It has a wicked premise and many fascinating themes but, overall, it becomes a little bit silly towards the end.
Knowing (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:160
Fresh:52
Rotten:108
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Knowing has some interesting ideas and a couple good scenes, but it's weighted down by its absurd plot and over-seriousness.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief strong language.
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Theatrical Release:25-03-2009
Synopsis:
Nicolas Cage stars in Knowing, a gripping action-thriller of global proportions about a professor who stumbles on terrifying predictions about the future—and sets out to prevent them from coming...
Nicolas Cage stars in Knowing, a gripping action-thriller of global proportions about a professor who stumbles on terrifying predictions about the future—and sets out to prevent them from coming true.
In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.
Fifty years later, a new generation of students examines the capsule’s contents and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young CALEB KOESTLER. But it is Caleb’s father, professor JOHN KOESTLER (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As John further unravels the document’s chilling secrets, he realizes the document foretells three additional events—the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve John and his son. When John’s attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.
With the reluctant help of DIANA WAYLAND (Rose Byrne) and ABBY WAYLAND, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies, John’s increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster—and the ultimate sacrifice.
--© Summit Entertainment
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Terry Camilleri
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Terry Camilleri
Director: Alex Proyas
Director: Alex Proyas
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Reviews for Knowing
It really shouldn’t take itself so seriously because the plot is, to be frank, a load of sci-fi nonsense which stretches the suspension of disbelief beyond breaking point.
An earnest Cage lends some gravitas to a film of amazing coincidences and less than amazing special effects that sci-fi fans will embrace until something better comes along.
It probably helps that the trailer flatlined our expectations, but the engaging, unconventional Knowing certainly qualifies as a pleasant surprise.
Hugely enjoyable, surprisingly dark thriller with a strong premise, great performances and terrific special effects.
The slam-bang set pieces deliver. So, with his spooked features and breathy-orotund voice, does Cage.
Mixing Spielbergian child-like wonder, disaster movie spectacle and the cod-religious silliness of M Night Shyamalan’s ‘Signs’. The premise is compelling, but the execution is over-cooked.
Some movies, however unpromising, can be saved by a great ending. Here is one.
It's intriguing B-feature apocalypse, determinism versus free-will stuff.
Knowing isn't good, exactly, but for connoisseurs of good-bad, it hits the spot like an asteroid.
Cage is back to form after recent awful films like The Wicker Man and Bangkok Dangerous. Proyas encourages Cage to under-play with conviction. And the result is thrilling.
An expletive-filled expression of utter bewilderment awaits anyone who stumbles into what must surely be a new frontrunner for the barmiest blockbuster ever made.
The CGI is unconvincing, the big shock-and-awe finale is a throwback to the days of Deep Impact, and underneath it all is the nervous American insistence that there is life beyond the stars.
I've discovered a set of letters predicting when a catastrophically bad film is about to occur. They are NICOLASCAGE and, once again, the man who's given us more turkeys than Christmas is party to another shocker.
Knowing, though the story of disasters, isn’t a total disaster itself. It’s just too ambitious for its own good.
As well as being perversely pessimistic for a blockbuster, it’s rendered tedious by a dense plot and lifeless characters. Even M Night Shyamalan would have done a better job. How dare such an empty film ask us to endure many realistic scenes of carnage?
Stylishly directed by Alex Proyas (who made I, Robot) this is quite simply over-the-top bonkers.
Knowing has a far more insidious agenda: to convince non-believers like Cage, an embittered, alcoholic atheist since his wife’s death, there is intelligent design in the universe.
Latest News for Knowing
July 06, 2009:
RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
It's a genre lover's feast this week on DVD, but don't say we didn't warn you about those pesky rotten Tomatometers. First up? Alex Proyas's latest science fiction thriller,... More...
March 22, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Power Knowing To # 1
This weekend Moviegoers still love Nicolas Cage action flicks as the actor's latest film, the doomsday thriller Knowing, easily beat out two other new releases to capture the... More...
March 19, 2009:
Critics Consensus: I Love You, Man Is A Fine Bromance
This week at the movies, we've got a bromantic comedy (I Love You, Man, starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel), ominous numerology (Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage and Rose Byrne),... More...
March 19, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: Cage, Roberts, and Rudd Battle For #1 Spot
Three new films roll into North American multiplexes and for the first time in ages, all three have a realistic chance of claiming the number one spot. Comedies have been... More...
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