Far Reaching And Almost A Knockout

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2009)

If you really want to read one lengthy review, please give this one a go; I promise it's no knee-jerk, spoiler-free and considered with your bucks in mind.
Firstly - I've taken time to think this one over and read the reviews here. Opinion seems divided between love and hate. I'd say the haters have jumped the gun.
Nowadays, after decades of sci-fi mythery, everyone's a sage of the genre and oh-s-o-clever at second-guessing plot lines and themes.
Even a quick scan of the negative reviews will fill your weary eyes with stock-ready film student rhetoric. Well, have a chuckle at the trap they all fell into.
Right from the start this movie wears its heart on its sleeve, but such a duplicitous organ it is this time round, making no apology for its bombastic fanfare.
Christian parable, Scientology homage? Bullshit. For all the clever dicks out there who suspect subterfuge at spotting a Hubbard novel, there's another dozen who only saw the bible on Cage's bedside table (or wherever the hell it appeared; positioning is not the point).
Knowing's influences are varied, blatant and well contrived to provide two hours of solid entertainment in a blockbuster that requires its audience to think a little; of course every teenage 'knowing-all' (see what I did there, eagle-eyed students of the pun? lol) who's posted on here at 'getting it' within the first act has completely missed the point.
And the point was this: There IS nothing new this film can show you. There IS nothing new any sci-fi film can show you nowadays. You're all experts! What this film does, quite brilliantly in some parts - is take all those clichés, tweak them, mix them together and ask you to continually question if they DARE play it out towards the big apocalyptic premise that builds as Nic Cage unravels a 50 year old conundrum.
That's what I mean by far-reaching. I enjoyed the ride, impressed by the refusal to bend to Shaymalan twist or surprise denouement; this film grows and grows and eventually consumes its own audacity but it does so in a resplendent blockbuster manner that allows an intriguing premise to flourish without the need for paint-by-number building-brick exposition for the popcorn crunchers.
By the end I was sat grinning - not in mockery - at the ambition and execution.
It was, overall, an admirable job of clinging to the roller-coaster without being thrown to an unsatisfactory demise in the dark of the theatre.
I'm not going to even list any trivial complaints about certain late special effects being slightly ropey - they didn't influence the ending a jot. I won't even list praise for other spectacular effects which take the breath away. As a metaphor for the film they're perfect - a mix of ambitious vision and occasional shaky execution.
A solid 8 out of 10.
Refreshing and engaging attempt at growing the biggest of tales from the smallest of beginnings. Sure, we've all heard and seen bits and pieces of it before but as remixes go, this is a new beat I dug.
Go into it with an open mind, leave any lame cynicism at the door and bathe in its courageous enthusiasm to entertain on a big scale.