Sci-Faith Flick That I Liked

Rating: 9/10 (12 July 2009)

SPOILERS First off, the director of this movie also did a little flick called Dark City in 1998. That movie never hit it big in the box office but became a huge cult classic in rental stores among sci-fi fans, and rightly so. In that movie, director Alex Proyas presents the audience with a gripping, intriguing yet pretty standard hitchcockian thriller for the first part of the movie. Then, blam! Aliens! The entire city is located in space! The hero has psychic powers? And the prophecies, oh the prophecies! Knowing has a lot of similarities to Dark City. First off, the sun plays an important part in both flicks. Knowing, like Dark City, starts off as a gripping and thoroughly spooky thriller. The first time I saw the "whispering people", I got chills. The mystery of the numbers had me glued to the screen. Then the disasters started--and I have to say, they use some of the most realistic special effects I've ever seen on film. They were horrifying, and simultaneously beautiful to watch--and they had a purpose. Without them, the main character would not have the motivation he needed to complete his character arc.
Then the aliens are revealed. Strange, disconcerting, out of left field--all this is true, but then again, that's the point! All of this was also true of Dark City and the sci-fans all liked that twist. Here, people think its jumping the shark? The only thing I can think of is that the special effects are so good in Knowing, that sci-fi fans blame the studio or re-writes or big budget bloating for the alien ending. Meanwhile the same twists in Dark City were pulled off on a smaller budget, and everyone thought it was genius.
Unlike Dark City, this movie deals with faith, predetermination, and religion. This may of turned off a lot of people in on both sides of the religion fence. Science minded people may have resented the role of religion in the film, and religious people may have resented the inference that the four horsemen of the apocalypse were aliens, and that the aliens looked like they had halos and angel wings. I didn't mind the blending of science and religion, which is why I feel I could better appreciate the film.
The inevitable final disaster was absolutely flooring, and again, the cinematography and special effects were stunning. It conjured up references to Superman and the end of Krypton--or of the 1950's classic, When Worlds Collide.
I thought this movie was simply fantastic. It plot wasn't standard by any sense of the word, and that may have upset some folks. It's a journey, that's for sure. But I, personally, enjoyed the journey. 9/10 (better than 90% of sci-fi out there: better than Indiana Jones IV's alien ending, better than Star Wars Episode I, way better than the directors other flick--I Robot, better than day V for Vendetta, Better than Cloverfield)