A film review by: Bill Gibron
Film: KNOWING
Director: Alex Proyas
Producers: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Alex Proyas
Screenwriters: Ryne Douglas Pearson, Juliet Snowden, Stiles White, Stuart Hazeldine, Alex Proyas
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, Lara Robinson
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Theatrical Release Date: March 20, 2009
FilmCritic Review Rating: 4.0 out of 5 Stars
In the list of filmmakers packed with wasted potential, Alex Proyas has to be near the top. While Dark City sparkled with a kind of surreal sci-fi magic, his other efforts — including the gloppy Will Smith epic I, Robot — have felt strained and unrewarding. So when you see his name attached to the lasted Nicolas Cage effort (said actor himself a perfect example of the law of continued diminishing returns), one fears a flop coming on. But as luck would have it, Knowing is actually very good. It proves that Proyas is perhaps one mainstream mega-hit away from finally fulfilling his so far unrealized possibilities.
Even Cage can’t countermand Proyas’ ability behind the lens. While much better here than in other recent paycheck parts (Bangkok Dangerous, Next), there are times when he feels out of sync with the rest of the movie. He’s even upstaged by child actor Canterbury some of the time. But as the story moves along, as his character learns more and more about the fateful list, Cage comes around.
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