DVD Movie Review - Predestination

Do not try to fight it.  Predestination is intended to give you a time-looping headache.  The real question is will the middle hold your attention?

STORY:

John (Ethan Hawke), a time-traveling agent for the Temporal Bureau, heads back in time to stop the Fizzle Bomber: a terrorist that kills approximately 11,000 people in 1975 New York.  But things get complicated when John happens to run into a person with an extremely interesting past, causing his last task for the Bureau to run the risk of failure.  Melted faces, violin cases, orphans, athletic women, writers, stolen babies, and one unbelievable twisted tale of time travel ensues.

"You know, I once flew into space using a tilt-a-whirl seat and various garbage.  True story."

THOUGHTS:

WARNING: Review is intentionally vague.  Describing certain scenes and or characters could ruin the bizarre plot.  As such, P&P has withheld a lot.  You’re welcome.

So you've just finished popping a few dozen bags of popcorn and as you're filling the barrel next to the sofa with buttery gold, you're smiling because you think you already have this movie pegged.  You've seen similar Sci-Fi tales where a time-traveling cop goes back into the past to stop a terrible tragedy.  It's been done.  It's cliché.  You're pretty sure Predestination will be nothing but boring from start to finish.  And then the movie starts rolling and you realize you couldn't be further from the truth.  Sure, people that find Sci-Fi to be nonsense or mysteries to be dull will still not like this film, but if you're into the above, then give Predestination a whirl, because you haven't seen a plot line like this before.  Ethan Hawke said in an interview that he wanted the movie's tag line to be, "Predestination…go f*ck yourself."  And after you watch the film, you'll understand why. 

Predestination is the kind of movie that requires complete undivided attention.  Without giving too much away, it does start like all other time-traveling crime stories you've seen before.  One man must go back in time to stop a horrific event from unfolding, and he has only one jump left into the past to do it.  But then Predestination throws a curveball about a half hour in and instead, a story unfolds about a very unique person.  See, the Fizzle Bomber still remains an important factor of the plot, but that part of the film won't even remotely stack up to rest of the crazy twists that you'll be seeing on screen.  And this is where the headache will begin to set in.  Questions will start to arise like, "Could this person be the Fizzle Bomber?" or "Does Ethan Hawke realize he's rocking a pornstache?"  And don't worry; those questions will get answered by the time the credits roll (alright…maybe not the pornstache one).

"Man, I really need to stop eating people right before work.  It's ruining my chances 

for advancement." 

But there are two slight problems.  Problem one: Predestination's crazy story almost makes Sci-Fi sense until the very end and then—BAM—everything gets blown out of proportion.  And what almost worked in a fictional time-traveling loop ends with a humongous plot hole.  Some people will try to make sense of it, while others might brush off the entire film because of it.  But it's this very scene that Ethan Hawke was talking about in his movie tag line.  So…does it make sense?  A better question would be: Does it really matter?  The film is already fictional, so why not push the boundaries even further?  Either way, the scene was written for the initial shock value and it certainly works.  You'll either really like it or you'll want to set fire to your TV.  But no matter how you feel, you'll be talking about the ending as soon as it's all over.  And problem number two: the middle of the story shifts from Sci-Fi thriller/mystery to Sci-Fi drama/mystery.  And this transition may be the point where some people feel the film slows down dramatically as Sarah Snook's character, Jane, takes center stage and the Fizzle Bomber/Ethan Hawke storyline slowly crawls its way back into the movie towards the end.  But if you're invested in the characters, the mystery behind them will definitely hold your attention until the credits.

"If you're waiting for me to dance or pull a lever to splash water on myself...that's just not 

gonna happen.  At least not before lunch." 

THE ACTING:

Ethan Hawke is excellent in the film...even with the silly scratchy voice he's trying to pull off.  At first the voice might get on your nerves, but relax, there's a reason behind the way he's talking.  In fact, there's a reason behind everything in the film.  So if you're willing to stick it out until the end, you'll probably be sickened, angered, shocked, and dumbfounded.  But at least everything gets answered.  Certain scenes required Ethan's character to be emotional, strong, sad, and confused, and without even a hiccup, he easily fills the shoes of the second protagonist, John.  Why the second and not the first?  That's because someone else steals the movie away from him.  Ethan Hawke's character is more of a bookend: showing up in the beginning and towards the end, while a large chunk of the middle goes to another person entirely…

Sarah Snook.  She plays Jane and her character's evolution in the storyline is astonishing.  Mentioning anything else about the plot will ruin the shock...and it’s this shock that needs to be kept for the film to work the way it was intended.  But all you have to know is Snook delivers top-shelf acting chops that help bring the entire film together by the end. 

"Keep looking at me like that, slut, and I'll rip my heel off and stab you with it.  In the most 

polite way, of course." 

CONCLUSION:

Predestination may not be the greatest film you see this year, or even one that will earn an Oscar, but you'll be talking about it and trying to understand it as soon as it's over.  On top of that you'll never forget just how shockingly crazy the story actually gets.  It's Sci-Fi at its strangest.  The film not only pushes the "boundary" of what's possible in fake realities, it takes the "boundary" out back and shoots it.  So if you want an original story that'll leave a mark and maybe even make you a little sick to your stomach, then give this film a shot.

3 out of 5 Stars (minus a star for the ending plot hole & for the somewhat slow middle)