Hypnotic

So about 20 minutes into this movie I thought it was terrible. Affleck's acting is particularly bad, and there's plot holes big enough to drive a bus through, and it just kind of felt like a bad movie that I'd suffer through till the end, but then something happened.... the "reveal" around the hour mark. Suddenly all those plot "holes" weren't actually plot holes, and Affleck's "bad" acting wasn't actually bad at all. That's the point. It's SUPPOSED to watch like a terrible movie because that sets up the reveal. I hate to say it, but that nuance once u know the reveal is kinda brilliant. Affleck in particular is acting badly... ON PURPOSE! And you're supposed to notice those plot holes and be like "Wait, how is that possible?". Those are the clues to the reveal.

So yeah, is it the best movie ever? No. But anyone writing a bad review (in particular criticizing Affleck's acting) just doesn't understand that that was the assignment.

Robert Rodriguez is an immensely gifted cinematographer and has quite a vivid imagination, and both of these great qualities are abundant in Hypnotic. It has a wonderfully clever concept that keeps the film watchable and subversive twists that keep the experience unique.

Sadly, what keeps this movie from being powerful and memorable is it's excessive reliance on exposition. So much of it is necessary to explain the overly complex plot and possibly over half of the dialogue is clumsily-written rapid-fire exposition. It just isn't fun.

And the script keeps us from forming any sort of emotional connection with this story because it's so concerned with explaining WHAT is happening that it forgets to let us in on the intimacies of WHY it's all happening-who these people are, really, and why we should care.

I find this to be a very frustrating film, because it had so much more potential than was tapped into by this extremely rough screenplay.

Had hopes, but this from Ben and the director Rodriguez is pretty bad. To the point of 80's clunkers where cheese was heavily spread throughout many films. As title of review suggests, this seems like a project that Nic Cage missed out on. With Nic amped up to 11, it may have proven to be a fun film. Unfortunately, those involved seemed to be seriously thinking the loose writing, poorly chosen film score and bad acting were what audiences were hoping for. Here's hoping Ben washes the grime off and gets back to delivering some decent entertainment. For now, this film certainly won't be added to my blu-ray collection.

Hypnotic is a solid B movie aspiring to be Christopher Nolan's A-movie Memento or Inception with a whiff of Matrix. While it may play on notions of memory and hypnosis (see the title), it doesn't reach the nuances of Nolan's work. Yet it amuses and hints at the dangers lack of memory can cause.

For early summer and Ben Affleck in his prime (see Air), it's a safe bet for an evening that may cause you and your companions to philosophically speculate on its allegorical properties (social media mind bending, anyone?).

Danny Rourke (a perpetually glum Affleck) grieves to find his abducted daughter, Minnie (Hala Finley and Ionie Olivia Nieves), but has been searching for her for 4 years, even after arresting the kidnapper. You see, kidnapper doesn't remember a damn thing, and lo and behold more characters don't remember things either. It begins to sound like Hitchcock's Vertigo, whose re-release director Robert Rodriguez claims inspired him.

Something has a hold on their minds, a weapon far worse than guns and bombs. With the help of Detective Diana Cruz (Alice Braga), Rourke tracks from the heist to the master mind to get at the hypnosis generator. Along the way, a Hitchcock MacGuffin called Domino fades while our hero experiences a surprising facet of the titular weapon.

Although this is in no way a superhero film, it resembles one thematically with the emphasis on finding a daughter and making family whole again. That theme is more satisfactory than gaining riches or beating the hell out of bad guys.

The ending is sentimental to a fault, and the mid-credits sequence promises more of the same with a possible sequel. Summer fare could be worse, so relax in a comfy modern theater with your best bud and howl at the screen.

Hypnotic is an energetic B movie with a fleeting moment when Ben smiles. Now, that's entertainment!

This is a B movie all the way. It has Ben Affleck, but it's still a B movie. The budget was $70M but it's still a B movie. They really tried to create something creative, so I give them credit. That being said, it just didn't work. That's why the studio buried the investment.

Nolan likes to create extremely complex plots, with wild ideas that can alter time, space, perception, reality, memory and in this case the ability to control others thoughts thorough ESP.

It's just way to complex given the cast, locations and the overall premise. It's similar to SCANNERS from 1981. The idea is, but it lacks that 80s vibe, practical special effects and it's just confusing and too short given all there is to unpack. 5.2/10 for the idea and some clever scenes.