8/10I am not a fan of Nic Cage in general. He has made some movies I like. "Matchstick Men" and "The Weather Man" come to mind. He actually tries to act in those movies. But in recent years, his penchant to accept any role and then play them all the same way has really gotten out of control. "Ghost Rider," the "National Treasure" movies, and "Next" are examples of Cage phoning in that annoying hyper-intense character.
On the other hand, I am an unapologetic fan of sci-fi movies. Sure the genre can lead to some terrible output, but it can also result in some thought provoking, engaging fare. However, I don't exactly care for disaster movies. So the trailers didn't really sell me on this movie since they pretty much painted it as a disaster flick in which Cage saves the world . . . again. In the end I said "fuck it" and decided to give "Knowing" a shot.
I went in knowing (dammit) the critics had trashed this movie. So imagine my surprise when I liked it. I thought maybe something was wrong with me. The religious allusions and symbolism caught me by surprise. I admit I am a sucker for that stuff. Most of the negative reviews for "Knowing" focus their vitriol on the ending. I happen to think that many critics feel they have a duty to blast any movie that incorporates religious themes. I further think that "Knowing" is a victim of this unfortunate trend toward political correctness. Anyone who was surprised by the religious turn this movie takes wasn't paying attention. Proyas sets up the religious aspect throughout the entire movie. There are numerous explicit and implicit biblical references.
Don't worry, I'm not going to start preaching the Gospel. I'm a functional atheist for God's sake (zing). Anyway, let's get down to brass tacks. The premise for this movie is a little hokey, but Proyas's execution of that premise is nothing short of genius. The whole numbers plot device is something of a red herring. It serves to propel the plot, but in the end you realize that the numbers are really not that important. This bait and switch might turn those who were expecting some case study in number theory or gematria against the movie, but I found it harmless.
The acting is good but not exceptional. Proyas managed to get Nic Cage to tone down his usual hyper-intensity. There are still a few moments where Cage YELLS SO YOU KNOW HE IS SERIOUS AND INTENSE OMG!!!!, but they are fewer and farther between than in his other recent movies. The music is outstanding, especially the choice of the Second Movement from Beethoven's 7th Symphony. The piece eerily augments the already disturbing denouement.
"Knowing" is visually astounding. The plane crash is one of the most realistic, unsettling disaster scenes I've ever seen in a movie. My jaw literally went slack. I felt like I was there, walking behind Nic Cage as he surveyed the carnage and tried to help. I really can't describe how amazing this scene was. The final disaster scene is also very realistic and really shocks you.
I was surprised by how good "Knowing" was. Perhaps my very low expectations served me well, but I happen to think "Knowing" stands on its own as one of the better disaster movies and a very good sci-fi movie. I will definitely be paying more attention to Proyas and looking forward to his next movie.
2 comments:
the movies is crap and the apocolypse they describe is utterley and literally impossible. Once you know how it ends, everything that hapeened before was ultimately pointless and just filler. They also tried too hard to have a horrible adam and eve ending, when the aliens probably couldve just blocked the sun rays if they can make fleets of telekenetic ships with warp drives.
i knew how it was going to end, at it made it that much more frightening to watch the events unfold. A very good film.
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