Directed by:
Alex ProyasCinematography:
Simon DugganComposer:
Marco BeltramiCast:
Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, Adrienne Pickering, Ben Mendelsohn, Lara Robinson, Sally Anne Arnott, D.G. Maloney, Clem Maloney (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
A college professor (Nicolas Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son s elementary school. In it are some chilling accurate predictions of disasters... when, where, and how many will die. Most of these events must uncover the details of the next disasters in hopes of preventing them. If he fails, who knows how many will die? (Summit Entertainment)
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Reviews (13)
Not counting Star Trek, Knowing is the best sci-fi film in a very long time (The Day The Earth Stood Still and I Am Legend are not even close). Proyas is a master of atmosphere and his splendid direction and eye-candy visuals made me fully immerse in the film and enjoy it in a way I hadn’t expected. I didn’t even care that I had a vague idea of the twist due to some spoiling moron. Actually, it’s not even that hard to guess quite early on, but it doesn’t matter much because the most important thing here is the atmosphere. My only quibbles are addressed at the not very good CGI, some annoying father-son conversations and the overall predictability (which, actually, is quite nonsense for a film that works with fate and predestination). Cage is more than bearable, he’s finally made a good film after a long time. For me, very satisfied 4 stars (though they could have left out the final field escapade…)
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When watching Knowing, I couldn't help but compare it to a similar film, The Mothman Prophecies, which is firmly situated in the mystery genre - unlike Knowing, which is genre-wise much broader, but essentially it is "bastardized sci-fi," which should be much dearer to me as a fan of the genre. Surprisingly, and I emphasize that I don't consider The Mothman Prophecies a film gem in any way. It's nice that Proyas has decent craftsmanship and tries to create the right atmosphere, but at the same time, he heavily copies from successful films of the past and relies on the most banal and naive ideas about encountering extraterrestrial intelligence. The combination of Close Encounters of the Third Kind with People from Space doesn't appeal to me much, not to mention that at times (e.g., in shots from the alien world or when the camera zooms in on the detail of the American flag waving in the wind), the director slides into blatant kitsch. The script is similar to the directing, in that it steals a lot and routinely puts it together. A separate chapter is Cage's performance. I'm not one of those who sharpen their wit on the topic of his current roles, mainly because most of his titles in recent years fall outside my interest, but his alternating roughly four expressions, with the frightened and stunned one prevailing, really got on my nerves. All in all, the destruction of the world according to Proyas doesn't seem smarter than according to Emmerich, nor is it more entertaining. Overall impression: 40%.
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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.
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Caleb was a bit of a klutz. Abby totally cool, like nothing was going on all the time, her mom the complete opposite, just yelling, hysterical all the time. And Nicholas was Cage... More than half of the movie was pretty much boring, and for how long the movie is, it's pretty long. The best part of the whole movie was the big flashback. So I'm thinking the last scene could be followed up with another movie...
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Thrilling atmosphere and visual effects. Proyas is one of the few directors who knows how to utilize the technical aspects of a film to the fullest, which means not only as a showcase of current technologies, but as a fully-fledged plot attribute. The solid beginning is unfortunately marred the quite clumsy ending – a blend of kitsch and pathos – and at times I even felt that the director didn't know where to go. In the last minutes, it was quite a mess. Knowing could have turned out much better. Cage is bearable after a long time, even in a non-action role.
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Gallery (68)
Photo © SPI International
![Knowing - Promo](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/164/072/164072255_a2af0b.jpg)
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