PREDESTINATION (R)
Released by Sony Pictures
Review by Adam Mast
THE YEAR IS EARLY, BUT THIS IS CLEARLY ONE OF THE MOST ENTERTAINING MOVIES OF 2015!
The year is early, but I’m very confident that this creative, time-bending, off the wall berserk movie will end up being a 2015 highlight. PREDESTINATION is based on the short story, ALL YOU ZOMBIES, by Robert A. Heinlein. It was adapted by the Spierig Brothers, and while these gifted, storytelling siblings only have a few projects under their belts, they’ve made quite the long lasting impression with efforts like DAYBREAKERS and UNDEAD.
“A man walks into a bar…” That’s really the best place to start when attempting to describe this lean, but “jam-packed-with-information” time travel noir flick. As PREDESTINATION opens, a man –who bares a striking resemblance to Edward Furlong’s John Connor in TERMINATOR 2– walks into said establishment. He is a sad soul and like a lot of sad souls, he has a sad story to tell, but I guaran-damn-tee you, you’ve never heard a story quite like this one.
On the flip side, is a friendly barkeep (played by Ethan Hawke). When this attentive fellow isn’t listening to his patrons tell him their colorful life stories, he’s out making a living by way of his real 9-5. You see, this particular barkeep also happens to be a Temporal Agent and his latest mission has him zipping throughout time in an effort to bring a terrorist known as the Fizzle Bomber, to justice. This is but the set up in PREDESTINATION and to tell you any more would require that I jump into spoiler territory and I’m not about to do that.
First and foremost, Michael and Peter Spierig are expert world builders. They have a creative, off kilter style that would make the Wachowski’s proud. With PREDESTINATION they put an even crazier spin on the time travel genre than they did on vampire mythology in their grossly under appreciated bloodsucker opus, DAYBREAKERS. PREDESTINATION, while certainly flawed, is mind boggling and engrossing in ways that few films dare to be.
With its exhausting and sometimes bordering on nonsensical time travel hook, it would be easy to pick apart the science of it, but the fact is, this movie is so intriguing, I never felt compelled to poke at its flaws. Quite frankly, I was riveted from the start. From the BACK TO THE FUTURE 2, LOOPER, TERMINATOR, 12 MONKEYS, and QUANTUM LEAP-inspired paradox elements to the riveting MEMENTO, MINORITY REPORT-like mystery, to THE USUAL SUSPECTS-caliber reveal, the neatest trick PREDESTINATION pulled off is that it was always a step ahead even though I thought I knew exactly where it was going.
Ethan Hawke brings a lot of energy to this movie and bless him for continuing to take risks on projects that dare to think outside the box. As integral to the movie as Hawke is, it is Aussie beauty Sarah Snook who emerges as the real revelation here. As a young woman with a most unusual condition, this terrific actress brings so much creativity to the table, I don’t even really know where to begin, therefore, I wont even try. She’s great! Let’s just leave it at that.
The Spierig Brothers have put together something really special here. PREDESTINATION is nuts, off kilter, and often tough to wrap your head around, but it has a ton of character. You will recognize the numerous influences, but this innovative flick still comes across as fresh, audacious, and incredibly entertaining.
It’s an absolute travesty that PREDESTINATION didn’t get a full blown theatrical release. As was case with last year’s THE BABADOOK, this gem of a movie had a very limited run accompanied by a VOD release. It’s now on Blu-Ray and DVD and I can’t recommend it enough.
