by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
A solid high-concept thriller can be the stuff of legend. Some of our most talked about films throughout the years have fit this mold. Christopher Nolan has basically made a career out of directing films of this nature. So when a new movie comes out that has the potential to tickle your cerebral fancy, it’s worth taking notice. Hypnotic seems, on the surface, to be that kind of movie. But instead of borrowing from other films, it outright steals from them. Instead of delivering fun twists, it just lies to you. When all is said and done, this creates nothing but a poor experience that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
If I told you that Ben Affleck was starring in a high-concept thriller where the central lynchpin of the entire story revolves around memory, what movie would you think of? What if it wasn’t just a movie about memory, but a movie about people erasing their memories, and then those very people following clues they left behind for themselves like breadcrumbs so they could pick up the pieces and put their memory back together? Perhaps there are people chasing after Affleck because of what he hid in the recesses of his mind, and his life, and the lives of others, are at stake because these individuals are willing to kill to get to the bottom of the mystery. Does that sound like Paycheck to you? A film that just reached its 20th anniversary milestone this year? Congratulations! You got it! Now, one last question… could I interest you in watching the exact same movie again? Only this time, it will be lacking in fun and campy acting, interesting John Woo action scenes, and just have an overall blasé tone and lack of personality.
That’s Hypnotic.
Honestly, it’s astounding that this was directed by Robert Rodriguez. You wouldn’t know it as, this film has none of his trademark sensibilities or stylings. It doesn’t have the humor of From Dusk Till Dawn, the grittiness of Sin City, the family fun of Spy Kids, or the sci-fi elements of Alita: Battle Angel. It just feels like your generic studio action thriller which could have been made by anyone, or even a debut directing effort, seeing as how this is such a lackluster experience. Although, since this didn’t come from a major studio, and it was, in fact, produced by four different production companies that I’ve never heard of before, I guess that should have been a sign of trouble just from the opening logos.
It’s not just the direction that feels lifeless throughout this movie; it’s also the performances. Affleck comes off entirely wooden through most of the film, only showing any signs of life towards its ending. By then you’re not invested enough in the character to really give a damn. This comes off like a movie he took on just for the payday right from the jump, and that feeling never subsides. Alice Braga, who I’m traditionally a fan of, is largely just an upset figure throughout most of the film. She offers very little beyond this single dimension. Jackie Earle Haley comes off as the only spark of interest, but is so criminally underused that he might as well not even be here. The only one who seems to be doing anything with their role as William Fichtner, but even he’s not given much to do beyond the opening scenes that paints him as a fascinating and mysterious figure. Yet by the end of the movie, he’s just a generic adversary with nothing to offer the story.
The greatest sin that this movie commits, however, is how dishonest it is to the audience. I can take, and even appreciate, a little bit of narrative deception from my movies. Hell, most of the big twists throughout the history of cinema rely on a little bit of narrative mistruthin’. But I can’t abide a movie lying to me for nearly 80% of its runtime. That’s beyond egregious, yet that’s Hypnotic. When almost everything that you present to the audience isn’t true, and/or isn’t really happening, then I sit here wondering to myself what’s the point of it all. This isn’t like Ocean’s 11 where the movie hides how the twist is done, because you still know what’s happening. You still know they’re robbing a casino. Hypnotic is entirely different. The reality you’re experiencing isn’t even reality for the vast majority of the movie. It attempts a great reveal and replaying of past events from a new perspective after the halfway point of the film, but it’s still not satisfying, as the movie still feels the urge to continuously lie to you.
It doesn’t help when the film also keeps changing, amending, or adding to the rules of your world instead of staying consistent. Who has powers, how these powers work, who has the stronger powers, who can manipulate others’ powers… it’s all fluid. The magical rules in Harry Potter make way more sense than Hypnotic, and that’s a big statement, seeing as they just make up new rules for those stories all the time.
When your movie lies this much, and constantly changes the rules of the world in which it inhabits, you can feel your interest level plummet by the second.
The tale of people with mesmerizing powers who can control others with their minds to execute bank heists and so much more is awesome in principle. But this film takes so much time knocking off Paycheck, Inception, Looper, and so many others, that it lacks its own voice. Or, simply put: Hypnotic is a great concept destroyed by bad execution.
I wish I liked this more. High-concept is my jam. I’m predisposed to enjoy movies like this. But Hypnotic struggles to succeed in nearly every facet. If it wasn’t for the tension in the story just in wondering what the hell is going on, and some of the fun visual treatments, this would be abysmal. As it stands, Hypnotic is not a good film, and not worth your time.
4/10
Hypnotic is currently playing in theaters
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