23 reasons for the Number 23

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2007)

The concept of the Number 23 has intrigued me ever since I first saw the trailer for the movie nearly a month ago. Until that point I was not aware of this bizarre myth of the number, I had no idea that supposedly the number 23 was the number that surrounded our lives, and influenced events that occurred. But then I saw the trailer, and ever since then, like Jim Carrey in this movie, I became slightly obsessed with the idea and the number. After doing a bit, well a few hours admittedly, of research I discovered some very disturbing and amazing facts about the number. For example, the 9/11 bombings occurred on the 9/11/2001, 9+11+2+1 = 23. Here's another one, the Hiroshima bombing occurred at 15:08, 15+8 = 23. And to the top it all off Mayans traditionally believed the end of the world would occur on the 23rd December 2012. For the year 2012, 20+1+2 = 23. Yep there's loads of little facts like that that all add up to number 23. Coincidence? Well that's up to you to decide, but ultimately your feelings on these bizarre coincidences will also affect how you feel about this movie. If you go into the film believing that this number 23 legend is a load of absolute rubbish and that none of it is even remotely interesting then you will leave the movie feeling exactly the same. If you do find the coincidences intriguing then you will be guaranteed to leave the cinema feeling very paranoid and slightly more aware of all the numbers you see in every day life. The Number 23 is a good movie, not a great one to be certain, but a good one. Its idea stands out the strongest and the performances from Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen are both brilliant. However the movie has many problems, maybe 23 of them? (spooky). Anyway the problems are usually small but still unfortunately noticeable.
Well now then, I'm going to list 23 good points for this movie, as I still did love it, I won't try the 23 bad points as that might take a long time for me to think up, but will instead do a brief summary of the bad points.
THE GOOD POINTS!
1. The plot is very, very interesting. 2. Jim Carrey delivers one of his strongest performances to date. 3. Virginia Madsen adds very good support in a role that could have been bland. 4. The films fantasy sequences look beautiful. 5. You'll have fun trying to guess the twist. 6. The nice little touches of the number 23 being practically everywhere will please eagle eyed people. 7. The opening credits are great. 8. The comedy at the beginning works well before turning very dark. 9. The movie never feels overlong, and has a decent run time. 10. The atmosphere in some sequences is brilliant. 11. The actual detective story for the book works very well. 12. Any sequence with Danny Huston is particularly memorable. 13. The murder bits are well staged without ever feeling ridiculous. 14. Jim Carry's character is very believable, even when he is ridiculously paranoid. 15. The music score adds great atmosphere without ever being stupidly loud and overbearing. 16. If you are a fan of the concept you'll adore the movie. 17. When the twist does come its explained pretty well, despite the fact I felt the twist was a load of rubbish. 18. The movie is wrapped up very neatly, surprising as after the twist I thought it would struggle to recover. 19. Errrm, errrm. Oh OK I give up now, god this is difficult.
Anyway just to wrap up what I've just written, the Number 23 has very many good points and I still do recommend it very much.
Now then, the bad points. Unfortunately the movies twist is just a bit too far for my liking. Some people might like it, perhaps it was just to silly for my liking. But in my eyes I felt the twist was just a poor way to wrap up what could have been a very decent murder mystery. The exactly 23 minutes of explanation after that might make it a bit more understandable and possibly verge on passable, but the fact is that it just never feels very good. The script also has big problems at times, while for the most part it is inventive and witty, other parts feel too clichéd and predictable. But perhaps my biggest moan has to go with Ned the dog, I won't ruin what Ned the dog is, but any scene I saw with that damn dog just made me either smirk or laugh out loud. It just seems a bit ridiculous and just took away an extra edge the movie needed.
Overall The Number 23 is a good movie that remains and intriguing and entertaining piece of cinema. But what could have been a brilliant movie settles for just a decent one, good performances and a brilliant plot are marred by a dodgy twist, some scripting problems, and of course Ned. Still if you are interested in the idea I recommend you see it as you are likely to like it, but if you're a bit against the idea there is a high likelihood you'll leave the cinema with the exact same opinion.