" should be deemed irrelevant. Are people mad that Knowing leaves audiences asking questions rather than receiving answers?
We live in a cause and effect society. People not only want answers to everything, people NEED answers to everything. Maybe that's why Knowing has been dubbed as a critical disappointment (although props to Roger Ebert for his usual honesty and personal beliefs in his four star review of the film). But ask John Koestler if receiving all the answers to the world was a good thing. He may tell you that knowing isn't everything...
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