Reminiscence (2021) is a sci-fi noir thriller and is a directorial feature film debut of Lisa Joy, the co-creator of Westworld alongside her husband Jonathan Nolan. She also directed one of my favourite episodes from Season 2. It is set in a not-so-distant future Miami where the world has been subject to rising sea levels wreaking havoc. Memory tech is a craze where one can relive their cherished moments from the past and Hugh Jackman's character is running a business of it alongside his friend played by Thandiwe Newton. Things go awry when a customer, played by Rebecca Furgeson, goes missing and Hugh's character takes it upon himself to find her. I was curious to check this out and sadly it was disappointing.
The movie is competently made for the most part i.e the sets, the production design, the CGI, sound effects and music, the pacing, the cinematography, the acting, are all executed well enough that you get the feeling of a proper good looking and sounding movie. It's in the writing and story department where it falters and drags the entire experience down from being a good or even great one to a middling one at best.
The movie mixes in different ideas and concepts, none of them new, and while on their own they are cool, when blended together with the story you get, it doesn't work nearly as well as there is a lack of energy and urgency that you don't really get throughout. You are experiencing the story play out and it's kinda OK but it never goes beyond that.
There is superficial depth to the themes and ideas where the movie thinks it is being deep and poignant but you don't really get that feeling. It's just sorta there. Not to mention the fact that the entire plot hinges on a romance that was hardly developed so you don't get that connection which should hook you.
Take out the competency in other elements and high profile actors and this would be bad but since those things are present, it goes up a few notches, so props to Lisa Joy for that at least and hopefully her next outing will be better. Rebecca Furgeson's beauty alone kinda pushes it one point above for me not gonna lie, it is what it is. Simply put, it was just OK. Disappointed cause it could have been a lot more. Maybe if Jonathan Nolan was helping with the script, that would have been the case, who knows. Not recommended but hey, if you are curious, give it a shot. And if I were to rate it, I'd give it a 6/10.
The movie is competently made for the most part i.e the sets, the production design, the CGI, sound effects and music, the pacing, the cinematography, the acting, are all executed well enough that you get the feeling of a proper good looking and sounding movie. It's in the writing and story department where it falters and drags the entire experience down from being a good or even great one to a middling one at best.
The movie mixes in different ideas and concepts, none of them new, and while on their own they are cool, when blended together with the story you get, it doesn't work nearly as well as there is a lack of energy and urgency that you don't really get throughout. You are experiencing the story play out and it's kinda OK but it never goes beyond that.
There is superficial depth to the themes and ideas where the movie thinks it is being deep and poignant but you don't really get that feeling. It's just sorta there. Not to mention the fact that the entire plot hinges on a romance that was hardly developed so you don't get that connection which should hook you.
Take out the competency in other elements and high profile actors and this would be bad but since those things are present, it goes up a few notches, so props to Lisa Joy for that at least and hopefully her next outing will be better. Rebecca Furgeson's beauty alone kinda pushes it one point above for me not gonna lie, it is what it is. Simply put, it was just OK. Disappointed cause it could have been a lot more. Maybe if Jonathan Nolan was helping with the script, that would have been the case, who knows. Not recommended but hey, if you are curious, give it a shot. And if I were to rate it, I'd give it a 6/10.