Not totally original, but good entertainment

Rating: 8/10 (3 April 2009)

First of all: yes, I would recommend to watch this movie, since the plot and action is gripping enough to watch it from beginning to end. Nicolas Cage is solid, and so are the other actors, especially the little boy and girl. The graphics are not bad, although in 2009 they could have been a lot better. But they were not the most important in the movie, and the plot makes up for a lot. So there is hope after the horrible remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still.
Of course I won't dwell on the plot here, since we can all find that on wikipedia. I did read if before watching, and regretted it. It is better not to know, even in this Knowing movie!
Main theme is that the End of the World is coming, and some 'angels' will come to earth to save some kids to start all over again. For anyone who knows quantum mechanics, or Heisenberg, this is where the credibility of the movie ends. Determinism does not exist, and even if things could only happen in one way, there is no way any 'identity', or God, could know this. Since of course then, that God would have to include his own influence on the environment he tries to predict. And how could Aliens know what the sun will do in 2009? What is for sure, everything in the universe is connected, and therefore nothing can be known for sure. It is like trying to get a truthful wildlife picture standing in the middle of a wild park in South Africa: of course we would get a lot of lions and zebra's there, but they would have been behaving different if our smell did not disturb them. This disturbance, the uncertainty principle, underlies the fallacy of this movie. Even more: uncertainty, or chance, means we have a choice, and out of that choice comes purpose and meaning. If all was fixed, THAT would be meaningless. So the whole point of the time capsule and events that helped Nicolas Cage to get his son saved were not necessary: if determinism existed, it would happen anyway. The Aliens could just have picked up his son, no matter what Cage tried to get at the right location in time. But it gave a gripping plot. So enough about determinism vs. uncertainty now. Movies are to escape, and I could let go my disbelief.
Lovers of the genre will see this one is a blend of movies we have seen before; scenes from the Day the Earth Stood Still, as well as fire blast scenes from Independence Day, and apocalyptic atmosphere as seen in all of these, especially Deep Impact. And, to end the criticism, since I liked the movie anyway: why always a character that is put in disbelief, since of course the death of his wife impairs his judgement? It would be enough to have a totally happy man stumble on incredible data. That would also raise eyebrows all the same among his friends. We have seen that 'troubled and not taken seriously' type of main character too much now.
What was new in this one, is that the world only knew in the last moment, so there was not as much emphasis on the people left behind as was in Deep Impact. New was also the bittersweet end, that was a happy one for only a very few.
So all in all, a solid good action sci-fi, but not one with horrifying resonance as the Bodysnatchers had, or Aliens. Those movies won't be forgotten, this one will in time.
So what can we expect for When Worlds Collide to stand the test of time? It would have to add something we have not seen before. Probably more focus on what it means to live the end of the world, and dazzling graphics for 2 hours non stop. Not only for 2 minutes, as in most movies of this genre. ID-4 was the big exception, and that's probably why it grossed so much. Something to think about for the producers!