Minute44 - Dan Schonhaar

Starring: Nicolas Cage
Directed by: Alex Proyas

Imagine you’re given fore warning of global disasters only to discover that you not only know they’re coming but that you play a vital part in the grand plan of fate. Knowing is the story of John Koestler, a teacher at MIT (They all work at MIT) and single parent following the death of his wife in a hotel fire a year earlier. Johns son, Caleb receives an envelope from the school’s 50 year old time capsule containing a list of seemingly random numbers. It isn’t long, though, before Mr. MIT works out a system in the numbers. They are dates and death tolls of every major global disaster for the last 50 years, in perfect sequence.

I expected nothing more from Knowing than the usual Nicolas Cage remove-brain-and-enjoy type of movie that we have become accustomed to. I was slightly more cautious, though, following the shockingly bad Bangkok Dangerous (Yeah, I know.) but what we got here was pretty much what was expected. A fairly decent plot premise, some actually very decent effects and some pretty okay supporting performances provided by Ben Mendelsohn and Diana Wayland.

I think my favourite thing about this movie is the appearance of a group of eerie people who don’t speak but seem to be the source of the predictions/warnings in the form of psychic whispers. I think the reason I like them so much is because they remind me of the baddies in Alex Proyas’ masterpiece; Dark City, one of my favourite movies ever. The harbingers in Knowing lack the subtlety and nuance of  The Strangers but manage to hang on to all the creepy and then some. In one dream sequence, in particular, these guys really do send a chill down your spine.

The movie isn’t everything it seems from the trailer/poster. It’s not so much a disaster movie as much as a drama supported by disaster movie set pieces and supernatural suspense. The plot focuses more on John Koestler coming to terms with his beliefs following the death of his wife as well as reconciling with his estranged parents although the latter fails to deliver it’s intended effect due to the fact it is drowned out by THE MOST OVER THE TOP ENDING TO ANY MOVIE EVER! Seriously, when you think this movie has just the right amount of ridiculous in it, it blows you out of your seat with the climax of doom! I’m not going to spoil it for you by saying what happens but I’ll warn you; don’t go in there expecting subtlety.

That said, the ending is about the only truly negative thing I can say about this movie. The rest, with the exception of the really decent  effects and the creepy ass harbingers, was all middle of the road. Standard. Vanilla.

Verdict: