more end-of-the-world nonsense

Rating: 4/10 (15 January 2010)

*PLOT SPOILERS*
In 1959, a grade-school Nostradamus puts a piece of paper containing seemingly random numbers into a time capsule. When the container is opened fifty years later, it turns out that the numbers were not random at all but rather numerical predictions of future disasters, pinpointing the dates they were to occur and the number of people who would lose their lives in them. Enter John Koestler, a professor of astrophysics at MIT, who decodes the messages and becomes convinced that if he can just get others to heed the warnings, he'll somehow be able to avert the catastrophes. Unfortunately, John soon discovers that these piddling little disasters are mere warm-up exercises for the Big Cataclysmic Kahuna that is to come
In "Knowing," the clichés of plot and character come fast and furious. John is a single dad who turns to atheism after his wife dies in a hotel fire, convinced that nothing happens for a reason and that life is nothing more than a series of random events, blah, blah, blah. As usual, the atheist - an egg headed scientist, naturally - has to be shown that there is indeed a higher power somewhere controlling our destinies. I guess we're just supposed to accept that fact and not question the appalling nature of that being's actions as he proceeds to wipe out an entire planet (the movie manages to combine elements of the Adam-and-Eve and Noah's Ark tales into a single story).
In the tradition of "Armageddon," "The Core," "2012," etc., "Knowing" is an apocalyptic chiller that reduces the destruction of all life on the planet to the level of a cheap carnival thrill ride. Nicholas Cage - who is stuck in yet another of those Droopy Dog save-the-world roles that have become all too prevalent in his career of late - does what he can with a script that starts off with a reasonably intriguing premise, then fritters it away on giggle-inducing hysterical-crowd scenes and a dopey subplot involving extraterrestrials that should have Steven Spielberg suing the makers for copyright-infringement. And the be-fruitful-and-multiply ending is as queasy as it is implausible.
There are additional wooden performances by other members of the cast, but the kindest thing would be to let them remain nameless and to forget that any of them were ever even in this picture.