Reel Review Roundup

Cars 2 (G)

Directed by: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis

Starring: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

I thought Pixar had suffered a head gasket leak for a moment. After the worldwide critical success of Finding Nemo, Wall E and Monsters Inc, the power studio decided to make a sequel to its enjoyable but possibly least impressive effort Cars. Sure, it was colourful and fun but paled in comparison to the imagination and snappy wit of Toy Story. It certainly did not appear to have the juice for franchise potential.

Buzz and Woody need not fear of being eclipsed by Lightning McQueen and Mater, but a shift in character focus and a quick re-invention of the formula and I am ready for a third Cars. Pixar have made enough tweaks here to keep things fresh, fun and tolerable. If this is the worst those folks at Pixar can come up with then sign me up for 100 more.

Popping straight into fourth gear with plenty of action and intrigue, Cars 2 opens with British intelligence agent Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) cheating death out at sea in choppy conditions to sneak pics of what looks like an ordinary television camera being smuggled on a ship. Meanwhile in the isolated but picturesque town of Radiator Springs, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is settled and enjoying a break from racing.

He is eventually coaxed back into action by suave Formula One car Fransesco (John Turturro) who wants to challenge McQueen in the first World Grand Prix. McQueen takes his simple but loveable best mate Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) on the globetrotting trip that includes Japan, Italy and London to be part of the pit crew. But once they leave their quaint town, McQueen takes the back seat and Mater drives the story.

Always the blissfully ignorant one, Mater gets caught up in international espionage as he inadvertently intercepts a bathroom exchange of vital information that has something to do with the camera that featured in the opening sequence. It could also lead to the identity of the car trying to sabotage the races.Veteran McMissile and his new partner Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) mistake Mater for an American spy, thinking his bumbling behaviour is just his cover.

The more McQueen races, the more danger he unknowingly gets himself into. With Mater distracted by his own adventures, the relationship between the cars is stretched. Mater must learn to be a reliable friend as he helps save the World Grand Prix.

Giving Cars a James Bond feel with pedal to the metal action sequences was enough to allow me to enjoy this briskly paced piece of cinematic candy. It is unabashedly style over substance but there are enough laughs to keep adults and kids interested. Cars 2 is as nice to look at as a yard full of Ferraris and Lamborghinis and still has plenty of revs left in it.

Bridesmaids (MA)

Directed by: Paul Feig

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Vomiting on friends and defecating on the street. Anyone would think this was another Hangover sequel. No, it isn’t the Wolfpack out on another bender; this is a group of women preparing for a wedding. Not quite what you would expect to see at the cinema, women acting so raucously. This chick flick takes a filthier path than rom com sweethearts Jennifer Lopez or Sandra Bullock would ever dare tread.

The gross out genre has mainly been the blokes domain so it is good to see chicks giving it a shot. But instead of solely going for cheap laughs with a “chicks can do anything guys can do” attitude, Bridesmaids also has a big sappy heart that it wears on its bodily fluid stained sleeve. Driven by characters and relationships instead of a high gross out count, Bridesmaids has some delicate moments between the “ewww” moments.

Annie (Kristen Wiig) is having a tough time as she closes in on the big 4-0. She was forced to close her bakery when the global financial crisis hit, she has no money, her roommate is a freak, she has never been married and she is having an affair with a sleaze. Her life has hit the skids but she has always had the support of her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph), who has just announced her engagement.

Annie is the obvious choice as Maid of Honour but struggles with the fact that she is the still the single one. Annie puts in her best efforts when it comes to helping plan the wedding and making the big day as special as possible, but they are always one-upped by Lillian’s other friend Helen (Rose Byrne) – a snooty socialite with a bigger bank account and many more resources.

Annie feels she is being edged out by Helen with her connections that allow instant access to prestigious and exclusive wedding dress stores and extra cash that allow for more decadent pre-wedding festivities. Every attempt she makes to impress Lillian blows up in her face like the quaint restaurant gives the girls gastro. This is where the vomiting and defecating comes in during one hilariously gross sequence. Meanwhile, Annie’s insecurities about her friendship begin to affect the courtship she is having with cute as a button cop Nathan Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd).

Annie could easily have been a despicable character, but Wiig brings a vulnerability and likeability to her. She also manages to emerge from the mid-flight drunken shenanigans and explosive tantrums with some dignity. Not an easy thing to achieve. The Saturday Night Live veteran also has the comedic chops to have us rolling with laughter.

Unlike other chick flicks or romantic comedies, there is no quirky best friend that occasionally pops up to dish out love life advice to the lead with sitcom style quips dropped in for good measure. You know the ones, they usually steal the show from the leads but we never believe they would actually be friends in real life. Annie and Lillian are believable as friends and we get a sense of history, mainly due to the rapport between Wiig and Rudolph. This raunchy adult chick flick mixes heart with fart in equal doses and ends up being one of the freshest and funniest comedies of the year.

Sleeping Beauty (MA)

Directed by: Julia Leigh

Starring: Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Henry Nixon

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

So puzzling and enigmatic is Sleeping Beauty that it took me a couple of head scratching days to figure out what to make of it. It is cold, distant, fiercely ambiguous and yet mysteriously intriguing. Motives remain unexplored, relationships are undefined and behaviour flies in the face of logic at times, but Sleeping Beauty baits us with its haunting atmosphere. Others, however, will be driven to maniacal hair pulling while screaming “what does it all mean?!” by so many unanswered questions.

Writer/director Julian Leigh may have a point to make but respects her audience enough to not spell it out. But then again, she may not have a point at all. Part of the beauty of Sleeping Beauty is that it cannot be pigeonholed. Instead of being frustrated by the sparse information about plot and character details, I enjoyed going back over the dialogue and plot developments to try to piece it all together. Cinema does not offer this kind of participation often.

With hints of inspiration from Stanley Kubrick (Eyes Wide Shut) and Jane Campion (In The Cut), Leigh takes her audience down an untrodden path of high-class prostitution and raw, burgeoning sexuality from a young female’s point of view. Her camera hardly moves, we are set back from her characters with medium shots and scenes can be painfully slow and ultimately uninformative on the surface – but it will play on your mind for days.

Lucy (Emily Browning) is a uni student with several mind numbing menial jobs to make ends meet; she cleans tables, copies documents in an office and signs up for medical experiments. She answers an advert in the student newspaper for some extra cash and after an interview, in which she is required to strip to her underwear, is hired by Clara (Rachael Blake).

Clara provides an unusual service to several elderly men and Lucy’s first assignment is to serve drinks in her underwear at a dinner party for these men. Her colleagues are also in a state of undress while they serve the food. It is an unusual job but the cash is good as she pulls several $100 bills from an envelope when she gets home, which she promptly begins to burn.

Later, Lucy calls Clara seeking more work, which she receives. Lucy’s next job is to be drugged for several hours so the same men may do whatever they want to her, except one thing. It is Clara’s only rule: no penetration. In separate sequences the men awkwardly act out their fantasies on an unconscious Lucy, one is gentle, another vulgar and foul-mouthed. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she decides she must know what goes on when she is asleep.

Much like Jane Campion’s In The Cut, which was thought to be a hollow but bloody murder mystery and dismissed upon release, Sleeping Beauty demands a second viewing. Both Lucy and Frannie Avery (the lead character in In The Cut played by Meg Ryan) may not express their feelings in dramatic monologues, but the clues are there. You just have to look for them and inteperet them as you please.

Leaving so much up to the audience is a bold move on Leigh’s part in the age of spoon fed information. Why does Lucy turn to prostitution? Why does she burn her first night’s earnings then ask for more work? Why does she wipe the drool from a sleeping train passenger’s chin? I think I know, but you decide.

Those after quick fixes of unsubtly hammered home information could become very impatient with this film very fast. Sleeping Beauty may not give you immediate satisfaction, but a film that makes you think for days after it has ended should not be immediately dismissed.

Super 8 (M)

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Riley Griffiths, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

While watching Super 8, audiences might get the feeling they are looking at a visual love letter to Steven Spielberg, something that should probably have never been seen by anyone but the legendary director. It is like J.J. Abrams made this expensive tribute for Spielberg’s eyes only and it was leaked into multiplexes by mistake.

The similarities in themes and style between Super 8 and movies in the past told from the kids’ point of view that were made under Spielberg’s watchful eye such as The Goonies, Poltergeist, Gremlins and his own film E.T. are not subtle. Yet this film, like so many of Spielberg’s, successfully taps into that sense of imagination and adventure that is so sorely lacking from many films these days.

There have been few directors that have gone down the path of making a film about kids for kids without talking down to its core audience. In a time when box office figures rule and studios push crude and potty humour filled films to appeal to undemanding audiences, it is refreshing to experience Super 8.

A handful of kids in a small Ohio town in 1979 are filming a zombie movie on super 8 film during their summer break. Charles (Riley Griffiths, a standout in his first acting role) is the bossy director, troubled Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) is the make-up effects artist and Alice (Elle Fanning) has just been recruited to play a role that was added in another last-minute re-write.

While out at night filming a pivotal and emotional scene, the under aged cast and crew witness a truck versus train crash that sends carriages flying and exploding around them. The kids leave before they are caught by police but the debris at the crash site is soon being sorted and scrutinised by the Army.

Locals go missing, dogs run away and a large, swift alien creature begins causing havoc around town. Joe’s dad Deputy Sheriff Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler), who has beef with Alice’s dad Louis (Ron Eldard), becomes as suspicious as the kids and goes rogue to find out what is turning their peaceful town upside down.

The difference between this film and other live action films for young adults is that it’s characters are smart and well-rounded. They have hobbies outside of video games and they work towards achieving their goals. A great message for the youth of today. Sure, the characters sneak around at night crawling in and out of each others windows without parental supervision and film around crash sites; but they are not out to harm anyone.

There are some delicious references for film buffs and we even get the finished version of the film project at the end and it is a hoot with its amateurish and shoe string budget charm. The reveal of the creature is unsatisfying and underdeveloped. A version of this film without the creepy crawly could have worked fine on its own with just the dramatic arc of the characters, snappy dialogue and terrific performances. Spielberg might want to give the alien obsession a rest for a while and Abrams may want to focus on stamping his own signature on future work instead of his idol’s, but Super 8 is still a splendid adventure with plenty of nostalgia.

Here I Am (M)

Directed by: Beck Cole

Starring: Shai Pittman, Marcia Langton, Bruce Carter, Pauline Whyman

Three stars

Review by: Julian Wright

In the recent drama Snowtown, amateurs and non-actors hand-picked by director Justin Kurzel brought an unparalleled realism to the ghastly story of how a serial killer seduced an abused teenager to be his apprentice. The cast of un-glam and unfamiliar faces with barely a handful of credits on their IMDb profiles brought zero baggage to the film and were able to lull the audience into the almost unwatchable proceedings with their naturalistic performances.

For Snowtown, this technique worked wonders. Unfortunately, Here I Am does not get the same results. Certainly more uplifting and hopeful than Snowtown, Here I Am’s story of one woman who sets out to right wrongs in her life can, at crucial moments, keep its audience at arm’s length because of the apparent inexperience of its cast.

Despite their awkwardness, they do, however, manage to come across as one of the most endearing casts in an Australian film. The performances might not be relaxed, but there is a sense of camaraderie that comes across on-screen.

Troubled and dishevelled Karen (Shai Pittman) is released from an Adelaide jail but has nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Her drug addiction put her on skid row and her behaviour put her young daughter Rosie (Quinaiha Scott) in danger. While Karen was in lock up her mother Lois (Marcia Langton) raised Rosie and has become fiercely protective of her. Now she is out, Karen wants to reconnect with her daughter and patch up her relationship with her mother.

Karen wanders the streets aimlessly on her first night of freedom before she heads over to a run down woman’s shelter where she has a month to clean up her act and find her own accommodation. With a shady past and no work experience to put on her resume, it is an uphill battle for Karen to turn her life around. Surrounded by women who are as equally troubled but most of whom are just as keen to clean their acts up, it can sometimes be difficult for her to not fall back into her old habits.

Pittman has some fine moments as she juggles grief, determination, pain and temptation. There is a heartbreaking scene in which Karen is allowed a supervised visit with Rosie and we see that forced attempt to reconnect when Rosie does not recognise her. Pittman is so good here it is the most effective dramatic moment in the film.

The majority of the dialogue may be delivered in a stilted way with clumsy pauses here and there but the women give it their best shot and they appear to be having a good time. Some of the scenes of the women in the shelter are highlights. There are some cliché moments and the final shot is a bit on the nose but director Beck Cole has otherwise skillfully handled the themes of family, friendship, support and reconnecting.

The Hangover Part II (MA)

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha

Three stars

Review by Julian Wright

“I can’t believe this is happening again!” screams one of the Wolfpack after waking up hungover in a dump of a hotel room in a foreign city with a half-naked Asian man on the floor, a cut off finger on ice and an energetic monkey. No-one else shares his surprise. After The Hangover stormed the box office in 2009 (it made more than $270 million in the US alone) with its fresh spin on the bro-mance comedy routine, a sequel was inevitable.

The winning formula of the original allowed for constant surprises rarely seen in comedies, a likeable bunch of blokes and a high laugh quotient. Not to mention a storyline that most people anyone over the legal drinking age of 18 can relate  to – spotty memory after a big night out and retracing steps to fill in the blanks.

So what does the sequel do with this successful formula? It puts it to use all over again. Sticking close to the rule if ain’t broke, don’t fix it, The Hangover Part II emulates its predecessor down to specific details. The result is plenty of outrageous laughs but precious few surprises.

Stu (Ed Helms) is a week away from marrying Lauren (Jamie Chung) in Thailand and after his Las Vegas experience a couple of years ago, he wants a low-key bachelor party. Well, not so much a party as a bachelor brunch. He gets his wish after much argument from Phil (Bradley Cooper), who wants Stu to go out with a bang.

The pair begrudgingly pick up Alan (Zach Galifianakis) for the trip overseas who is immediately threatened by the company of Lauren’s 16-year-old brother Teddy (Mason Lee). They guys are soon in Thailand for a relaxed few days before the wedding. After an innocent single beer around a bonfire, the group wake up in the aforementioned hotel, Stu has a facial tattoo and Teddy is missing.

Another mystery is kickstarted. Stu, Alan and Phil have to piece together the chain of events of the night before that lead to their current predicament so they can find Teddy and make it back in time for the wedding. Their journey leads them to a handful of wacky characters and the occasional high-speed chase and shoot out.

One thing is for sure, these blokes know how to have a good time. One of the appealing things about these movies is the refreshing casting – these guys are in their 30s (some of them perhaps pushing 40) and they are still going hard. This style of comedy is usually reserved for younger actors. The laughs are consistent but there is a distinct feeling of deja vu that hangs over The Hangover part II.

Having toyed with storytelling conventions in the first one, this sequel could have been more daring but this sticks closely to the familiar. The revelations are decidedly less interesting this time around with shocking moments sprinkled throughout failing to make for an overall compelling story. This Hangover is as lethargic as its characters the morning after a big night.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (M)

Directed by: Rob Marshall

Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane

Three and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

The Pirates of the Caribbean series has long legs for something that was inspired by a theme park ride. And people usually complain when movies are based on video games. The first Pirates was an unexpected smash hit due to an old forgotten genre brought back to life with the help of Johnny Depp’s uncanny interpretation of a pirate. And big box office begets big sequels.

The series kept its audience despite the fact each installment got longer, bigger and stranger than the last. Who can even recall the complex plotting anymore? And with offbeat moments such as hallucinatory multiple Jack Sparrows, perhaps the third should have been called On Stranger Tides. What started out as a winning formula quickly descended into hollow Hollywood hogwash.

Mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer gave it a rest for a while and hired a new director before releasing a fourth. This one isn’t the fresh resurrection it thinks it is but it has been stripped of all the everything including the kitchen sink plotting that sunk the other sequels. It is an easier to follow, enjoyable trip back into choppy waters.

Captain Jack Sparrows (Johnny Depp) gets caught up in another treasure hunt this time sans love birds Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elisabeth Swan (Keira Knightley) who have been stripped from the series along with the extra sub plots. Jack gets wind of someone in London claiming to be him to recruit a crew on the search for the fountain of youth. While he is in town he is caught by King George (Richard Griffiths) and forced to team up with nemesis Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to find the fountain before the Spanish do, who have apparently begun their own expedition.

When he escapes, he bumps into old flame Angelica (Penelope Cruz) who turns out to be his imposter and also the daughter of pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Jack is taken aboard their ship and forced to go along for the ride. But the only way the fountain of youth can be effective is with two silver chalices, which must be found along the journey, and the tear of a mermaid – who aren’t as friendly as one would think.

And if that isn’t complicated enough, two people have to drink the fountain water from the chalices at the same time and the one with the tear in it takes the life from the other person. All their problems are compounded with Barbossa and his crew being just one step behind the whole way.

It was wise for Bruckheimer to part ways with ex-Pirates director Gore Verbinski. The two of them together just did not know when to say “when” when it came to budget and spectacle. The films became convoluted to the point of boring. Rob Marshall recognises that less is more with this installment. He recaptures the spirit of the first one while still managing to create some rollicking sequences.

Depp and Rush are still a hoot and still look like they are having a blast which is a key factor in these films. The addition of Cruz was a good one who injects some feisty fun, something Knightley struggled with. The 3D effects offer little to enhance the ride and render the night scenes virtually unwatchable.

Snowtown (MA)

Directed by: Justin Kurzel

Starring: Daniel Hensall, Lucas Pittaway, Louise Harris

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

This could be one of the biggest challenges in film reviewing – justifying four stars for a film about homophobia, torture, murder, molestation, abuse and animal cruelty. Anyone looking for a fun time at the cinema need not apply with this tough to watch but technically well made Australian drama. Anyone thinking about having a meal before (or after) seeing this film may also want to rethink their plans.

Snowtown is slowly gathering a reputation to rival Saw and The Exorcist with reports of audience members running out of screenings. It is true, it takes someone with a strong stomach to sit through some of the horrible things that are shown and explored in great detail. Audience members have not squirmed in their seats so much since James Franco started hacking off his arm in 127 Hours or when Natalie Portman ripped her finger skin back like a Band-Aid in Black Swan.

Director Justin Kurzel takes us to some dark places (flashlights may be required) and yet the proceedings are not exploitative. Images and themes are strictly for adults, but they transcend cheap shock value status. He confronts his audience with plenty of unpleasant stuff but gives it all context – this is a tale of nature versus nurture and what drives people to vigilante behaviour.

Sixteen year old Jamie (Lucas Pittaway) comes from a broken home. His parents are separated and he lives with his poverty-stricken mum Elisabeth (Louise Harris) and two younger brothers. When mum leaves the boys under the care of a seemingly nice neighbour – who even appears to be boyfriend material and a potential father figure – he violates them.

Without a single word spoken about the incident, Mum instinctively knows something is wrong and word gets out to her neighbours. Elisabeth turns to charming John Bunting (Daniel Henshall) who seems like a the perfect candidate to be the boys’ role model. He is sweet to Elisabeth, friendly to the boys and seems keen to get revenge on their molester.

His sinister side begins to bleed out slowly as he holds neighbourhood meetings to throw around ideas on how they would punish local child molesters. Then he hacks up kangaroos to leave on the porch of the boys’ attacker. In case we weren’t already aware, we learn throughout the film that Bunting was one of Australia’s worst serial killers. What is most disturbing is how he seduces Jamie to be his protegé.

The proceedings are undeniably one note and gloomy and audience members may feel the need for an immediate scrub once the film is over. But also undeniable is the power the film has. It may not be a pleasant experience but it achieves what it sets out to do – it wants to shed light on the dark side of human nature.

Kurzel displays impressive skill and discipline. The story develops with a distinct sense of dread that rivals the best white knuckle thrillers. He has smashed the light at the end of this tunnel, beginning and ending with an almost unbearably depressing state. But if you have the stomach for it, stick with it.

Insidious (M)

Directed by: James Wan

Starring: Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell

Two stars

Review by Julian Wright

Insidious would have us believe that there is nothing more frightening than your comatose child being haunted by a demon. Instead, I came away from this Poltergeist inspired spook-fest with the realisation that there is nothing scarier (or more irritating) than creaky doors or floorboards. The rate at which they creak in this film is enough to make anyone post a For Sale sign in their front yard.

The couple with three young children that move twice in this film not only have the misfortune of being chased by ghosties around the ‘burbs but of also moving into the noisiest houses in town. They take a step. Creak. They open a door. Creeeeak. They walk up the stairs. Creak, creak, creak. I’m pretty sure even the fluttering curtains creaked and groaned in these houses.

Like the leaky pipes and mould that tormented Jennifer Connelly in Dark Water, I thought it would be the un-oiled hinges that would drive this family bonkers faster than the demon trying to inhabit their kid. The overuse of this old haunted house cliche was not the only thing that put me off this over the top and ineffective thriller.

Troubled couple Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) have just moved into their dream, albeit creaky, house with their three young children. Frazzled Renai tends to their children and attempts to make the new house a home while Josh spends long hours at work and coming home later each night.

Middle child Dalton (Ty Simpkins) feels uncomfortable in his new room, Renai notices objects are no longer where she left them and the baby is always screaming. Something is not quite right. Tension among the family builds when Dalton mysteriously ends up in a comatose state. After more blatant creepy occurrences, Renai is convinced the house is haunted and the family moves (to another creaky house). But whatever it was that caused all the disturbances follows them.

Renai seeks help from Elise Rainier (Lyn Shaye), Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson) who specialise in  paranormal activity. Elise explains that Dalton is not in a coma. He is an astral projector, able to leave his body when he sleeps and explore a parallel spirit world. Only this time he got stuck and a demon has its sights set on him.

This film has a terrific opening that depicts the stresses of having three young kids and moving house compounded with unexplained phenomena that creates plenty of sympathy for the lead characters. It is a shame it all goes to waste as this descends into inexcusable silliness. The other thing that needs oiling here is the creaky script that has some clunky dialogue.

Never one for subtlety, director (and Saw co-creator) Wan’s depictions of the hauntings eventually become far too literal to be frightening as Renai chases one spook around the house in one extended sequences that has you asking “why doesn’t she get out of the house?” Several key moments border on the ridiculous and others borrow heavily from 1982 hit Poltergeist. A prolonged ending and opening for a sequel is the nail in the coffin.

Source Code (M)

Directed by: Duncan Jones

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright

Three stars

Review by Julian Wright

Thank goodness for science-fiction, where anything is possible and imaginations can run rampant. Dinosaurs and humans can walk the Earth together, people can travel back in time, and space aliens can attack on July 4. The hook for this genre entry is mind travel (not to be confused with time travel) working with Nick of Time parameters, Groundhog Day sensibilities and The Adjustment Bureau romanticism.

While some scriptwriters go overboard when coming up with fantastical plot-lines, tripping over themselves with reality bending “rules” and losing sight of what makes for compelling storytelling, Source Code walks a fine line. Think about it too much and you will drive yourself crazy. But then again, props to any film that can make an audience think.

Jumping straight into the action, air force helicopter pilot Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) jolts awake on a public train with fellow patron Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) who engages in general chit-chat with him. She seems to know him but Colter doesn’t know who she is, where he is or why he is there. After several confusing minutes, in which the face he sees in a mirror is not his own, the train explodes, everyone dies and Colter wakes up in a metallic capsule. So far, so weird.

Communicating through a small screen in the capsule, Air Force Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) explains he has been chosen for an experimental program in which someone can take over another person’s identity for the last eight minutes of their life. In this mission, in which the train bomber must be identified and caught before they set off more in Chicago, Colter must take teacher Sean Fentress’ identity. And he only has an eight minute window of time to do his job. Fortunately (or unfortunately), he is able to go back and relive those eight minutes and that explosion over and over again until the bomber is identified.

Despite serious overtones, this mind bender still knows how to have some fun with its premise and characters, which is refreshing, but the overall effect is dimmed by far too many key characters left undeveloped. It kicks off to a thrilling and intriguing start, setting up its Hitchcockian plot and despite the sci-fi elements, continues to hold its audience, until about halfway through when there are still no signs of supporting characters being elevated beyond one dimension.

Gyllenhaal is solid as the hero and pulls off the emotional weight of the situation, but he fails to click with the always charming Monaghan. While Matt Damon and Emily Blunt convinced they were destined for each other after a brief but sizzling encounter in The Adjustment Bureau, the similar set up here does not ring true. Why does Colter fall for Christina? We don’t know anything about her. We also learn very little about Goodwin and source code creator doctor Rutledge played by accomplished actor Jeffrey Wright. Watching these three capable actors being underused is a shame.

You get the feeling this film could have been more enjoyable if it was just an empty pop corn thrill ride or if the film makers had put more effort into fleshing out their characters. This version is somewhere in the middle. There is still some sci-fi fun to be had with some great special effects, white-knuckle and head scratching moments. Just don’t think about it too much.