Knowing

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

I would have given it five stars but I believe the theory on the existence of life offered in the ending would not be appreciated by everyone, specially those who are overtly religious and would just think that the movie is a prolonged episode of the Twilight Zone. As for me, I did appreciate it because I am interested in the occult.

The first part of the movie has that old school horror flick feel. That Lucinda kid is freaky and her complexion reminds me of Linda Blair's in the Exorcist. The second part somehow gives you that Final Destination/Indiana Jones feel and then the last part is, like, fresh from the twilight zone. The movie is ambitious. It wants to be many things at the same time but I think the plot was executed well enough, with a few forgivable flaws.

What I like most about the movie is that it makes you reflect on how you view life in general. Do you believe that every single thing that happens is predestined and leads up to a bigger also predestined event (Determinism)? Or do you believe that shit just happens (Randomness). The film makes you reflect on that somehow and if you are the type who loves to ponder on that mystery then you might just enjoy this movie.


Another thing I like about the movie is the constant but subtle foreshadowing of the big event which you could also guess just by looking at some promotional materials *wink, wink*. Clever and not that far-fetched. In short, still in the realm of the believable.

The special effects are great. I would not attest to the accuracy of the presentation because I have never seen a plane or a train crash up close before but at least the movie gives you a glimpse of how it might actually look and feel like when it happens.

Nick Cage is getting old and I have noticed that he keeps on getting roles in films like these lately (adventure/mystery). As for the Caleb character, I liked how the kid was characterized as a smart aleck, which asomehow made the film lighter and funnier.

SUPER SPOILER INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION SECTION

To summarize, the Earth is toasted by the Sun's solar flare thingy. The Aliens handpick a pair of kids from random parts of the planet and drop them in another habitable planet with a moon relatively bigger than ours and a tree which reminds me of Genesis in the bible. What is your view regarding this? I think the creator of the movie is trying to offer his own version or theory of life on Earth and the story of Creation itself. According to the movie, it appears that those Aliens are not the typical ones we imagined (the Mars Attacks we-come-in-peace/War of the Worlds we-want-to-invade-your-planet stereotypes) but rather omniscient beings like God/s.

It just got me thinking, if we are to ride on this theory and pretend that these Aliens are portrayed accurately, then it would turn out that human beings have inhabited another planet before and got evacuated to this one because the other one got destroyed. It gives credibility to the Creation/Adam and Eve story by virtue of the pair of kids chosen to jump start life on the new planet. Since they are dropped on different parts of the planet, they create their own versions of Creation aided by their vague recollections of their past cultures and that one big event. In this case, aliens are not viewed as equals or potentially higher form of race but rather as the God/s that we believe in.