There seems to be a recent surge of adaptations based on Philip Dick's literary work. Based on his novel, The Golden Man, this movie boasts a preposterous premise and a subpar plot.
Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) is a garden variety Vegas magician. He lives a low-key existence until an FBI agent, Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore), is hot on his trail. It seems that Agent Ferris believes Cris has the ability to see the future, and she needs his help to find a nuclear bomb in Southern California. The fact is, Cris does have that ability -- only that he can only see up to two minutes of his own future. Except for mysterious woman -- he keeps seeing her in his vision; he knows he will meet her, just not when.
Cris would have nothing to do with the government or espionage. He just wants to live a quiet life. Unfortunately, an incident at a casino reveals his true ability to both the FBI and the "bad guys." Then he meets his dream girl, whose name is Liz (Jessica Biel), and he asks her to take him out of town. When the FBI arrives, Cris convinces Liz to help him escape. Unfortunately, Liz gets kidnapped by the terrorists. Seeing in his vision what will happen to Liz, Cris has no choice but help Ferris find the perpetrators.
Nicolas Cage (Grindhouse) needs to take an advice from me and not his agent: stop making these action films. They may have made him a very, very rich action hero, but I believe Cage is a much better actor than that. His performance in Adaptation proved it. Here, he is playing the same mindless roles that have absolutely no depths in their character. And what's it with his hair? It's distractingly bad.
Julianne Moore (Children of Men) plays another hard-boiled agent but her performance here is superficial and unsatisfying, compared to her freedom fighter in Children of Men. I can't really fault her since her character is underdeveloped. Jessica Biel (The Illusionist) has a far better role playing Liz, a confident teacher who reluctantly gets involved. She shows enough vulnerability and complexity to make us care.
The supporting cast includes Thomas Kretschmann (The Celestine Prophecy) as the terrorist leader, Jose Zuniga (Prison Break) as a casino manager, and Tory Kittles (Dirty) as FBI agent Cavanaugh. They all do their job except their characters are nothing more than pawn pieces. The biggest wasted cameo belongs to Peter Falk (The Thing About My Folks), who, despite getting major billing, appears only in a brief scene that adds nothing to the story.
In addition to the mediocre performances and cardboard characters, the script by Gary Goldman (Navy Seals), Jonathan Hensleigh (The Punisher) and Paul Bernbaum (Hollywoodland) have turned Philip Dick's story about destiny and responsibility into a mindless action flick. The dialogue is cheesy, and the plot is nonsensical and forced. The characters lack real motivations and emotions, and the relationship between Cris and Liz is unconvincing.
There are so many plot holes I forget to count. I can understand that in a sci-fi story like this, they don't necessarily need to explain everything. However, some of the plot elements are simply there to move things along -- they are illogical and require a huge dose of suspension of disbelief. And the "trick ending" is a pure rip-off, making me realize I just wasted 96 minutes of my life.
Director Lee Tamahori (xXx: State of the Union) is a master of action flicks, and he does a generally good job putting all the pieces together, despite the poor script. The pacing is good and it has enough tension to keep things going and the audiences interested. It's fast-paced enough to prevent the audiences to stop and think. The special effects are rather low-grade, however, especially during the final climactic sequence. We can't help but think: "They spent all that money on this?"For its flat characters, preposterous plot, cheesy dialogue and unsatisfying ending, I will leave you with this final word: NEXT.
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Tory Kittles, José Zuniga, Peter Falk
Director: Lee Tamahori
Writers: Gary Goldman, Jonathan Hensleigh, Paul Bernbaum (based on novel, The Golden Man, by Philip K. Dick)
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, some sexuality and language
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Ratings:
Script – 5
Performance – 5
Direction – 6
Cinematography – 7
Music/Sound– 6
Editing – 7
Production – 7
Total – 6.1 out of 10
Assistant DA Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) is on the move. He's just landed a coveted position at one of L.A.'s biggest law firms, after achieving an impressive 97% conviction rate. His boss, Joe Lobruto (David Strathairn), think he's wasting his talent in corporate law. But Beachum has more on his mind than his career -- he's engaging in a love affair with Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike), a partner at the firm.
Before Beachum wraps up his duties at the DA office, a murder case lands on his lap. It seems like an open-and-shut case: the accused, Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins), allegedly killed his younger wife (Embeth Davidtz), locked himself in his posh house, and later signed a confession. Thinking he will end his days at the office with an easy victory, cocky Beachum takes the case without much preparation. His arrogance costs him dearly. Due to technicalities, the judge throws out the signed confession. And one more problem presents itself: there is no murder weapon. They search the house multiple times and cannot find the gun that shot Crawford's wife.
As the case continues, Beachum finds more and more problems with the case. He's also under extreme pressure both from the DA office and the law firm, and his career is in jeopardy. Meanwhile, he knows Crawford is guilty but he simply can't find any evidence. Crawford has, in fact, carried out a perfect murder. Should Beachum give up, or should he pursue Crawford at the risk of ruining his own future?
Anthony Hopkins (
As Beachum's boss, David Strathairn (
The script, written by Daniel Pyne (
However, the cat-and-mouse game is made more interesting by introducing Beachum's character arc. In comparison, there's no arc to Crawford, so that character remains a rather two-dimensional villain. As with many thrillers, there are plot holes, some of which minor and some glaring. A late development involving Detective Nunally stretches credibility. The perfect murder is also perfect by the writers' design. I mean, there's no way Crawford could have planned everything exactly how he wanted it. So in that sense, the script seems manipulative.
Director Gregory Hoblit (
After his father was killed in an accident, Kale (LaBeouf) becomes moody and disinterested in everything. An assault on a Spanish teacher results a house arrest, and Kale is stuck at his house for three long summer months. Bored out of his skull, he starts to spy on his neighbors with his binoculars and video cameras. First, it's just fun and curiosity, especially when he starts watching a new neighbor, beautiful Ashley (Roemer). When Ashley confronts him, he realizes she doesn't really mind.
Then he begins to suspect his next-door neighbor, Mr. Turner (Morse), as a murderer. Women have been missing around town, and Turner's hotrod matches the cop's descriptions. Suspicion leads to investigations. His friend Ronnie joins him and Ashley in their "stakeout." Weird things happen at Turner's house, and Kale wants to get to the bottom of it. But Kale is such a clumsy spy that soon Turner catches on. It becomes a game of cat and mouse.
Shia LaBeouf (
Carrie-Anne Moss (
Matt Craven (
The script by Christopher B. Landon (
If the writers' aspiration is 
Director D.J. Caruso (
The year is 1971. Clifford Irving (Gere) is a nonfiction writer who sees his career going downhill after his publisher, McGraw-Hill, decides to pass on his next book. Struggling to find the next big thing, he stumbles upon an idea that would make him rich and famous: a Howard Hughes biography. No one has seen or heard from the eccentric billionaire in years, and an authorized biography would become an instant sensation. Clifford pitches the idea to his editor Andrea Tate (Davis), who later gladly announces that McGraw-Hill would pay him almost half a million dollars for the exclusive right if he can actually deliver the goods.
The problem is, Clifford Irving has never met or spoken with Howard Hughes. And he has no intention of getting Hughes's approval or cooperation. Helped by his wife Edith (Harden) and his best friend Dick Susskind (Molina), they concocted a deliberate scheme to con the publisher. He forges Hughes's handwriting and presents McGraw-Hill with letters and taped recordings to convince them of his authenticity. Dick is himself an aspiring children's book writer, and a very good researcher. Through their research, Clifford and Dick uncover all kinds of information and insider secrets on Hughes, making their book as authentic as can be.
However, the lack of actual face time with Hughes makes the publisher extremely nervous and suspicious. Even though handwriting experts have authenticated the letters, they want physical proofs, and Clifford's scheme starts to unravel. Desperate, he asks for a million dollars and sinks deeper and deeper into his deceptions. He has passed a point of no return.
Richard Gere (
The supporting cast is top-notch. Hope Davis (
Based on Irving's own novel (I'm surprised he still had a career, albeit writing fiction), the screenplay, written by William Wheeler (
Unfortunately, some of the plot elements are rather implausible, making us wonder how much Irving himself has embellished and exaggerated. For example, he must have been really good to pass the tests of not one, but two handwriting experts, and to pull off stunts after stunts and still get away with them. After a while, it all becomes sort of a caricature, and the story loses some credibility even when the suspense is palpable.
However, director Hallström (