An enjoyable movie

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2009)

When I saw Knowing, I wasn't expecting much more than a sort of popcorn film like Day After Tomorrow. With Alex Proyas directing, the same director who brought us the wonderful Dark CIty as well as THe Crow, I should've known better. Knowing is not just a simple popcorn movie, it goes much deeper, just as Dark City did.
Nicholas Cage plays John Koestler, a professor at a college and also a widowed father who is taking care of his young son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury). Fifty years ago a little girl, after hearing whispering voices, wrote random numbers on a sheet of paper which were buried in a time capsule. As you know, it is John's son who ends up with those numbers after the time capsule is pulled up in present day. Caleb takes the sheet of paper home with him and lets his father see it to see what those numbers might mean. John at first is upset with his son for not returning the sheet of numbers back to the school, but soon after while in a drinking binge, something he does a lot, he comes across certain familiar numbers and begins and investigation. WHat he discovers is that the numbers are actually dates of natural disasters as well as how many died and where they all happened. What's surprising is that all these events were prophesized by that little girl named Lucinda(Lara RObinson) fifty years before any of the events took place. THere are a few left on the list, which haven't occurred yet, and this leads to JOhn making an effort to stop them from happening. He enlists the aid of Lucinda's daughter Diana(Rose Byrne) to try and understand it all. Diana also has a daughter named Abby (Lara Robinson again) who seems to connect with Caleb in very important ways. This eventually leads all four down a path headed for a surprising conclusion. I will say no more for fear of spoiling what's to come.
THe acting in this movie was very well done. ALl the characters, including the two children, pulled their parts off well. SOme people complain about Cage, but he strikes the right notes here as a widowed father drowning himself in alcohol because of the death of his wife, only to improve once he realizes where everything is leading. THere are of course mysterious figures, just like the strangers in Dark City, who are more then what they seem.
Knowing has a lot of religious undertones. THis may be one of the reasons why people might be turned off by it. As I've read some critics reviews, I am already seeing a lot of negativity. It's a shame because Knowing goes much deeper than a lot of science fiction movies ever do. It is thoughtful and engaging, and I think that a lot of people will be talking about this movie for a long time.
SOme will read this review and wonder why I didn't give it a 10. Here's the reason why, and it involves the conclusion and the special effects. I had no problem with the religious undertones at all, but at the same time I think knowing less about the mysterious figures might've had more of an impact on viewers. THe final reveal becomes a little distracting. Of course none of this can really take a way from an otherwise good movie.
On a final note, even though some of the visuals were weak, the sound effects were quite awesome.