Product: Frequency (2000)
Rating: 3.0
Good-ish Sci-fi that you should see... but there is better.
Frequency is not for family viewing because there is some graphic violent content, but overall it leans very much is the direction of the `general' audience of all ages except for young kids, who maybe would have enjoyed this one better than adults if it toned down the violence (something us adults rarely ask for these days), instead the upped violent content doesn't work that well, nesting in what is at heart Spielberg/Zemeckis family drama come quasi science-fiction twilight zone episode, it is hard to buy it, but it is still equally hard to say that we should not see it, may help you to quit smoking nicotine, given that you see some age sequencing, the make up effects between timelines is quite well done, except in the reverse with Quaid looking a little older than his younger aging makeup suggests (we are getting old now too dude!) Caviezel does the Brooklyn cop-thing as per the book never really that engaging, but then again prefers the human story as opposed to the two part, let's dig up a generational ham radio kit + northern lights outside in the sky = breaks the space time barrier that allows a father fire-fighter to make contact with his cop son in the future as they hope to change a few things like the father's death by fire, a scene which plays out on a helter-skelter for an overdrawn orchestral score, pulling the valves out of your heart, misdirection is met not by the fact that this is exactly the kind of brainy sci-fi we like to see, but the execution was only so-so, the action not bad but the `kid friendly' suspense drawn out at times and not matching because of confusion that the director does not explain and when something we understand does not need explaining, the director gives us a tutorial there instead. There is even a feeling that some parts are a little far-fetched when the film need not be, means blowing up various scenes lessens the impact in the long run, we all like the idea, and maybe if your 11-year-old son was going to steal an adult thriller when you where not looking, Frequency is the kind you would hope he ends up with and not "Rambo III", this is solid three star entertainment that I would easily watch instead of "Alien Vs Predator" or "Riddick"(Pitch Black is great). I know this movie has a fan-base and I can see why. My problem is that I have seen movies like "The Dead Zone" from David Cronenberg, certainly more adult, but the idea of a psychic instead of a ham radio being the sci-fi part just works out a whole lot better in that 1983 offering. I would recommend Frequency, yeah silly at times by watch it anyway because the feel is there, maybe not the all the brains, watch it with reserves is all I can say, and would certainly tell you to catch "The Dead Zone" also, because I feel it is somewhat similar, much older, but a lot better.