Suspenseful and unpredictable

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2011)

Knowing is a unique and gripping end-of-the-world science fiction experience that creates suspense in an engrossing way. It's compelling storytelling and slow but tense pace made it a very enjoyable movie for me.
The film starts with an interesting premise about MIT professor John Koestler (played by Nicolas Cage) who receives a strange "drawing" from a time capsule dug out at his sons school. This time capsule contains drawings done in 1959 from students predicting what they might see in 50 years time. The "drawing" he receives apparently contains numbers which somehow is linked to disasters in the past and it predicts those in the future (and possibly the end of the world).
I enjoyed this movie as much as I did with other disaster/sci-fi films such as War of the Worlds and 2012. However, there are some qualities I found rather interesting and better than other movies. Many of those other films have non-stop action and destruction and are pretty predictable but Knowing tries to be different from them. This film gave me suspense because of its slower pace and unpredictable sequences. It made me wonder was going to be the fate of humanity and this (along with a strange alien plot twist) kept the story interesting.
Knowing's presentation was another reason why I found it suspenseful. The score creates a dark and creepy atmosphere and there are only a few (but exhilarating) action sequences that will surely give you tension. Also, I found the acting to be less over-dramatic than in other disaster films. Nicolas Cage does a good performance for his character and shows to be more calm and relaxed compared to other protagonists in the genre.
If your looking for suspenseful flick with and a good blend of disaster and science fiction, then I highly recommend this movie. It's sure to leave you shaken. "A-"