Midnight Special

This movie has many strong facets:

• Good performances from all the actors
• Beautifully shot
• Decent pace
• Interesting them/plot
• Brilliant soundtrack

The movie is set up well in the first 1/3. It keeps it hanging at 2/3. It convinces you that a profound message / reveal is imminent.

But then the final 3/3 fails to achieve that in the way that 'Arrival' or 'Signs' did. I know those are great movies and it's unfair to make a comparison. But when such an emphasis is placed on a reveal, you better think of something good. And it's in this area that the writers are guilty of laziness and/or lack of imagination.

Would give it a 6.5 if I could.

Nichols is a gifted filmmaker. Both "Take Shelter" and "Mud" were special movies, stories that allowed complex characters to be sucked into intense drama within real settings. And the first 2/3 of this movie felt like it was heading the same way, from the fundamentalist kickoff to the surreal twists. Unfortunately, it just did not stick the landing. Too many unanswered questions and too many cliche sci fi moments. I wanted more than just an homage to 80s Spielberg flicks, but the emotional payoff was lacking here.

In Texas, Roy Tomlin (Michael Shannon) and Lucas (Joel Edgerton) are being hunted by the cops for kidnapping eight year old Alton Meyer. Alton's adoptive father Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard) leads the Ranch filled with his religious followers. They are raided by the FBI. NSA agent Paul Sevier (Adam Driver) is investigating the anomaly that is the boy. Alton shows unnatural powers with light streaming out of his eyes. Roy and Lucas eventually bring him to Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) on a rendezvous with destiny.

This has a great sense of sci-fi realism in a small indie. Shannon simply has intensity. There is a small hiccup when the boy gets captured by the authorities. That section feels disjointed with some logic problems. The movie unnecessarily over-reaches at that point. It could easily streamlined that into something grittier and smaller. In the end, this is a really nice sci-fi indie.

This film really came out of nowhere for me, as a comment by a stranger I overheard in a bar drew me to this, and thank you nameless stranger with impeccable taste! This is one of those sci-fi flicks that comes along every once in a while that actually has something to say without overuse of CGI and genre tropes.

I knew almost nothing about Midnight Special going in other than said comment, and I highly recommend you try to do the same. Therefore I will be as brief as possible to avoid spoilers.

Roy (Michael Shannon) is on the run with his 8 year old son Alden (Jaeden Lieberher) from a religious cult that worships the boy as some sort of messiah. Also in pursuit are the FBI and NSA, who are investigating several strange phenomena connected with the child. Roy enlists childhood friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) to help them get to a specific location on a specific date, the reasons for which are unclear but may involve some sort of otherworldly or cataclysmic event.

The comparisons with Starman (1984) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are apt, but this is very definitely a different movie altogether.

The actors are uniformly excellent, especially Michael Shannon, who gives another intense and believable performance as a man who would do anything for his son.

A bit has been made out of how the movie ends, but personally I found it a powerful emotional pay-off that I could feel in my chest, possibly due to the nostalgic feeling this film evokes.

In conclusion, go see it. A thought provoking sci-fi drama with a story to tell. A good one at that.

I really enjoyed most of the movie thanks to the mystery factor, the actors who all play well - may it be the main or the supporting roles or the almost flawless production.

But there's so much build-up for something minor. Potential is definitely there, but disappointing in total.