Knowing (me, knowing you, ah-haaaaaaa. No, not really.)

I ventured out to the cinema last night, parted with my hard-earned, I mean, loaned cash, and settled into the semi-comfy seats with a big bag of Starburst (bought at the Co-op up the road, half the price of cinema Starburst!) I had only seen the odd television commercial for this film, 'Knowing', so gathered that it starred Nicholas Cage, who somehow had a bit of paper that predicted major disasters (funnily enough, emphasis was only put on the American disasters.) It looked quite intriguing. And it was, throughout the majority of the film I was engrossed, the tension in some parts had even me clutching on to my boyfriend's hand (luckily for him there were no nail indents, it would have had to be scarier for that!)

I won't give away what happens, but unfortunately the film's ending very quickly undid everything it had built up to and made it into, quite frankly, a bit of a joke. And what made it even worse was the fact that most of the people I was with could guess the unlikely outcome of the film before it happened...not the gasp-worthy twist I imagine the creator's were going for.

In fairness, there was a lot that was good about the film; the performance of the young Lucinda Embry; a young girl who made the piece of paper containing the dates of the future disasters was eerie, as was the moment the drunken John Koestler (Cage) reveals what the numbers mean. People's memory of the hideous events that are mentioned is enough to send a shiver down one's spine. 

The special effects are excellent; the two disasters that John witnesses - a plane crash and subway disaster - are horrific, there are hysterical screams, people running around aflame, corpses everywhere. It brings home the haunting sadness of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If this had concluded to some way of John being able to stop the last disaster, or coming to any sort of realistic conclusion that fits with the stark realism the film had adhered until the end, I could say that it was well worth watching. But, as it is, all I can say is that is worth watching...just as long as you leave before the last twenty minutes or so...

Knowing - 3/5