Knowing too little

Rating: 5/10 (1 April 2009)

KNOWING Director: Alex Proyas Country: USA Year: 2009 Language: English Runtime: 120 Minutes Rating: 15A
Once upon a time I ran to see a new Nicolas Cage movie with the enthusiasm of a schoolboy running home but now I drag myself to see his movies with less zest than a schoolboy on his way to school. It's taken a long time but I've fallen out of love with his films.
The Coen Brothers' RAISING ARIZONA (1987) is pure genius and Nicolas Cage is damn near the best thing about it. He's fantastic in MOONSTRUCK (1987), even better in WILD AT HEART (1990) and in his Oscar winning role in LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995) he is, quite simply, fantastic. But then he turned his back on the quirky, meaty roles that displayed his undoubted charisma and acting talents to such effect and, instead, plumped for the meaty pay packet. I can't really blame him there. I'd quite like $20 million myself.
Sometimes the films worked, like the wonderful THE ROCK (1996) and FACE OFF (1997), but sometimes they did not, like the woeful GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS (2000). It would probably be kinder not to mention THE WICKER MAN (2006) but how do you ignore what may well be the worst movie of all time?
Which brings us neatly to KNOWING, is it a movie to run to or a movie to run from? It opens in 1959 in a classroom full of eager students, filling a time capsule, due to be opened in 2009, with their interpretations of the future. One, clearly disturbed, little girl writes a series of seemingly meaningless numbers which, when the capsule is opened, make their way into the hands of Nicolas Cage, via his son, who is now enrolled at the same school.
Cage plays an astrophysicist and discovers the numbers may have a meaning, he determines this by looking at the numbers 911 01, drinking a bottle of whisky, and finally figuring out that 911 01, might refer to September 11th, 2001. Ya don't need to be an astrophysicist to figure out where this is going. The numbers predict tragedy and Cage decides he has been "chosen" to prevent the catastrophic disasters which have been predicted but have yet to occur. That's a lot for one man to take on, but Cage sets about his task with aplomb, tracing the numbers back to the little girl who wrote them and dodging some scary 'whisper people' on the way, as he strives to save the world.
KNOWING has some nice ideas, some nice special effects, the sometimes wonderful Nicolas Cage and is directed by Alex Proyas, who made THE CROW (1994), DARK CITY (1998) and, more recently, I ROBOT (2004) but it isn't, unfortunately, one that I would run to see. It's not one to run from either, just pretty middle of the road. Perhaps best to just walk away?