Knowing

Most of the time I thought that critics had hurt Knowing, because it is a thrilling and suggestive disaster film that surpasses its even more expensive colleagues thanks to Proyas' directing and great visuals. However, the biblical finale turns the tolerable ridiculousness into something very close to farce. One tends to forgive disaster films their plot holes and the strange (un)motivation of the characters, but the moment the creators hit you with heavy metaphysical calibers, you can now veto the tolerance. Knowing clearly suffers from ambitions that were too high. If it had stayed more grounded, it would be amongst the top films of the genre. Nicolas Cage saying a sentence like "how do I save the world?" would be a problem even in a much better-thought-out film. [65%] (07/15/2009)

Proyas has mastered the craft perfectly, but this skill is absolutely useless when he has to deal with a completely trivial script that drags the plot through the morass of the cheapest clichés. Then the director himself becomes a problem, as two pivotal scenes (by the way, letting them get on the internet was a major mistake) seem to have come out of a completely different film. Then there are the horror sequences, which perfectly battle with the cheap remainder of the film, overstuffed with warped family relationships and long-winded scientific theories. It’s a film that’s perfect in its individual parts, but as a whole, it’s... disappointing. PS: (06/26/2009)

You know those movies that have a brilliant theme but kind of a stupid screenplay? Well, this is one of them. Luckily, Proyas is such an expert that he brings absolutely everything to really important scenes. The disasters that happen are each more delicious than the last and are filmed in such a way that you won't know which one you liked better. Cage kind of pissed me off that he stole such a good movie from someone who isn’t going through a bad acting period (though he tried quite hard here) and I was wondering why not try to cast Kiefer Sutherland or Tom Hanks? Mainly, it would have been better to re-cast the screenwriters. However, at the end I was fully absorbed and I was just watching to see what the hell was going on. Atmospheric science fiction which brings one possible answer to the basic question: "Why?". (06/21/2009)

Proyas is a wizard. For a ridiculously low amount of money (by the budgetary standards of modern Hollywood), he delivered an atmospheric visual treat that can send chills down the spine. Though script-wise is like a poor man’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the pathetic conversation with the father and the grain scene look like something out of the Jehovah Witnesses’ magazine Watchtower, I still give it thumbs up for the bold apocalyptic denouement. The film is not without flaws, but you can feel the craftsmanship and the author's passion for the cause, and that is appreciated. Proyas's favourite albinos had a suitably creepy effect, with Cage surprisingly tame and not overacting. (06/21/2009)

I, Robot was a pure studio movie – expensive, spectacular and bombastic, but also shallow and superficial. Knowing is a smaller, more modest film but also more personal and sensitive. Too bad that the not-very-original subject matter and weaker ending overshadow the otherwise perfect screenwriting and editing work, where everything from the detailed depiction of the characters and action dynamics to horror elements is delivered in precisely measured doses. Not to mention the fact that the special effects are not just self-serving eye candy, but are subordinate to a story with a soul. And I haven’t seen Nick Cage in such a well-fitting role for a while. Knowing is a high-quality small film that I’m rating higher than I expected. (09/02/2009)