KNOWING (C-)
Knowing! That's what I just saw, and I do not really know what to say about it. Nicholas Cage is not one of my favorite actors because of some terrible films he has made in his career. Referring to Next (please never see this), Bangkok Dangerous (definitely do not waste time watching this), and most of all Ghost Rider. I hated that horrible movie so much it hurts to discuss it. Cage had plenty of success in the past, but recently has become as believable in movies as Scientology is a religion.
Nicholas Cage plays John Koestler, a widowed father raising his young son named Caleb. Caleb's elementary school opens a time capsule that was sealed in 1959. Every student attending the school then was allowed to write a message to the students of the future. When the capsule is opened, Caleb receives the strangest letter of all from a young girl named Lucinda. It features nothing but a page full of random numbers; but are they random? John finds that Caleb has brought the letter home from school, and he is intrigued by it.
He then discovers that the numbers predict all the significant world disasters of the past 50 years. Three sets of numbers predict disasters that will happen within the next couple of days. The film really takes off from there as the audience witnesses some truly breathtaking disasters.
The disasters are so well done, that it makes viewers feel somber and awe for the destruction at hand. The special effects in this film are mesmerizing moving past looking good, to adding a dimension to the film.
The sound effects during the disasters are especially amazing. The destruction seems to pop off the screen with the booming sound and made my jaw drop with fascination. The musical score in Knowing was the opposite. I really did not feel that the music fit the era or the mood of the film; it felt like it was from the 1970's. Some of the scenes were ruined by this particularly orchestra-like score.
The film had decent acting, but I wouldn't include Cage in that sentence. He was particularly bad in the scenes where he had to display his range of emotion, which was the entire second half of the film. At one point Cage takes a bat and whacks it against a tree shouting to adversaries, "You want some of this!?" That part will definitely go into his all time bad acting moments in films, which I am sure is close to full.
The female lead is the little know Rose Byrne. She is most know for her role in the television show Damages. I enjoyed her role as a compliment to Nick Cage, but she does not get enough screen time. All Cage films are helped by him having less screen time. Knowing fails to adopt that formula, leaving him as the dimly shining star.
The ending of Knowing ruined what the entire film was building to. I enjoyed the lead up to the end because the mystery surrounding the numbers and the mass destruction of Earth keeps the film moving nicely. Then once audience gets there, the pay off is not satisfying.
I personally did not like the ending, but the questions left un answered were even more annoying. The script blasts us with information the entire film, but then fails to be detailed at the end when we want answers most.
Unfortunately, Knowing was the number one movie at the box office last weekend. This is definitley not the best movie in America, for that you would have to see I Love You, Man.
Overall, this film was decent. Great special effects and an interesting story. But there are too many areas that were no where near as well done, the casting of Nicholas Cage especially. Ok, Ok, I am not going to bash him the whole time. I am just sick of him playing this know-it-all douche bag character that is the smartest man alive or can see 3 minutes into the future or a super hero who is always the most bad ass. What happened to films where Cage played good characters like Raising Arizona, It Could Happen to You, or even Con Air.
Don't waste your money on this in the theaters unless you love Nick Cage, or love to defy me. It has its moments, but only enough for a DVD rental. See my other reviews for films you should actually go and see.
