A One Mann’s Movies review of “Hypnotic” (2023).
Ben Affleck mystery thrillers seem to be a Russian Roulette of cinema. For every “Gone Girl” there is a “Deep Water“. “Hypnotic” is mildly engaging, but still feels like a B-movie. I thought Affleck was wandering through it on auto-pilot for most of the running time and I’m not sure why he would choose to go from the Oscar-potential of “Air” to this.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) is an Austin-based detective, in therapy after his young daughter’s unsolved kidnapping. When given a tip-off about a bank heist to steal a specific safety deposit box, he investigates… and finds his daughter’s photo in the box.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC: “Strong violence, gory injury detail.”).
Talent:
Starring: Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, JD Pardo, William Fichtner.
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez.
Written by: Robert Rodriguez & Max Borenstein.
Twitter Handle: #HypnoticTheFilm
“Hypnotics make everything you see and do feel perfectly normal”. Brazilian actress Alice Braga as the psychic helper Diana Cruz with Ben Affleck. (Source: Ketchup Entertainment).
“Hypnotic” Review:
Positives:
- The movie feels like a blend of a few different movies, with “Inception” and “Looper” being the two that jumped out at me. (That’s not a bad thing, as those were both great films).
- There are some interesting twists in the story that were both surprising and enjoyable.
- I enjoyed seeing Jeff Fahey – the pilot Frank Lapidus in “Lost” – on the big screen. (Does that man have a picture in his attic? He doesn’t seem to age!)
Negatives:
- Overall, the payoff of the film didn’t feel worth the journey for me.
- Without spoilers, there were elements of the set-up that felt unnecessary and false. And there are some elements of the film that, when you look back at them in retrospect, they make you go “Hang on a minute!”. (A cryptic example, for those who’ve seen the film, is “handwriting”!)
- Affleck seems to be largely on cruise-control for most of this.
- I found the music by Rebel Rodriguez (presumably the director’s son) really grating and intrusive.
Monkeys?
There is a mid-credit “monkey” in here, which doesn’t make much sense but which sets things up for a potential sequel.
Summary Thoughts on “Hypnotic”
It’s fair to say that the illustrious Mrs Movie Man enjoyed this one more than I did (she gave it 3.5*s). I thought it was “OK”, and it had its moments. But overall not one I will hold in my memory for long.
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Trailer for “Hypnotic”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnCZ4dfrxpo .