Knowing (2009)

Knowing, directed and written in part by Alex Proyas (I Robot, The Crow) starts remarkably strong with palpable tension and quizzical events. But as is death spirals into *spoiler removed*, Cage gives a performance with bravado long after the writers give up. That’s real a shame, too, because Knowing is so good for the first 90 minutes.

The chain of events that unfolds before our eyes is shocking, creepy and sometimes abstract. As MIT professor John Koestler (Cage) digs deeper into the seemingly random numbers found on a piece of paper unearthed in a time capsule, the viewer becomes more jumpy, more concerned, more engaged. What do the numbers mean? The answer is bleak, but good.

The intelligence of Knowing suffers due to its poor finish. Proyas did you expend all your energy and let your eight-year-old nephew finish up? Proyas, you cheated me again! You need to guts to end the movie as well as you begin it. There is nothing wrong with hopelessness. You do your audience a disservice to end so amiably.

As I see it, the reward for enduring two hours of rich impending doom is not worth it. Proyas cheats us miserably. This is one I won’t soon forget. Thanks. For nothing. As for Cage, his role though spastic, was enjoyable.