Man, the twist in this is so unbelievably predictable that I'm just gonna go ahead and spoil it: He's neither human nor alien; he's a robot. Oh, wait, that's "The Time Traveler's Wife". Yes, I'm aware that it's not actually about a robot,… More
Man, the twist in this is so unbelievably predictable that I'm just gonna go ahead and spoil it: He's neither human nor alien; he's a robot. Oh, wait, that's "The Time Traveler's Wife". Yes, I'm aware that it's not actually about a robot, but you can understand how I would get confused, seeing as Eric Bana's only excuse for being as stiff and passionless as he is might just be the fact that he is a machine, devoid of the concept of acting, and yes, I am saying that based only on the trailer, since I have not seen the movie yet, but I'd imagine that it's terrible, what with it having that waste of space. Well, actually, although Bana makes Keanu Reeves look like Sam Rockwell (man, I am just killing him tonight), I'll be the first to admit that he actually has a pretty good track record when it comes to picking films, but I hate him so much that I'll assume any film with him is a bomb. Seriously, if I were to watch "Troy" for the third glorious time, but watch the trailer right before, the instant Bana flashes onscreen, I would sigh about having to watch it, which is absolutely absurd, because it's such a great film, as everyone know. Ha-ha-ha, but seriously though, that film is underrated; and with that I've broken my credibility by panning Eric Bana's act...-actaa...-actoo...-acti...-whatever it he does and praising "Troy". Well, I don't know if that's what ruined my credibility, or the hints that I might be a time traveler, because I'm opening a review about a film from 1999 by talking about films that came out years later, but just bear with me, because I know none of y'all are crazy about this film and believe me, I've got my share of complaints, as well.
Okay, now, the film isn't terrible, but it's such a mess in terms of storytelling, being sewn together in such a spotty fashion, with often ineffective tension raging constantly and relentlessly that the resonance in the story slowly, but surely, fades off and after a while, the film not only fails to touch a nerve, but loses steam and becomes rather unengaging. To make matters worse, the film is so cliched and in a very Hollywood fashion, particularly during the more romantically dramatic parts, where it's cheesy, predictable and melodramatic. Still, as I said earlier, this film boasts a relentless tone of darkness, but what makes it rather hard to take seriously is the writing, with almost every character being their own type of cliche, all the way down to their usually uninventive conclusions. Now, I know that by the way I'm emphasizing the flaws, I sound as though I'm contradicting my earlier claim that this film is not terrible. Well, that's just me flying a bit off the handle, because the flaws I'm describing aren't the keys to a poor film, but the keys to a manipulative, mediocre film. The film could have very easily been poor, perhaps around a "Heavenly Creatures" level (Ouch, my credibility!), as it shares that film's flaws of being consistently one-note and devoid of resonance, but it just doesn't have the nerve to take that extra leap and risk making all of the mistakes made by a potentially passable film like "Creatures" that caused it to plummet, and plummet, and plummet, until it ultimately became flat-out unbearable, leaving this film to just float along, lacking anything special. However, that's just simply not the case, for although what we're looking at is a fair story, bumped down to mediocre by weak direction, the style and talent behind this film have the power to boost it back up to fairness, which isn't the most impressive leap, but still big enough of one to raise this film above mediocrity.
From a technical standpoint, the film is undeniably impressive, from something as subtle as mesmerizing sound design tricks, to something as unmissable as lively, elaborate cinematography. There are quite a deal of shots in this film that are so well-stage and absorbingly - pardon my drop in vocabulary - bouncy, but when it's not that emphatic, it still has a lighting to it that is subtley, yet noticeably bright and captivating. It's all complemented by the visual effects, which may be ridiculously underused, but are still lively and impressive to watch. Of course, the consensues hit the nail right on the head that style and visuals can't save this film from mediocrity. No, what really raises and carries this film past mediocrity is the charming, compelling chemistry between our leads, made so strong by their own individual and very impressive performances. I don't care if the film is garbage; I will always love those golden moments where Johnny Depp completely transforms into an entirely different person, and sure, his slick, but strong southern character is one past down from generation to generation of cliched films, but very few who inherit the role make as immersive of a transformation as Depp, and whether you love his performance because its so charmy, yet mysterious, or because you're a fan of Barry Pepper, who he seems to be transforming into the most, you're compelled every time he occupies the screen. However, when Johnny Depp is away, Charlize Theron comes out to play, and plays the leading game with heart and raw emotion in her presence, and when she and Depp work off of each other, especially as the story begins to unravel, you find yourself tense, questioning and waiting to see if something really is going down, or if it's all something else, and when we do get to the big reveal, it is effective, partially because Depp and Theron really know how to cap-off their compelling lead performances with impact that fully carries what emotional resonance there is, especially as this thing comes down to its fine conclusion.
At the end of the day, unimpressive writing - complete with cliches - and weak direction - complete with steam loss, caused by relentless and often ineffective tension - threaten to force this film down to the level of mediocrity, but what inspires this film to push back is its fine technical and visual style, and what finally inspires this film to break through mediocrity are the powerfully compelling, film-carrying lead performances by Charlize Theron and Johnny Depp, who ultimately leave "The Astronaut's Wife" to stand as a generally enjoyable and rather impressive film.
2.5/5 - Fair
