Premonición

Keeping this short, I don't understand why there's so many negative reviews of this flick. I see a repeating pattern for genre movies such as this, in that the sex & explosions popcorn actioner crowd seem to take it personally when they don't understand what's going on.

Above average movies such as this and other hidden gems like "Predestination" get an unfair rap from the instant gratification legions, who seemingly don't like any pointed reminders that they're stupid.

Good casting, locations, cinematography and a breathtaking soundtrack used to the best possible effect make this a welcome addition to the stable of movies that you wouldn't usually watch because of all the naysayers, but are glad you did once you do. Yeah, there's some minor plothole issues and the pacing was a bit confusing at times, but the good far outweighs the bad.

Watch it.

An American sci-fi drama; A story about an air traffic controller who is suspended from his job after a near miss incident, who starts to notice a reoccurence of the conditions that led to his suspension. Drawn into a complex relationship, he must figure out a way to control time itself. Pattern, repetition and predestination often feature in sci-fi fantasy movie plots, but when complicated ideas are ill-explained, it makes for difficult viewing for the circumspect viewer, even one prepared to suspend belief. The lead character is a poseur, a man of metropolitan cliché, rushing about carelessly - this runs in stark contrast to the traits one associates with an air traffic controller. The love story also feels unnatural. The stylisation of the film feels misplaced too with voiceovers that reduce the illusion further.

Overall I enjoyed this movie but I think it was more style than substance. The direction and visuals were excellent - it's possibly worth watching the movie solely for them, especially if that's your kind of thing. The aerial ballet and art exhibit scenes in particular (which you get a hint of in the trailer) were stunning. It's a well-made movie with a sufficient budget.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say it reminded me of Knowing and Twelve Monkeys - however, compared to those two movies, the stakes felt rather low and the mystery was never particularly compelling, on top of being a little too predictable. I always felt I knew the general direction it was heading, even if I didn't have all the details yet.

I have to admit I don't understand the extreme negativity in some of the reviews.....especially considering the amount of uninspired garbage in movie theaters these days.

Now, 2:22 is not a masterpiece, and like most movies it has weaknesses, but its strength is that it builds a sense of suspense without the usual car chases and urban shoot outs that seem to please the ADD crowds so much. The acting is solid (not Oscar material but better than hinted at in many reviews), the direction and special effects are very polished, and, more importantly, the slow accretion of mysterious details and surreal circumstances make it far more interesting, IMO, than most movies currently on offering. I think this movie also does a good job, overall, of hinting at parts of the ending but at the same time maintaining a sense of suspense about how exactly the mysterious events and patterns noticed by the main character will come together.

This is not a realistic thriller, with a clear cut plot and an ending that explains every minor thread or detail in its story, or a relentless action movies with plenty of explosions and other events that ultimately mean nothing, or a bloated love story with SF elements. Hence, I think, the disappointment of some viewers.

The way I see it this is a movie that, despite its imperfections, evolves into a subtle, psychological thriller that hints at man's endless fascination with patterns (in our Universe, in our life, in history etc) and at our sense of wonder of how we fit in it. A movie that while providing us with an interesting story also asks us to add to the plot our own interpretation of the events, and our own sense of wonder about the mystery of our existence.

Now, there is no doubt that other movies on similar topics are superior (12 monkeys and Groundhog day come to mind, among others), but I still think this is one of the few movies worth watching I've seen this year, despite its limitations. At least it asks the watcher to actually engage his brain instead of just switching off and let the explosions roll on until the cardboard cutout bad guy/guys are vanquished.

In NYC, air traffic controller Dylan Branson (Michiel Huisman) has a premonition of a shooting in Grand Central Station at 2:22pm. He goes to work and nearly crashes two planes into each other at 2:22pm. He continues to encounter strange occurrences at 2:22pm. He meets art gallery owner Sarah Barton (Teresa Palmer).

There is a good idea somewhere here and these actors could have made it work. I'm still not sure if this premise makes any kind of movie sense. It would probably make more sense without the complication of the past loop. It could be more compelling. I really like the beautiful looking couple although they could have some better writing. The movie just needs to clear up the rambling premise.