Reminiscence

Reminiscence is a film from which we probably expected something diametrically different, and that's probably the source of the audience's disappointment, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy it in the end - on the contrary. Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson are a great duo, the ocean-flooded world where night is day and day is night is interesting in its own right, and the central plot and the reminiscence motif itself are great. The sci-fi element is cleverly incorporated into the story, as is the occasional action, suspense and romance, which surprisingly doesn't feel distracting and fits in nicely. The first half of the film is an interesting introduction to the world, the second half then segues into a detective storyline with a satisfying, surprising and interesting denouement that paces as it should and makes for a fine final picture. My only complaint is with the literal commenting on all the characters' thoughts and feelings, something that could be clearly portrayed without exposition, but somehow here they're all talking out loud, which doesn't work that well, but that's probably just me. Despite feeling that more could have been extracted from the world and this could have been been into a full blown action sci-fi flick (as I originally thought), I'm actually satisfied and I liked the unraveling of the story along with everything else the film had to offer. A cautious "family friendly" four stars that is well worth watching. (09/22/2021)

There’s something to the vision of a flooded Miami in a noirish coat of night-time lighting, with a bumbling love-struck Jackman infatuated with the beautiful femme fatale Rebecca. It brings to mind Blade Runner and Sin City, and Rebecca singing on stage in a red dress even brings back memories of the animated Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. But the potential for a nice, touching love story is cut off at the knees by the film’s clumsy and uninteresting detective storyline, which also diminishes the significance of the interesting formalistic stylization. (10/19/2021)

Hugh Jackman searches his own memories to find out what happened to his love, Rebecca Ferguson, but he may not be prepared for what he finds. Lisa Joy delivers a visually appealing combination of science fiction and noir that perhaps borrows too much from other films, but the two hours pass unexpectedly pleasantly. (08/25/2021)

Noir is a genre that has that magical quality where if such a film fails in style, it becomes terribly funny. And with Reminiscence, I was chuckling like a madman at times. By which the film proves once again, among other things, how that famous "best unrealized screenplays" label doesn't guarantee anything, because it's just a crappy rip-off of Strange Days (despite there being no comparison). With more capable direction and especially set design, this could have withstood a lot, because the subject matter isn't entirely bad; but just the way it all feels artificial and cheaply staged makes it stand out for how stupidly written, acted, and produced it is. Still, I'm glad someone took on this retrofuturistic neo-noir without trying to "instructively" look down on it, which is rare these days. (11/19/2021)

I appreciate the attempt at a distinctive old-school neo-noir set against a specific futuristic backdrop, but unfortunately Reminiscence doesn't work as a satisfying cinematic spectacle and drags tremendously. I myself barely finished it for the third time, and this genre is practically "for me". You could see the effort, but it didn't work. (06/16/2022)