Talks a lot about logical causality, but has little of its own

Rating: 6/10 (28 August 2011)

An interesting enough premise, but enough plot holes to sink the surface of the planet into the ocean before any of the catastrophic prophecies scribbled in numerology have a chance to occur.
It makes no sense for Lucinda's 1959 time capsule note to predict anything to anybody, even if they could decipher it in the absurd manner we see in the film, so why was this information "whispered" to her in the first place? When MIT Prof. Nicholas Cage (in an uncanny duplication of his American Treasure character) randomly picks out (from hundreds of mysterious) numbers that he reasons to be the date and death toll of an infamous event, it's weird enough, but ultimately, there seems to be no apparent rhyme or reason for him to do this in light of the larger order of things that happen later on. There are many "Well, why didn't they just do such and such?" questions in your mind by the end; many elements of the story end up brazenly glossed over and disconnected.
There's some decent symbolism for several points of view that are presented in the story, but the film is too chicken to establish any stand towards anything. Instead, it thrusts a salvo of conflicting philosophies, and tries to stew them into a center intersecting place that ends up patronizing everyone, no matter what their view. Religion, Randomness, Determinism, Science, Science Fiction, even Ancient Alien Astronaut Theory, and others clash and collide with enough force to cause catastrophes without any help from accidents or nature.
Still, the film is an absorbing watch; it's even one of the more entertaining movies about this subject matter, which has been the foundation for many predecessors to this one. I've never been much of a Nicholas Cage fan, but his one-note approach seems to fit here, considering the grand futility of his situation. The supporting cast (especially the always dependable Rose Byrne) do pretty well with what they're given. The movie's best moments are saved for last: the two climactic closing scenes pull no punches and are contrasted one to the other brilliantly.
Far from perfect with illogical plot development, but overall a fair movie for an evening rental.