Almost brilliant

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2007)

Except for the final couples of minutes this movie is really cool! The general idea of running the plot backwards seems totally silly at first glance. But this truly surprising film makes it. There is even an increasing tension while the movie moves towards it's plot point.
This kind of storytelling is simply ingenious! But it only works once! You've seen one movie "reversing", and there's really no need for another one.
There are even some great emotional moments, that should catapult "Memento" into the region of 10 or 9 stars.
But they mess it up within seconds at the end. When our deranged hero tells us something about life in general and memory in special the movie breaks down. The philosophy behind these few sentences (from the off) is crude. Not at all matching the quality of the film.
That costs it one star!
Movie makers in general should be very careful about philosophical ideas in their movies. Especially when these ideas are expressed by their characters. They rarely reach an agreeable depth of thought!